|
|
|
|
Legal Resources
Business Contracts
MCLE Courses
Projects
Friends
|
Sample Business ContractsHome: Sample Business Contracts: April 6th, 2007
Frank Buettner
President & Chief Operating Officer RedEnvelope, Inc. 149 New Montgomery St. San Francisco, CA 94105-3740 Frank:
On behalf of all of us at DCS, I want to thank you again for giving us the opportunity to work with RedEnvelope in upgrading your order fulfillment operations to meet your current and future business needs. We have enjoyed working with your team in developing the design presented in this proposal, and we are excited about progressing into the implementation phase of this project.
This proposal describes the design steps that were taken in determining your picking methodology, the design rates and requirements of the designed system based on that analysis, and the implementation plan we have developed in order to have the system in your hands before your busy season, while keeping you operational throughout the project.
From this proposal, we hope to display our full understanding of your system requirements and our willingness and capability to work with you and your team in “Phasing-In” your system to allow you to continue to fulfill orders during the implementation. It will be critical to make this function seamless to your operation and we will dedicate the resources necessary to make it happen.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you have with the information we have included in this proposal.
Sincerely;
/s/ Jason Perks
Jason Perks
Project Manager
1
2
1.0 Scope of Proposal
1.1 General Overview
Designed Conveyor Systems, a Grand Rapids, Michigan company, is proposing to provide RedEnvelope, Inc with a turn-key Automated Conveyor System upgrade for their Order Fulfillment Center located in Lockbourne, Ohio. This proposal covers the specifications generated by the Engineering Study performed by Designed Conveyor Systems, and the system designed from those specifications.
This system is designed to convey cartons through the multiple Picking Areas, the Personalization Areas, the Packing Areas and the Shipping Area. Totes will be used for Jewelry only orders and are not required to convey through the entire system.
This proposal covers the SKU analysis performed by Designed Conveyor Systems during the engineering study, the picking methods to be utilized based on that analysis, the design of the new system and the capabilities of the various areas of the system upon completion of the project.
Key areas covered by this proposal are:
The equipment will consist of a combination of Ermanco’s standard high speed NBS 30 Wave sorter, ERS 90 degree 4-directional divert, line shaft conveyor, zero pressure conveyor, belt over roller conveyor and gravity conveyor as well as a Transnorm belt curve.
The electrical controls will consist of photo-eyes, solenoid valves, emergency stops, and bar code readers all controlled by Allen-Bradley PLC’s. The control panels will include all standard components such as: main power disconnect, motor starters, fuses, VFD’s, terminal strips, etc.
This proposal includes the engineering, equipment, controls, installation, field wiring, air piping, and special fabrication items to provide a turn-key system as specified. DCS will provide RedEnvelope as-built drawings, spare parts list, maintenance manuals, operator training and an on-site engineer during start-up. 3
If RedEnvelope accepts the Deliverables included in this proposal and proceeds with implementation of the project, DCS’s fees for the engineering study shall be included in the investment figures for implementation of the project included in this proposal. However, if RedEnvelope chooses not to select DCS to implement the plan, RedEnvelope shall pay DCS for its Time and Materials used during the development stage, not to exceed *. Upon payment of these fees, all Deliverables of the development phase shall become the property of RedEnvelope to be used for any purpose.
If RedEnvelope moves forward on the project with DCS following the design phase, DCS will implement it as a turn-key project (that is, DCS will provide RedEnvelope with all design, engineering, architectural and other professional services, permits, construction management, labor, materials, and anything else necessary to implement the project), and DCS and RedEnvelope, Inc. will enter into a formal agreement similar to a general contractor’s contract. A standard * of every $1.00 for sales will be DCS’ margin for the automated system (i.e. conveyor, fabricated equipment, in-motion scales, controls, mechanical & electrical installation, engineering, etc.), and * of every $1.00 of sales will be DCS’ margin for non-automated system (i.e. rack, shelving, flow bays, etc.). DCS will provide RedEnvelope access to the project’s accounting files for review. Further, given the seasonality of RedEnvelope’s business, this contract will include DCS’s firm commitment to have the system fully operational by September 28th, 2007.
The following is included in the drawing section of the proposal:
MCL 1001 — Base Lower Level Layout with conveyor schedule
MCL 1002 — Base Upper Level Layout with conveyor schedule
MCL 1003 — Detail of New Lower Pick Area with conveyor schedule
MCL 1004 — Detail of New Upper Pick Area with conveyor schedule
MCL 1005 — Detail of New Personalization Area with conveyor schedule
MCL 1006 — Detail of New Packing Area with conveyor schedule
The equipment manufacturers represented in this proposal include:
* Confidential treatment has been requested for portions of this exhibit. The copy filed herewith omits the information subject to the confidentiality request. Omissions are designated as “*.” A complete version of this exhibit has been filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 4
1.2 Clarifications
5
6
2.0 SKU Analysis
2.1 Analysis Overview
For the SKU analysis performed for RedEnvelope, DCS used standard calculations to determine picking methods that best fit your SKU profile, and the quantities of each type. The analysis was based on December 2006’s data so the system would be designed to handle peak throughputs with room for growth. SKU’s were analyzed and categorized based on the following information:
SKU’s were then separated into nine (9) different groups based on the above criteria. From these group breakdowns, DCS then began to design the pick modules based on the requirements for the four (4) different types of picking methods, Pallet to Carton Flow, Pallet Flow, Carton Flow and Shelving.
This analysis was based on the following documents:
7
2.2 SKU Group Table 8
2.3 SKU Group Descriptions
Group 1
These are high volume, high pick count SKU’s that will require high levels of replenishment. They are sized small enough to fit into carton flow locations, but with the volume levels it makes sense to replenish them by the pallet.
Number of SKU’s: 72
Pick Method: Pallet to Carton Flow – To balance the replenishment work with picking speed and ergonomics, fork truck operators will drop off pallet loads of these SKU’s behind carton flow. Here, manual operators will cut open the master cartons and place them in the back of the carton flow. These SKU’s will fill multiple carton flow locations and will be placed at the optimum levels for picker ergonomics and speed.
Group 2
These are medium volume, high pick count SKU’s that will require medium levels of replenishment. They are sized small enough to fit into carton flow locations and can be replenished by the case.
Number of SKU’s: 396
Pick Method: Carton Flow – Replenishment for these SKU’s will require fork truck operators to pull multiple cases from the storage pallets and combine them with other case picks for picking replenishment. This pallet of case picks will be dropped of at the induction station and inducted onto the New Picking Sorter. The new picking sorter will divert the cases to the backside of the appropriate carton flow lane to be manually placed in the carton flow.
Group 3
These are high volume, low pick count SKU’s that will require medium/high levels of replenishment. They are too large in size for carton flow, and with the volume levels it makes sense to replenish them by the pallet.
Number of SKU’s: 23
Pick Method: Pallet Flow – To lessen the replenishment work, fork truck operators will drop off pallet loads of these SKU’s on the pallet flow lanes. Here, the pickers will cut open the master cartons. 9
Group 4
These are low volume, low/medium pick count SKU’s that will require low levels of replenishment. They are sized small enough to fit into carton flow locations.
Number of SKU’s: 174
Pick Method: Carton Flow – Normally these SKU’s would be placed in shelving, but with the low volumes and picks, it makes sense to put them with the Group 1 SKU’s in the least ergonomic positions in the carton flow. With the low replenishment required, these SKU’s will divert to the pickers, and will be carried around the back of the carton flow to be replenished.
Group 5
These are personalization SKU’s that have high volume, high pick count that will require high levels of replenishment. They are sized small enough to fit into carton flow locations, but with the volume levels it makes sense to replenish them by the pallet.
Number of SKU’s: 23
Pick Method: Pallet Flow – To lessen the replenishment work, fork truck operators will drop off pallet loads of these SKU’s on the pallet flow lanes. Here, the pickers will cut open the master cartons.
Group 6
These are personalization SKU’s that have medium volume, high pick count that will require medium levels of replenishment. They are sized small enough to fit into carton flow locations and can be replenished by the case.
Number of SKU’s: 140
Pick Method: Carton Flow – Replenishment for these SKU’s will require fork truck operators to pull multiple cases from the storage pallets and combine them with other case picks for picking replenishment. This pallet of case picks will be dropped of at the induction station and inducted onto the New Picking Sorter. The New Picking Sorter will divert the cases to the backside of the appropriate carton flow lane to be manually placed in the carton flow.
Group 7
These are personalization SKU’s that have low volume, low/medium pick count that will require low levels of replenishment. They are sized small enough to fit into carton flow location, but based on the low volume can save space in a shelving location. 10
Number of SKU’s: 125
Pick Method: Shelving – Replenishment for these SKU’s will require fork truck operators to pull 1 or 2 cases from the storage pallets and combine them with other case picks for picking replenishment. This pallet of case picks will be dropped of at the induction station and inducted onto the New Picking Sorter. The New Picking Sorter will divert the cases to the backside of the appropriate shelving lane to be manually placed in the shelving.
Group 8
These are jewelry SKU’s that have medium volume, high pick count that will require medium levels of replenishment. They are sized small enough to fit into carton flow locations and can be replenished by the case.
Number of SKU’s: 27
Pick Method: Carton Flow – Replenishment for these SKU’s will require fork truck operators to pull multiple cases from the storage pallets and combine them with other case picks for picking replenishment. This pallet of case picks will be dropped of at the induction station and inducted onto the New Picking Sorter. The new picking sorter will divert the cases to the backside of the appropriate carton flow lane to be manually placed in the carton flow.
Group 9
These are jewelry SKU’s that have low volume, low/medium pick count that will require low levels of replenishment. They are sized small enough to fit into carton flow location, but based on the low volume can save space in a shelving location.
Number of SKU’s: 358
Pick Method: Shelving – Replenishment for these SKU’s will require fork truck operators to pull 1 or 2 cases from the storage pallets and combine them with other case picks for picking replenishment. This pallet of case picks will be dropped of at the induction station and inducted onto the New Picking Sorter. The New Picking Sorter will divert the cases to the backside of the appropriate shelving lane to be manually placed in the shelving.
Note: This SKU analysis is based on the 1,338 SKU’s that we have data for in the month of December. DCS understands the RedEnvelope has approximately 1,800 SKU’s currently. These SKU’s are assumed to be low volume, or seasonal items that do not see high volume around the month of December. These low volume SKU’s can be placed in any of the open shelving locations without effecting the holiday throughput, and the seasonal SKU’s can be re-slotted prior to the respective busy season. 11
2.4 Pick Module Design
2.4.1 Existing Picking Area
 The Existing Picking Area will have all of the personalization SKU’s (Groups 5, 6 & 7) as well as the high volume SKU’s that are too large for carton flow (Group 3). (54) pallet flow locations will be on the right side of the pick aisle for fork truck access. (420) carton flow locations and (240) shelving locations will be located on the left side of the picking aisle with a replenishment line on the back side.
DCS will modify the existing picking areas to handle carton orders by performing the following operations:
12
2.4.2 New Lower Picking Area
 The New Lower Picking Area will have all of the high moving and high volume SKU’s that fit in carton flow (Group 1) and all the low/medium moving, low volume SKU’s that fit into carton flow (Group 4). (1,040) carton flow locations in the two (2) picking aisles, room for (104) pallet locations behind the carton flow. 13
2.4.3 New Upper Picking Area
 The New Upper Picking Area will have all of the high moving and medium volume SKU’s that fit in carton flow (Group 2) and all the jewelry SKU’s (Groups 8 & 9). (860) carton flow locations in the two (2) picking aisles, and (448) shelving locations in the jewelry area.
2.4.4 New System Storage Totals
14
3.0 Description of Operation
3.1 General Overview
This system is designed to facilitate the picking, personalization, packing and shipping of orders for RedEnvelope’s Order Fulfillment Center located in Lockbourne, Ohio. Orders will be started in one of two areas: the Existing Picking Area for orders requiring picks from that area, and the New Picking Area for all other orders. Orders will be routed through these two pick areas until all picks have been made. The system will also direct orders requiring personalization into the personalization area, and divert them to the various personalization areas for different operations.
Once all picks and personalization operations have been completed, orders will be sent to one of two places. Orders requiring gift boxes will be sent to the gift box line where an operator will insert the correct gift boxes. From here, these orders will be sent to the Packing Area to be placed into the gift boxes before shipping. From the Packing Area, orders will be conveyed to the Shipping Area to be check weighed and diverted down the appropriate shipping lane. Orders not requiring gift boxes will be sent directly to the Shipping Area for check weighing and diverted down the proper shipping lane.
3.2 Existing Picking Area
3.2.1 General Area Description
Layout
The Existing Picking Area will remain similar to the current layout. It will consist of one (1) picking aisle containing six (6) picking zones with three (3) bi-directional UBT’s delivering orders to the zones. Five of the zones will contain all the SKU’s that may require personalization, two (2) zones of pallet flow picking (Group 5), and three (3) zones of a carton flow/shelving picking (Groups 6 & 7). The sixth zone will contain SKU’s that do not require personalization, but are too large to go into the carton flow located in the New Picking Area (Group 3).
Picking
All orders that require picks from the Existing Picking Area will be started similar to today’s operations. Orders will be sent down from PKMS and shipping labels will be created. The operator will place the shipping labels on the shipping cartons in the orientation specified in Section 4.5 of this proposal. Once the label has been applied, the operator will place the carton on the conveyor with the barcode on the right side in the direction of travel where it will be routed automatically to the proper picking zones. Once in a zone, the operator will scan the shipping barcode with an RF gun which will alert the operator of the required picks, make the appropriate picks, scan the SKU barcodes to confirm those picks, and push the carton back onto the conveyor to be routed to the next picking zone.
Two types of orders will be started in the Existing Picking Area, orders that have picks requiring personalization, and orders that do not have any items that require personalization. 15
Orders that start in this area that do not require personalization may be personalization SKU’s that have been ordered without that feature, or orders requiring items for the Group 3 SKU’s.
An order that has at least one personalization item in it will route through the Existing Picking Area getting all picks from the five (5) personalization pick zones. All picks for a SKU will be made at this time regardless of how many need personalization. It will then be routed to the personalization area. Once all personalization operations have been completed, the order will come back into the Existing Picking Area for the remainder of the picks in that area if they are required. Once the balance of the picks have been completed, the order will be conveyed to the Packing Sorter for gift boxing, or the New Picking Area for additional Picks or to go to shipping.
An order that does not have any items requiring personalization will be routed though the Existing Picking Area to get all the required picks, and then conveyed to the Packing Sorter for gift boxing or the New Picking Area for additional Picks or to go to shipping.
Replenishment
The pallet flow positions will be replenished by a fork truck operator. The carton flow and shelving locations will be replenished by operators with mixed pallets. An option has been provided for the New Picking Sorter to deliver replenishment to the carton flow and shelving via an accumulation line behind the pick zone.
Storage
The Existing Picking Area will consist of (54) pallet flow positions for SKU Groups 3 & 5, (420) carton flow locations for SKU Group 6, and (240) shelving locations for SKU Group 7.
Trash Line
An option has been provided to install a trash line running the entire length of the Existing Picking Aisles to dump corrugate into a hopper/bailer at the infeed end.
3.2.2 Conveyor Operation
Layout
The Existing Picking Area will consist of one (1) picking aisle containing six (6) picking zones with three (3) bi-directional UBT’s delivering orders to the zones. The pick zones are serviced by three (3) main delivery and take away lines, EP-102, EP-107 & EP-112 that deliver cartons to the three (3) bi-directional UBT diverts, EP-103, EP-108 & EP-113. Each UBT divert is equipped with a carton gapping function and a barcode scanner. The conveyor will gap the cartons, scan the barcode, and determine if the carton needs to divert left, right, or be sent straight to the next UBT divert for the proper picks. If an order has items that require personalization, its first pass through the Existing Picking Area it will get all picks for each SKU that requires some personalization. Once all the personalization operations have been performed, the order will come back from Personalization Area to the Existing Picking Area for the remainder of the picks, via the Personalization take-away line VAS-110, if required. 16
Picking
Operators will start orders requiring picks from this area at EP-106A and place them on delivery conveyor EP-102. The operator will place the shipping barcode on the shipping carton in the location specified in section 4.5 of this proposal, and place the carton on the main delivery line EP-102 with the barcode on the right side in the direction of travel. Cartons will then be accumulated and conveyed to bi-directional UBT EP-103. At EP-103, the cartons will be gapped and have the shipping barcode scanned. DCS will determine if this order needs a pick from the two (2) pick zones that EP-103 delivers to. If so, the order will be diverted into that zone and conveyed onto gravity conveyor EP-106A or EP-106B. Once the operator has made and confirmed the appropriate picks for an order, he/she will place that carton back onto EP-102 in the proper orientation where it will be scanned again at EP-103
If this order needs picks from the pick zone on the opposite side from its first divert through EP-103, it will divert into that zone to get those picks as well. If the order does not need additional picks from these two pick zones, it will convey past UBT EP-103 and accumulate and convey to the next UBT EP-108. All three picking diverts will operate in similar fashion.
Once all the picks have been made for an order from the Existing Picking Area, the order has two options. If the order requires a gift box, it will be diverted by UBT EP-113 into that picking zone, but rather then move into the pick zone, it will be conveyed away from the Existing Picking Area by receiving UBT EP-114B similar to how hospital totes are diverted now. From here orders will accumulate on EP-120 and be merged onto the Packing Sorter recirculation line PS-110.
Cartons from EP-120 will continue to merge onto the recirculation line PS-110 until a photo eye detects cartons recirculating from the Packing Sorter. At this point, the cartons from the Existing Picking Area on EP-120 will stop merging and wait for the recirculation line to clear before releasing again.
If the order does not require a gift box, requires additional picks from the New Picking Area, or needs to go directly to shipping, it will convey past UBT EP-113 onto NP-101 and up to the New Picking Area.
3.3 New Picking Area
3.3.1 General Area Description
Layout
The New Picking Area will consist of four (4) picking aisles containing four (4) picking zones, each with one (1) 4-directional ERS divert delivering orders to the zones in each aisle. There will be two (2) picking aisles in the Lower Picking Area, and two (2) picking aisles in the Upper Picking Area. 17
The Lower Picking Area will consist of eight (8) pick zones that contain all carton flow. The SKU’s in this area are larger, fast moving items that require the majority of replenishments of all the SKU’s in the building (Group 1). Each SKU will hold multiple carton flow slots, and have a minimum of one pallet of that SKU behind the carton flow. Mixed in the carton flow with these high volume SKU’s will be the SKU’s from Group 4. These are slow moving SKU’s that will be placed in the least ergonomic slots of the carton flow due to their lack of volume.
The Upper Picking Area will consist of eight (8) pick zones, two (2) of these zones will contain all of the jewelry items (Groups 8 & 9) and will utilize carton flow and shelving. The remaining six pick aisles will contain the SKU’s from Group 2, these are fast moving, smaller SKU’s that will get a high number of picks, but not as much replenishment volume as Group 1. These pick zones will consist of carton flow.
Picking
All orders started in the New Picking Area will be started similar to how the Existing Picking Area operates. Orders will be sent down from PKMS and shipping labels will be created. The operator will place the shipping labels on the shipping cartons in the orientation specified in Section 4.5 of this proposal. Once the label has been applied, the operator will place the carton on the induction conveyor with the barcode on the right side in the direction of travel, where it will be routed automatically to the proper picking zones. Once in a zone, the operator will: scan the shipping barcode with an RF gun which will alert the operator of the required picks, make the appropriate picks, scan the SKU barcode to confirm those picks, and push the carton back onto the conveyor in the proper orientation to be routed to the next picking zone.
When an order is inducted onto the induction conveyor, it will be merged with in-process orders and inducted into the New Picking Sorter. This sorter will route the orders to the appropriate picking aisles using Dynamic Picking routing. Dynamic Picking will allow an order to bypass a picking aisle that it requires a pick from that is full and go to the next available aisle it requires a pick from. The only exception to this is to orders that require a jewelry item. Jewelry items will always be the last items picked on an order so that these high priced items pass through as few hands as possible.
Once all of the picks have been made, the order has three (3) options. If the order contains jewelry items only, it will be sent to the packing sorter and diverted to the Jewelry Packing Area. An order that requires a gift box, or contains jewelry items as well as non-jewelry items will be sent to the Packing Sorter and diverted to the gift box line. Orders that do not require gift boxes and do not have jewelry will be sent directly to shipping.
Storage
The Lower Picking Area will consist of (1,040) carton flow locations which will hold the SKU’s from Group 1 & Group 4. The Upper Picking Area will consist of (860) carton flow locations for SKU Groups 2 & 8, and (448) shelving locations for SKU Group 9. 18
Replenishment
The SKU’s from Group 1 in the Lower Picking Area will be replenished by fork truck operators dropping full pallets of SKU’s and operators with pallet jacks locating those pallets behind the carton flow. Operators replenishing the carton flow racks will pull cartons from these pallets, cut the tops off, and place them in the carton flow. The SKU’s from Group 4 in the Lower Picking Area will be replenished by sending replenishment cartons down the pick aisle and diverting them into the appropriate pick zone. Replenishment operators will grab these cartons and place them in the carton flow. The SKU’s from Groups 2, 8 & 9 in the Upper Picking Area will be replenished by sending replenishment cartons down the conveyor on the backside of the carton flow and shelving. Replenishment operators will replenish the picking locations from these lines.
Trash Line
The base system has a trash line at the end of each picking aisle, two (2) conveyors total, and one (1) on both the upper and lower level. Operators will walk corrugate to the end of the pick module and throw it over the guard rail on the conveyor. Both trash conveyors will dump corrugate into an automatic bailer. An option has been provided to deliver corrugate to the location of the existing bailer.
3.3.2 Conveyor Operation: Drawing MCL 1003 & 1004
Layout
The New Picking Area will consist of four (4) picking aisles containing four (4) picking zones each with one (1) 4-directional ERS divert delivering orders to the zones in each aisle. There will be two (2) picking aisles in the Lower Picking Area, and two (2) picking aisles in the Upper Picking Area. Each picking aisle will operate the same way. The Upper Picking Area will have replenishment lines that run behind the carton flow.
Picking
Orders will come to the New Picking Area from two (2) lines. Orders started in this area will be inducted on NP-220, elevated to 16’-6” by incline NP-221, and merged into the take away line for the Upper Picking Area NP-205. Orders not started in this area will come from the Existing Picking Area on NP-101 and will be merged into the take away line for the Lower Picking Area NP-104.
New orders for this area merged with orders from the Upper Picking Aisles will be declined by NP-206 & NP-207 to 8’-6” top of roller. These orders will then begin to accumulate on accumulation conveyor NP-208 prior to merging with orders from the Lower Picking Area at merge NP-109. Orders will be slugged onto this merge by belt conveyor NP-209.
Orders from the Existing Picking Area merging with orders from the Lower Picking Area will be inclined by NP-106 to 8’-6” top of roller. These orders will then begin to accumulate on conveyor NP-107 prior to merging with orders from the Upper Picking Area at merge NP-109. Orders will be slugged onto this merge by belt conveyor NP-108. 19
Once cartons are merged at NP-109, they will be accumulated and conveyed to NP-110 & NP-111 the gapping, scanning and induction belts prior to the New Picking Sorter. The two (2) induction belts, NP-110 & NP-111 have speed ratios that allow the induction to be a blow through induction, meaning that the induction belts do not have to stop and start, or change speeds to create the appropriate gap. The ratio of the speeds of the belts to each other creates the required gap between the cartons for the sorter. This provides a smoother induction and reduces the chance of cartons turning or tipping.
Once cartons are on belt conveyor NP-111, they will be scanned and conveyed onto belt curve NP-112, and inducted onto the New Picking Sorter NP-114. The New Picking Sorter will be an Ermanco NBS Wave Sorter with nine (9) diverts. Four (4) diverts go into the picking aisles, three (3) diverts go into the Upper Picking Area replenishment lines, one (1) divert goes to the Shipping Area, and one (1) divert goes to the Packing Sorter. Any carton that cannot divert due to a lane full or is a failed divert (didn’t make it off the sorter) will convey to the end of the sorter and onto incline NP-202 where it will be elevated to 16’-6”, and be merged back in with the Upper Picking Area orders to be re-inducted into the New Picking Sorter.
Orders that are diverted into one of the Picking Aisles will be inclined/declined to a 30” elevation from the floor or the top of the mezz. Once at the right elevation, orders will accumulate prior to the 4-directional ERS diverts, NP-133, NP-143, NP-243 & NP-263. Prior to each ERS divert, the carton will be gapped and scanned. If the carton requires a pick from either or both of the two pick zones closest to the New Picking Sorter, it will be diverted into those picking zones, first assuming they are open. The ERS diverts are equipped with reversing rollers on the receiving UBT’s that allow the carton to divert left or right once on either side of the ERS.
Once all picks have been made from a zone, the operator will push it back onto the take-away line, NP-132, NP-142, NP-242 & NP-262, were it will be re-scanned and diverted to the next zone in that aisle if required, or conveyed past the ERS to be sent back to the New Picking Sorter. Once an order has been sent to a pick zone that is downstream from the ERS divert, if it requires additional picks from that aisle, it will have to be conveyed back through the New Picking Sorter to be re-inducted into that picking aisle again to get those picks. This is why all upstream zones will be hit first by an order.
Once all picks have been made in a picking aisle for an order, it will be accumulated prior to merging onto Upper and Lower Picking takeaway conveyors NP-104 & NP-205. The cartons from the pick module will be slugged out into the gaps on the line. Photo eyes on the take away lines will keep track of where cartons are and allow slugs to be released in sequence to achieve high throughput.
Orders that are complete and need to go directly to shipping will be sent to Divert 8, declined down the 1’-7” top of roller by NP-151, and accumulated on NP-152 prior to being inducted onto the existing take-away line for the alternate packing area S-120. 20
Orders that are complete and require a gift box, or have a jewelry item will be sent to Divert 9 and accumulated on NP-282, declined on existing decline NP-283, and accumulated on existing conveyor NP-284. From here orders will merge onto the Packing Sorter and being sent to the gift box lane.
Replenishment
All Replenishment cartons for SKU Groups 2, 4, 8 & 9 will be placed on the induction conveyor NP-220, or onto NP-101, the take away line for existing picking. SKU Group 4 replenishment cartons will be inducted onto the New Picking Sorter and diverted to the lower picking aisle where their pick face is located. Here they will divert into the proper picking zone and await a replenishment operator to place them in the back on the carton flow.
SKU Groups 2, 8 & 9 replenishment cartons will be diverted to the correct replenishment line, NP-232, NP-252 & NP-272, located behind the carton flow and shelving on the upper level.
3.4 Personalization Area
3.4.1 General Area Description
The Personalization Area will receive orders from the Packing Sorter, divert the order to the appropriate personalization zones, and then deliver the completed orders to the Existing Picking Area, or to the New Picking Area. It will consist of four (4) zones, one (1) zone each for Embroidery, Debossing, Engraving and a “hospital” area for orders that need additional processing or mistakes checked.
3.4.2 Conveyor Operation: Drawing MCL 1005
The Personalization Area will receive orders from divert 1 on the Packing Sorter and elevate them to 9’-0” top of roller and accumulate them via VAS-101 & VAS-102 respectively. Orders will then be declined by VAS-103, and accumulated prior to ERS divert VAS-105 on VAS-104. Orders will be gapped and scanned, and if the order needs to go to one of the first two personalization zones, it will divert left or right into that zone. Inside each of the personalization zones, items will be scanned, unpacked, personalized, checked and repacked. The checking operator will then push the carton back onto VAS-104 with the bar code on the right side in the direction of travel and it will be scanned again and diverted to the opposite side if required, or it will convey past VAS-105 onto VAS-106. Orders will then accumulate, be gapped and get scanned prior to ERS divert VAS-107, and divert left or right if required, or continue straight into the Existing Packing Area.
Orders coming from the Personalization Area will be accumulated on VAS-110, and gapped and scanned on VAS-111. If the order needs to get additional picks from the Existing Picking Area, or needs gift boxes, it will convey past Bi-Directional divert VAS-111A, other wise the order will be diverted by VAS-111A and onto the exiting early out line VAS-112. Orders that are diverted here will elevate to 10’-9” top of roller by incline VAS-113, 21
conveyed and accumulated by VAS-114, 115 & 116 and declined to 30” top of roller by decline VAS-117. Here, orders will accumulate on VAS-118 and merge onto NP-101 to get additional picks or to be sent to shipping.
3.5 Jewelry Packing
3.5.1 General Area Description
The Jewelry Packing Area will receive all orders that have jewelry only items. These orders will be placed in totes in the New Picking Area and delivered to the Packing Sorter where they will be sent to Divert 3. They will be elevated to 9’-0” top of roller and then back down to 5’-3” top of roller by PS-202 & 204. They will then travel down galvanized chute PS-206 onto accumulation conveyors PS-207, PS-208 & PS-209. Here operators will grab the totes and pack out the order into a carton or flat pack. Once the order is complete, the operator will turn and place it on take-away conveyors J-101 & J-102 where they will be conveyed towards the New Picking Area. Orders will be delivered to incline J-103 where they will be elevated to 6’-3” top of roller, scanned to verify the order similar to existing and dropped into a hamper similar to existing operations.
3.6 Packing Sorter
3.6.1 General Area Description: Drawing MCL 1006
The Packing Sorter will remain similar to the existing layout. It will receive orders from the Existing Picking Area via EP-120, and the New Picking Area via NP-284. It will have four (4) diverts, one (1) divert each going to the Personalization Area, the Gift Box Line, the Jewelry Packing Area and the Gift Wrap Line.
The throughput requirements for this sorter will be greatly reduced by going to pick to carton. It will no longer have to handle 100 % of the orders going to shipping because 60% — 70% will now bypass the packing area.
3.7 Packing Area
3.7.1 General Area Description
The Packing Area will receive all orders that require a gift box, or have jewelry items and non-jewelry items. These orders will be sent to Divert 2 on the Packing Sorter and accumulate on gravity conveyor PS-120 & 121. Once the operator has placed the gift boxes into the carton, they will push it onto take away-line P-101. Orders will be conveyed by P-101 and P-102 into the Packing Area and accumulate on P-103, 104 & 105 at 30” top of roller. Operators will pull orders from these lines, perform the packing operations, and place them on take away lines P-106 and P-108. These lines will deliver the packed orders to the Shipping Area via P-109. 22
3.8 Shipping Area
3.8.1 General Area Description
The shipping area will receive orders from the New Picking Area and the Packing Area. These orders will be merged together, accumulated and gapped. They will then be inducted onto an In-motion scale for check weighing and bar code scanning. Orders will divert to the appropriate shipping lane for palletization or to the hospital lane if there is an issue.
3.8.2 Conveyor Operation
The shipping area will receive orders from the New Picking Area via NP-153 onto S-120, and the Packing Area via P-109 onto S-112. Orders from the New Picking Area will be accumulated on S-121 and merged with orders from the Packing Area at S-101. Belt conveyor S-122 will slug the orders into the merge and elevate them from 1’-7” to 3’-4” top of roller.
Orders from the Packing area will be elevated to 9’-0” top of roller by S-112, accumulated on S-113 and merged with recirculated cartons at S-115. The orders will then accumulate and merge with orders from the New Picking Area at S-101. Belt decline S-116 will decline these orders to 3’-4” top of roller and slug them into the merge.
After merging, orders will accumulate on S-102 prior to being gapped on belt conveyor S-103. Once gapped, orders will be inducted onto In-Motion Scale S-105 by S-104 where they will be weighed and scanned. Orders will then be diverted down the appropriate shipping lane or to the hospital lane if there is an issue.
Orders that are destined for a full lane or mis-divert will be sent through the recirculation line and merged back in with order coming from the packing area. 23
3.9 Order Routing
Below is the order in which DCS will process the divert locations we receive from WM for all orders:
24
4.0 Specifications and Engineering Calculations
4.1 Loads to be Handled
This system is designed to convey both cartons and totes (totes are used for Jewelry only orders and are not required to convey through the entire system). The cartons represent a wide range of sizes with a large variation in the three different dimensions.
This system was designed on the following principle: To be properly and consistently conveyed, a carton should be longer than it is wide. If a carton is “square” or the length and width dimensions are close to the same, the orientation of the carton will be difficult to maintain. With respect to the design of the system, the longest box dimension will be considered the length. The next biggest dimension will be the width and the smallest the height.
4.1.1 Load Sizes
Below is a table listing out specifications given to us for this proposal.
25
4.2 Throughput Calculations
Overall Throughput
Max throughput requirement: 35,000 orders per day
CPM requirement for System: 35,000 orders ÷ 16 hours/day (2 shifts) = 2,187.5 CPH
2,187.5 CPH ÷ 60 minutes/hour = 36.5 CPM
Therefore, design for 37 CPM
New Picking Sorter
New Picking Sorter throughput requirement: 88% of all orders will go through the New Picking Sorter
CPM requirements: 37 CPM × 0.88 = 32.5 CPM
Therefore, design for 35 CPM
Number of times those 35 CPM go through induction:
35 CPM × (1 (induction) + 1 (exit) + 0.35 (multiple pick aisles) + 0.15 (replenishment))
35 CPM × 2.5 times through induction = 87.5 CPM
Therefore, design for 100 CPM
New Picking Aisle
New Picking Aisle throughput requirement: 88% of all orders will go through the New Picking Aisles
Max CPM requirements (Jewelry Aisle): 9 CPM Avg + 10% spike = 10 CPM
Therefore, design for 10 CPM
Number of times those 10 CPM go through induction:
10 CPM × (1 (induction) + 0.2 (multiple pick zones) + 0.5 (re-induction)) = 17 CPM
Therefore, design for 18 CPM 26
Existing Picking Area
Existing Picking Area throughput requirement: 24% of all orders will go through the Existing Picking Area
Order CPM requirements: 37 CPM × 0.24 = 9 CPM
Number of times those 9 CPM go through induction:
9 CPM × (1 (induction) + 0.3 (re-induction)) = 11.7 CPM
Personalization CPM requirements: 2.2 CPM going through the Existing Picking Area again
Total: 11.7 CPM + 2.8 CPM = 14.5 CPM
Current System handles 15 CPM
Existing Shipping Sorter
Existing Shipping Sorter throughput requirement: 95% of all orders will go through the Existing Shipping Sorter
CPM requirements: 37 CPM × 0.95 = 35 CPM
Therefore, design for 35 CPM
Number of times those 35 CPM go through induction:
35 CPM × (1 (induction) + 0.1 (recirculation)) = 38.5 CPM
Current System handles 30 CPM 27
4.3 New Picking Sorter Throughput Design
Design for 100 CPM
 28
4.4 New Picking Aisle Throughput Design
Design for 18 CPM
 29
4.5 Barcode Specifications
This system is designed to read a barcode label placed in the ladder orientation on the right side of the carton / tote. The barcode label is to be located toward the front, bottom corner of the carton / tote as shown. A specific location will be determined in collaboration with RedEnvelope.
The barcode specifications used for this proposal are as follows:
4.5.1 Shipping Carton
4.5.2 Order Tote
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
