The foodservice distribution industry is crowded and competitive. That’s why companies are always looking for ways to improve efficiency and drive down costs. Cheney Brothers, Inc., with locations in Orlando, Ocala and Riviera Beach, Florida, was able to do both simply by finding a better way to control its RF equipment.
IT Operations Manager Robert Falcioni was concerned about a lack of accountability for scanners and the situation at the 525,000-squarefoot Ocala facility was typical. “People used a different scanner every day, so they were careless with them. It caused a lot of damage, a lot of repairs, and a lot of finger-pointing,” he said.
According to Ignacio Estupinan, Operation Systems Coordinator, scanners were often lost – even accidentally thrown out with the trash. This meant managers frequently had to drop what they were doing to search throughout the DC. “It might take three days to track them down, so we had to have extra scanners just to keep people working,” said Estupinan.
Falcioni decided it was time for a fresh start. First, he bought 100 voice-enabled scanners and headsets, enough to assign one per operator. He also purchased 25 two-way radios. It was a significant investment, and he set out to protect it.
A Familiar Process Bottleneck
Previously, Cheney Brothers had managed its RF devices out of a locked equipment room. An RF technician arrived a half-hour before each shift to organize all the devices and verify their IDs.
Then came the daily “lineup.” Each operator waited at least five minutes to check-out their equipment and sign the daily log. At the end of each shift, they all lined up again for check-in. This lineup repeated three times a day, with 150 employees. That process consumed roughly 15 RF tech hours and more than 125 operator hours each week.
Falcioni began researching locker solutions that could organize, store and track the company’s IT assets. He soon narrowed it down to the Apex Axcess 6018 18-door automated locker system, which enables the company to manage each scanner or radio in a specific compartment that’s assigned to a specific operator.
Falcioni began researching locker solutions that could organize, store and track the company’s IT assets. He soon narrowed it down to the Apex Axcess 6018 18-door automated locker system, which enables the company to manage each scanner or radio in a specific compartment that’s assigned to a specific operator.
New Levels of Accountability, Productivity, and Insights
Falcioni quickly set out to streamline the old scanner check-out/check-in process. He created a new RF room and installed the Axcess lockers in two rows. Employees enter through a door at one end of the room and go to their assigned locker. They simply enter their credentials and pick up or return their device. Then they exit out a door on the opposite end. The process takes less than a minute per employee.
Data from every check-out and check-in is recorded in Trajectory Cloud, so it’s easy to see what time a device was checked out, who has it, and when it’s due back. The scanners and radios are docked in their chargers so they’re always charged for the next shift. And Trajectory Cloud sends an alert if a device isn’t returned on time.
More Productive Employees and Fewer Repairs
Cheney Brothers not only got a much better scanner management system, it’s also seen big improvements in productivity and efficiency.
Estupinan appreciates that the new solution frees the RF technicians to focus on more valuable IT work. “Now they can come in and immediately get started on IT reports. We’re not bringing them in early every day just to manage scanners,” said Estupinan. And the time savings for the entire distribution center are even more impressive. By saving 10 minutes a day for 150 people on three shifts, the company gains the productivity equivalent of three full-time operators.
Not surprisingly, the cost of scanner repairs has dropped drastically. In fact, in the first nine months after Cheney introduced its Axcess automated lockers, not a single scanner had to be sent out for repair. With this newfound control, Cheney Brothers expects that annual costs for replacing lost or missing scanners will be $0.
Cheney Brothers continues to expand its operations and is building a new distribution center in Punta Gorda, Florida. Based on the success at Ocala, the company will be incorporating a similar solution at the new center, building an IT device management room to accommodate a set of Axcess automated lockers.
