Walgreens Improves Distribution Center Operations

11/28/2007

Walgreens is installing Kiva's Mobile Fulfillment System from Kiva Systems to expand split-case picking in its Mt. Vernon, Illinois Distribution Center. The retailer is using Kiva's ItemFetch split-case picking system together with the OrderFetch shipping sorter. The ItemFetch system uses mobile robots to bring inventory to Walgreens distribution team members to be picked in the specific sequence required for efficient restocking of store shelves, thus reducing in-store labor. The team member picks the items into totes on OrderFetch pods that are then moved by mobile robots to the right shipping location at the right time. The combination of these two Kiva products is expected to provide high-speed picking with unlimited sortation and eliminate the need for complex conveyors and a fixed shipping sorter. The system will ship its first order totes in mid-November, six weeks after installation began.