A technology company wanted to streamline operations at its North American warehouse, and initiated systems and processes to support its overall business transformation. After identifying opportunities at the warehouse to enhance operations, the firm deployed a real-time locating system (RTLS) to inform associates picking items of the proper staging area, thereby allowing for greater flexibility in staging, as well as a reduction in labor costs. The solution saves time that employees previously spent locating the proper place for loads of picked goods (approximately three minutes per load), while also reducing the amount of space required to stage each load by about 40 percent. Without an RTLS solution, the company reports, the process of locating a shipment in the staging area could take the staff from one to eight minutes—approximately three minutes, on average. Since the warehouse averages 1,000 drops daily, that time adds up quickly, though the RTLS cuts about a minute off each drop time.
