How precision-engineered bins and production schedules helped Rogers Sporting Goods Scale fulfilment with AutoStore automation.
Rogers Sporting Goods is a family-owned operation specializing in waterfowl, hunting, shooting, and outdoor gear. Rapid growth and SKU expansion were pushing the limits of their Kansas City distribution center. They needed to update their omnichannel sporting goods warehousing and distribution model from the ground up to meet rising e-commerce demand. That meant accelerating order fulfillment turnaround times and increasing storage density.
There was just one catch: they had to scale without expanding their building footprint.
The Challenge: Hitting the Automation Bullseye
To support continued growth, Rogers Sporting Goods implemented a goods-to-person warehouse automation approach to increase storage density and reduce the labor required to retrieve inventory efficiently. Built around the AutoStore cube system and integrated by KPI Solutions, their solution consisted of 35 robots, five work ports, and 52,000 storage bins.
In highly automated warehouse environments like this one, every single bin is integral to the precision-driven system’s performance. Even the smallest deviations can cause bins to be rejected during validation and intake. In order to work seamlessly and continuously with the AutoStore robots, bin durability and dimensional tolerance were critical.
The Solution: On-Target Infrastructure in Every Bin
When it came to supplying the 52,000 AutoStore bins for this new system, KPI Solutions turned to Monoflo International. Over the years, Monoflo has worked extensively with KPI on a wide range of system implementations. Our proven track record as a best-in-class AutoStore bin manufacturer offered assurance that we could handle the job. But it wasn’t just the fact that we’ve achieved AutoStore recognition for industry-leading bin reject rates that made us the perfect fit for this project. Our reputation for outstanding service and flexibility also played a role.
Since Rogers Sporting Goods was implementing an automated warehouse system in an existing facility, limited space presented a logistical challenge. Big automation projects like this one require tens of thousands of bins, but brownfield sites rarely have the extra room on hand to stage all of those containers at once. Working closely with the team at KPI Solutions, we built our entire manufacturing approach around a phased delivery that aligned with their installation.
By carefully coordinating our production and shipment schedules, we precisely timed each delivery to streamline system induction. This approach allowed Rogers Sporting Goods to install and populate the AutoStore grid without disrupting their ongoing operations.
Added Value: Improving Environmental Impact with Packaging and Logistics
In order to further streamline delivery and reduce waste, we used the Monoflo Returnable Packaging System (RPS).
All Bins were shipped on reusable plastic pallets that were collected and returned after delivery, at no charge to the customer or the integrator. Plus, Monoflo’s unique pallet design enables us to pack approximately 140 bins more than the competition into every truckload, further reducing transportation costs and environmental impact.
Results: Sporting Goods Fulfillment Success
Automation systems and integrators often take center stage in today’s warehouse transformation stories. But, at the end of the day, these systems are built around the bins they move.
With their new system in place and packed with precision-engineered bins from Monoflo, Rogers Sporting Goods achieved 24-hour ecommerce order turnaround and raised their retail replenishment rate by 50%, while improving inventory accuracy and labor productivity across the board.
