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Banta Packaging & Fulfillment Inc.
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SIC: 2752
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Systems Integrator: Fortna Inc. (Reading,
PA)
Fast Ramp
Up Means Instant ProductivityFrom
design to final testing, Banta's new computer-controlled
conveyor system was up and running in just 16 weeks.
 Banta
Packaging & Fulfillment needed to get its new distribution
center up and running fast. The company had just signed an
agreement to run a dedicated distribution center for IDG Books
Worldwide. IDGB publishes the popular "Dummies" line
of books (PCs for Dummies, The Internet for Dummies, and many
more) as well as the Betty Crocker series of cookbooks, Cliff
Notes, Frommers Travel, Weight Watchers, and Howell series
among other publications.
IDGB had been shipping out of four different warehouses
across the U.S., but wanted to consolidate operations in one
streamlined facility. The publisher also wanted a facility
close to where a large portion of its books were printed �
at the Banta Book Group printing facility in Harrisonburg,
Virginia. In addition to boosting productivity, a new facility
located in Harrisonburg would greatly reduce freight
transportation costs for IDGB.
IDGB asked Banta Packaging & Fulfillment to develop the
new distribution center. The agreement was signed in February
of 1999. The entire project needed to be completed by
mid-September of that year. A site was selected adjacent to
the printing plant and the work began.
Banta met that strict timetable thanks to a collaborative
effort on the part of many people. And nowhere was that
collaborative spirit any more evident than in the conveyor
equipment and related systems built into the new facility.
 Banta
worked closely with IDG Books to identify their current and
future business needs. And Banta, in turn, worked hand-in-hand
with systems integrator Fortna Inc. to assure that those needs
were met. Fortna, headquartered in Reading, Pennsylvania, is a
distributor of Hytrol conveyor equipment.
"During the course of this project we developed an
excellent working relationship with both Fortna and Hytrol,"
says Dwayne Black, director of operations for Banta.
"That was a key factor in our completing the work within
such a tight time frame."
How tight? Complete installation of the conveyor system �including
design, engineering, computer controls, equipment set-up and
testing � was accomplished in a 16-week period. The
Harrisonburg facility began shipping product in October of
1999.
Seamless Integration
The modern distribution
center incorporates a wide range of Hytrol conveyor equipment
� all seamlessly integrated to maximize throughput and
flexibility. The equipment includes belt conveyors, live
rollers, and accumulating units with Hytrol's exclusive EZ
Logic feature. Both skatewheel and roller gravity units are
used extensively throughout. Sorters are strategically
engineered into the system. And a series of overhead trash
takeaway conveyors helps keep the 262,000 square-foot facility
neat and clean.  Books
arriving from the manufacturing plant go directly into bulk
storage racks or to a bulk-staging area of gravity pallet-flow
conveyors for fast-moving items. The facility has two
principal induction lines �one for full-case picks (which
make up the majority of orders), the other for broken-case
quantities.
Full-case quantities are picked directly onto a live roller
conveyor, which connects to a belt incline, and then to an
accumulating conveyor with EZ Logic. The EZ Logic feature
effectively controls the movement of cases from zone to zone.
The cases pass through a "3-to-1" merge before being
moved via a series of belt and curve conveyors to the ProSort
sortation unit. Designed for high-speed sorting of products,
the ProSort diverts the cases down one of the six shipping
lanes dedicated to pallet shipments.
The remaining shipping lanes are reserved for the
broken-case quantities, or less-than-case picks. In that
section of the DC where these orders are picked, a belt-driven
high-speed sortation conveyor (Model SC) moves totes off the
main conveyor line and into the appropriate pick zone.
Computer controls automatically route the totes to each
picking zone until the order is completed. The finished orders
are diverted to a packing station where they are checked and
labeled for shipping.
The packed orders are conveyed up to a 3-to-1 merge and
then onto the main sortation loop. As it does with the
full-case picks, the ProSorter automatically diverts the
less-than-case orders to the appropriate parcel-shipping lane,
which are located at the end of the building. The sorter is
presently set to handle 75 cartons a minute; it has the
capacity to handle 120.
A computerized control system developed by Fortna called
FortnaPlus controls the flow of orders through the facility,
effectively interacting with Logistics PRO (the warehouse
management system purchased and installed by Intrepa).
Therefore, orders can be batch picked for maximum efficiency
in a "one-pass" type of operation. The computers
communicate with the EZ Logic conveyor controls and the
sortation units to assure that the batch picks for each order
end up on the right shipping lane. "This approach
maximizes the efficiency of both the picking and the sorting
operations," says Operations Manager Joe Fair.
Capacity for
Expansion The
Harrisonburg center now is handling more than 150,000 books a
day on average � a level that has exceeded expectations.
"In the first year of operation, we have already more
than doubled what Banta thought this facility would do,"
says Dwayne Black.
As business continues to grow, the distribution center is
well positioned to grow with it. The facility was designed to
readily accommodate additional storage areas and shipping
lanes. And the sorters have the capacity to handle a
significant increase in order volume.
A quick start-up, seamless integration of equipment and
systems, capacity for expansion ...these qualities of the
Harrisonburg distribution center are keeping Banta Packaging
& Fulfillment on a steady growth path.
The
Banta Distribution Center
The order-fulfillment process begins in the two main
picking areas � full case and broken case (less-than-case
quantities). Full-case orders are moved through a 3-to-1 merge
and onto the main sortation loop. ProSort sortation conveyor
diverts the cases down the pallet shipping lanes.
Less-than-case orders pass through a packing station enroute
to the main sortation area. These orders are diverted down the
parcel shipping lanes. The facility handles, on average,
between 150,000 and 160,000 books a day.
Snapshot of the Operation
Company: Banta Packaging & Fulfillment
Facility: National Distribution Center
Location: Harrisonburg, VA
Size: 262,000 square feet
Employees: 100 (Approx.)
Key Personnel: Dwayne Black, director of
operations; Joe Fair, operations manager
Product handled: Books
Throughput: 150,000-160,000 books per
day, on average
Types of conveyors: Belt, live
rollers, accumulating (EZ Logic), gravity (skatewheel and roller), trash
takeaway, sorters (ProSort and SC)
Controls: FortnaPlus
Warehouse Management System: Logistics
PRO
Conveyor supplier: Hytrol Conveyor Inc., Jonesboro, AR
Systems Integrator: Fortna Inc., Reading, PA
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