equipment challenges for exporters, as they struggle to find empty refrigerated equipment containers. One step toward this goal is the Port’s partnership with Lineage, a temperature-controlled warehousing and integrated transportation solutions provider. Lineage offers its iHouse— or within the warehouse—inspection capabilities for imported goods at one of its Port NOLA facilities. Food products that require inspection before entering the U.S. market won’t have to be transported to another site for inspection and certification. “Onsite inspection services help get these products to market quickly and efficiently while meeting all regulatory requirements,” notes Christopher Britton, vice president, regional sales, with Lineage. Lineage also offers blast-freezing capabilities, so shippers don’t need to invest in their own blast-freezing operation. Having this capability within a warehouse also speeds time to market. GROCERIES ON THE FLY: CUTTING WAIT TIMES IN HALF The drive-through pick-up option offered E. Leclerc Seclin, a supermarket in France, has grown in popularity, says Maxence Maurice, the company’s CEO.
restrictions. If a popular product is required to comply with hazmat restrictions, the solution searches for the optimal location within hazmat- approved areas. Slot DC is automated and doesn’t require a heavy investment in new equipment, Vadlamani says. Kenco deployed Slot DC with a puzzle company that lacked both a consistent forward picking area and a consistent method for identifying which SKUs to assign to forward picking. Slot DC identified the changes needed and saved the company nearly $300,000 annually by optimizing its forward picking areas, Vadlamani says. PORT NOLA: FAST FREEZE, FRESH GAINS Cold storage has long played an important role in warehousing operations at the Port of New Orleans, says Janine Moreau Mansour, director of trade development. It’s critical to the frozen poultry export market, which is the port’s second-largest containerized export. In contrast to many U.S. ports that are working to grow their volume of exports, Port NOLA has targeted maintaining its current export business, while growing its fresh and frozen imports, Moreau Mansour says. The current 90/10 ratio of exports to imports can create
Customers place their orders online and pick them up a few hours later. As more customers used the service, wait times grew, Maurice says. Because the company lacked the capacity to handle the growing number of orders, management had to place a daily limit on them. In addition, employees traveled long distances to collect and deliver orders, which impacted their productivity and well-being. “We needed a logistics solution that could handle and alleviate these various challenges,” Maurice says. The solution? The Next Generation Skypod robots from Exotec, a provider of warehouse robotics. Skypods can handle up to 66 pounds within one tote, says Exotec spokesperson Anna Von Schmeling. The totes can transport nearly any type of container between racks and workstations, helping to improve workflows and efficiency. At E. Leclerc Seclin, the Skypods transport bins filled with items ordered by customers to sorting tables; the items are then moved to bins that correspond to each customer order. Next, these bins are directed to one of three integrated Exotec buffer systems depending on the order’s temperature requirements: ambient, fresh, or frozen. When customers arrive at the drive- through pick-up, they sign in via an external terminal, which triggers the extraction of bins from the storage areas, Maurice says. As customers pull up to a station, the bins are automatically lowered in a continuous flow, ready to be stowed directly in the boot. With the Skypods, E. Leclerc Seclin can handle up to 1,200 orders daily, a 50% jump from the previous average. Customer wait times have dropped to about five minutes. “With the shorter wait times and greater system reliability, we’ve seen increased customer loyalty,” Maurice notes. Port NOLA ( left ) partnered with Lineage for on-site inspection capabilities for imported food products at its temperature-controlled facility. Exotec's Skypod solution (right) supports both each and case picking while integrating multiple value-added functions.
May 2025 • Inbound Logistics 35
Powered by FlippingBook