Dimerc Office embraces automation
September 12, 2018
Dimerc’s Santiago warehouse (Credit: MMH)
The Chilean office supplies distributor has installed a three-level pick module and high-speed shipping sorter to its Santiago distribution centre.
As a result of the new installation at 216,000 square ft. premises in the nation’s capital, productivity has risen by 30 percent, according to Modern Materials Handling.
The work is part of an ongoing strategy to become not only Chile’s premier distributor of office supplies, but to rival Dimerc’s international rivals on the global stage, too.
“We are continuously evaluating process improvements and looking at possibilities for automation,” explained Dimerc’s Logistics Manager, Igancio Calvo.
Without retail premises, Dimerc distributes directly to office buildings, and has seen “significant growth” as it seeks to add third-party drop-ship and fulfilment services to its repertoire.
“We needed to increase our production capacity, control our labour resources, improve quality and decrease errors along with decreasing the number of credit notes we issued for missing items, damaged goods and other mistakes,” Calvo continued, adding that a desire for increased accuracy was also a motivating factor.
The company achieved this with the installation of a three-level pick module, utilising pick-to-light and RF scanning; an expanded conveyor system; implemented RF-directed carton picking in place of paper-based picking; a new selection of quality control scanners and the introduction of a quality control area; and the installation of a high-speed shipping sorter, capable of handling 6,000 cartons each hour.
As a result, “we have been able to fulfill our dispatched orders on time, managing to deliver more than 99 percent of orders within 24 hours,” reported Calvo. The facility processes approximately 33,000 cartons daily, and Dimerc serves a customer base of around 4,000 clients.
First founded in 1937 by Jorge Naser Kaba, a Syrian immigrant, Dimerc Office has since grown to become one of Chile’s biggest suppliers, diversifying into office supplies in 1997 and expanding operations into Peru in 2011.
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