Allied Electronics & Automation, a distributor of automation and control, electronic, electrical, mechanical and maintenance products, has completed an expansion of its North American distribution center in Fort Worth that adds more than 200,000 square feet of space and adds the latest digital order fulfillment center technology from global intelligent automation solutions provider KNAPP.
Designed from the ground up with input from customers and suppliers, the expansion doubles Allied’s capacity, employing high-density storage and retrieval automation and advanced packaging solutions, with additional space to double capacity in the future.
“Adoption of commercial and industrial automation continues to grow at an incredible pace, and with this significant investment in expanding our main facility, we are making good on our promise to be the distributor of choice for our customers and suppliers,” said Ken Bradley, president of the Americas region for Allied.
Allied’s expanded distribution center features 520,000 square feet of total warehouse footprint; including current capacity for 400,000 unique SKUs and space to double to 800,000 SKUs in the future. It also features a high-density warehouse operations area equipped with the latest KNAPP automated order storage and retrieval systems, OSR ShuttleTM Evo, RFID pocket sortation and goods-to-person systems that can pick products from 118,000 different locations and deliver them automatically to one of 35 new picking stations. It features automated box erector machines and robotic packing stations that precisely match packages to discreet order size and content, accelerating the shipping process and reducing packaging waste.
"For our customers, the new facility expands the depth and breadth of our ready-to-ship inventory, ensuring orders are filled quickly and accurately," said Bradley. "Our suppliers will benefit from increased inventory capacity and throughput, and our employees will have a bright, safe, modern workplace where they can further enhance their skills on the very latest in supply chain technology. Adding high-density storage and automated custom box erector machines in the new facility also reduces packaging waste and lowers energy usage from a sustainability standpoint."
In addition to the expansion and technology upgrades at the Fort Worth distribution center, Allied has added more than 37,000 new SKUs and debuted more than 50 new suppliers in 2020.
