Storage/Staging: Wine and spirits distributor doubles system capacity in 5 months

The Southern Wine and Spirits (SWS) facility in Puyallup, Wash., is a 350,000-square-foot distribution center delivering wine and spirits to liquor stores, grocery chains and restaurants throughout the state. Shortly after the facility opened, Washington voters approved the privatization of the distribution and sale of distilled spirits. After the law change, SWS redesigned its facility with automation to enter the spirits market and quickly increase capacity.

With goals of expansion and efficiency in mind, the final system included four pick modules: one split case and three full case pick modules. Orders originate in one of the four locations, depending on whether full cases, split cases, or both are needed. From the pick modules, orders are conveyed to a central merge and released based on their route. A project this size would normally take nine months to complete, but SWS had only four months if it wanted to be the first to leverage the new law.

“We were in a key position to take up some of that business,” says Jesse Perez, night manager at Southern Wine & Spirits of Washington. “We were only a wine distributor before, so our business was going to more than double. That meant the old ways of picking orders manually was not going to work, so the company decided to go full automation.”

SWS supplies the entire state of Washington out of its Puyallup location, and the system allows delivery to every corner of the state by next day. SWS is also able to complete more orders in less time with fewer operators. The state-run facility for spirits operated with about 900 employees. SWS distributes wine plus the amount of spirits distributed by the state facility with about 300 people.

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