Innovative Frick Barcode Sign Helps Safelite® Glass Corp. Win Supply & Demand Chain Executive “Pros to Know” Team Award
LIBERTYVILLE, Ill. – February 7, 2010 – When Safelite® Glass Corporation – the nation’s largest exclusively domestic producer of windshields for the vehicle glass replacement market – needed a special barcode sign to improve its order fulfillment process, it came to William Frick & Company – a leading producer of custom identification products like tags, signs and utility markers.
“We produced an extended barcode that wrapped around the barrel of a 10-inch diameter tube that Safelite® hung from the ceiling of its distribution center,” said Brent Howell, business development manager of William Frick & Company. “Most of Safelite’s order fulfillment is completed on forklifts, and their drivers were having trouble aligning the readers to the signs, which were flat. The curved surface of the tube gave their forklift drivers many angles from which to read the sign and sped up the picking process significantly.”
The new distribution center signs were part of a larger initiative at Safelite® to increase sales through improved product availability. To meet this objective, Safelite® needed to develop a supply chain infrastructure that could support twice the volume it had been shipping. “Growing sales to leverage that infrastructure commitment became our #1 challenge,” explained project leader Michael T. Bradsher, Safelite® director of accounting, manufacturing and distribution controller. “With all the infrastructure that was going to be needed to support a doubling of the shipping volume, we purchased and installed a Warehouse Management System (WMS). We also installed Frick’s more efficient barcode signs. The results have been impressive, with two physical inventories at or above 99.99 percent accuracy and reduced back office staff.”
“Frick is proud to have contributed to Safelite’s productivity and efficiency gains,” added Howell. “We congratulate Bradsher and his team for winning this year’s Supply & Demand Chain Executive “Pros to Know” Team Award.”
Bradsher’s team was comprised of the following people: Kemp Edwards, DC Manager; Bobby W. Sanders, Jr., IT Support; Andy Scott, DC Shift Manager; Robert Tyner, Inventory Control Specialist; John Moore, IT (Retired); Randy McCombs, IT.
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Photos
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Product Shot: http://www.fricknet.com/pr/images/WF-BARCODE-TUBE.jpg
Product in Use: http://www.fricknet.com/pr/images/Safelite-Barcode-Tubes_hanging.JPG
Safelite Team (l-r): Andy Scott, Robert Tyner, Kemp Edwards, Mike Bradsher http://www.fricknet.com/pr/images/Safelite-Team.jpg
About William Frick & Company
A leading producer of customized identification products like RFID tags, barcode labels, utility markers and signs, William Frick & Company is a trusted supplier to the telecommunications industry, oil and gas companies, electric utilities, governments and others needing labeling solutions. Frick offers best-in-class identification products and services customized to client specifications. The company is ISO 9001-2008 certified. For more information about William Frick & Company product offerings, procurement options, service and solutions, call 1.847.918.3700, or visit the company’s website at www.fricknet.com.
About Safelite® Glass Corp.
The nation’s largest exclusively domestic producer of windshields for the vehicle glass replacement market, Safelite® Glass Corp. has a manufacturing facility in Enfield, N.C. as well as two distribution centers located in Ontario, Calif. and Braselton, Ga. The manufacturing facility serves all of the Safelite® Group retail units and the customers of Safelite® Group’s wholesale operations, Service AutoGlass®. The Safelite® Glass Corp. manufacturing and distribution facilities are ISO-9001 certified.
