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 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 get 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 … 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.
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 certified. For more information about William Frick & Company product offerings, procurement options, service and solutions, call (847) 918-3700.
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.
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