Take it to the next level: Owens Corning, Briggs & Stratton turn to advanced WMS to boost labor productivity, enhance yard management. (Supply Chain Successes).

MSI, January, 2003 by Dilger, Karen Abramic

After sinking a significant amount of resources into automating its distribution center in Menomonee Falls, Wis., Briggs & Stratton was looking forward to reaping the benefits. The Milwaukee-based supplier of gasoline engines for outdoor power equipment had implemented a warehouse management system (WMS) for its 320,000-square-foot facility, and invested in an array of wireless data collection equipment, material handling, and storage systems.

Imagine managers' surprise when an outside audit revealed that productivity at the plant was not up to industry standards. "Our order-fulfillment rate was only 60 to 65 percent that of normal standards," says John Guy, vice president of distribution and supply chain management. "We tracked work produced at a high...

Read the rest of this article with a Free Trial at HighBeam Research.

Premium Content Partnership | HighBeam Research provides an in-depth online archive library of reference works.