April 14 2016
Buffalo Trace Distillery is leading the way with it's recent automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) addition. Featured in this Inbound Logistics article, 'Whiskey, Bartender--and Make it Quick', Buffalo Trace Distillery is the talk of the industry after 250 years of operational experience, it was finally time to automate to stay ahead of the competition. Touted as a historic landmark, most of Buffalo Trace's inventory was shipped from the main distribution center in the heart of Frankfurt KY. With initial plans to build a conventional rack warehouse, Buffalo Trace quickly realized the shortcomings of such plans and turned to an automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) supported by a warehouse execution system (WES).
Chuck Harrison, distribution and traffic manager for Buffalo Trace Distillery, stated, "The same pallet could move nine times from the production line to the trailer outbound to the customer. This was not efficient." With initial concerns that an automated warehouse would not meet all of the distillery needs due to the complicated processes of distilling and distributing alcohol, Buffalo Trace was soon at ease.
"We spent considerable time analyzing Buffalo Trace Distillery's business and warehousing operations", said John Hinchey, VP of sales at Westfalia. "As a result of the detailed analysis, we were able to develop an automated warehousing system with the right balance of throughput and storage to support Buffalo Trace's projected growth needs."
As one of the first distillers in the industry to implement an AS/RS and WES, Buffalo Trace is seeing return already wiht increased order accuracy, real-time inventory reporting, and the ability to rapidly turn trucks, improving customer service demands.