The world we live in is a small place. Populations are exploding alongside technologies that allow us to interact with the international community. This presents distributors with a double-edged sword- while more people means more business, more people also means less space. The challenges distributors must overcome are two-fold. How do you maximize the space you currently have while adding more products to meet the growing needs of your customers? This is the unique challenge that Pine State Trading Company had to overcome when moving into their new facility.
Pine State Trading Company was founded in Augusta, Maine in 1941 by Charles F. Canning. Over the years, the distributor grew larger and larger. The distributor moved from a garage office to larger warehouses, acquiring new products as the company grew in size and reach. When the distributor moved to its most recent location in 2012, management sought to solve a problem the distributor had been grappling with for a long time- how could they accommodate their 10,000 SKUs in the face of an oncoming 50% increase in volume? Pine State Trading Company’s product line consists of everything from cigarettes to soda pop to make-up. Therefore, the distributor was required to make the space they already had as flexible as possible. The solution to Pine State Trading Company’s problems came in the form of a one-two punch featuring Unex’s Span-Track and Flow Cell carton flow systems.
561 levels of Span-Track were installed at Pine State Trading Company’s new location. Due to the durability of the Span-Track line, the distributor was able to reuse track from their previous location. Unex also provided Pine State Trading Company with 568 levels of Flow Bed. Its simple drop-in design, coupled with its ability to allow for a diverse mixture of carton sizes to flow freely, provided the flexibility the distributor needed for its varying product line. Flow Bed’s strength and durability saved the distributor even more space and capital, as it does not require intermediate beams for support. Unex’s Flow Bed also provided a label holder which made it easier for the distributor to rearrange and re-label products as they saw fit. This meant that Pine State Trading Company no longer needed to reconfigure their operation in order to add more items to their product line, saving the distributor valuable time and money.
Pine State Trading Company experienced zero issues or missteps during the installation of the Span-Track and Flow Bed systems. In no time at all, the distributor was fully prepared to add new product lines without an overhaul to their picking operation. Pine State Trading Company was able to maximize the efficiency of their entire operation- products were being shipped on time and materials were well-packaged, saving the distributor even more space and money. Pine State Trading Company was more ready than ever to service the 5,000 New England convenience stores that require their services.
If you are starting to feel the walls closing in on your operation, fear not- Unex provides products and solutions that will allow you to maximize the space you already have. Every step in the Unex process is designed to save you money by dramatically increasing functional floor space, reducing footsteps from one pick to the next, and by completely eliminating the need to rearrange your operation in order to expand your product line. Give us a call, take a deep breath, and enjoy the wide open spaces provided to you by Unex.
