Many warehouse operators are struggling with increasing complexity, and recent innovations in automation promise to help them adapt and scale their businesses. Exotec SAS has developed the Skypod modular hardware and software for flexible storage and picking.

Lane Automotive provides high-performance automotive parts and accessories. The Watervliet, Mich.-based company carries more than 660 bands, stocks over 100,000 SKUs in its distribution center, and offers more than 2.2 million parts from its catalog serving four primary sales channels.

Lane Automotive needed to exceed fulfillment deadlines to meet carrier pickup times. It also needed to handle a wide range of products and ease worker strain.

“The seasonal nature of our business generally sees its peaks between March and June,” said James MacEachern, chief operating officer of Lane Automotive. “This volume could stress our operational capacity.”

Last year, Exotec deployed Skypod to help Lane Automotive modernize fulfillment operations, building on its experience in the grocery, retail, e-commerce, and third-party logistics (3PL) markets.

“What was unique about this deployment is that Lane carries a lot of SKUs for very specific needs -- racing, drag racing, and off-road -- but it has small inventories for each,” said Stanislas Normand, managing director of Exotec North America. “That’s where Skypod creates value instead of standard warehouse-fulfillment solutions.”

The automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS) uses robots to move goods between high-density storage racks and ergonomic picking stations.

Skypod has streamlined inventory tracking, reduced the need for Lane Automotive employees to walk five to seven miles per day, and eliminated the need for heavy lifting, since products are now picked directly into their shipping cartons. The company said it expects to see at least a sixfold increase in throughput.

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