Ben&Jerry's: "A scoop of happiness flavored with a hint of ORTEC Optimization"
Ben & Jerry’s is a special name in Unilever’s portfolio; their amazing flavors – and creative names – have become legendary. Tens of millions of pints of the legendary ice cream are produced annually in Hellendoorn.
The challenges of growth
The growing popularity of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream was putting the factory and distribution facility under pressure. The buffer warehouse between production and dispatch was struggling to cope with the increasing volumes. Expansion of the warehouse would not improve the overall logistics process, so Ben & Jerry’s started looking for a solution that would enable them to utilize their existing warehouse more efficiently:
- Cost-effective optimization by automation
- Reducing labor costs
- Increasing storage and throughput capacity
- Improving and speeding up truck loading
The solution
With the OptilogX Sequencing Buffer, the process and pallet flow between production and loading is fully automated. All pallets are put away, buffered and sequenced for loading without having to be touched by humans. At truck arrival the software selects suitable pallets with the shortest total retrieval time, after which they are delivered close to the dock in the correct sequence.
The results
+ Prepared to handle future growth
+ 100% increase in storage capacity using only 60% of the floor space
+ 70% saving in staffing costs
+ Fast and flawless loading: 3 trucks/hour with 1 pallet truck
+ 80% reduction in energy consumption
+ Greater visibility and control over logistics processes
“The reason for this decision was above all growth: from the moment Ben & Jerry’s hit the ground here in Hellendoorn we have seen double-figure growth every single year.”
“There is no doubt we have made significant savings – up to 50% - as we have been able to economize on FTEs in the warehouse and elsewhere”
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