Staples streamlining fulfillment across its supply chain network
Staples Inc. is in the process of overhauling its warehouse management workflows throughout a complex fulfillment environment.
The office products giant has deployed the Manhattan Associates Active WM warehouse management platform at nine of its U.S.-based business-to-business fulfillment centers in the past 18 months.
Staples intends to implement the technology at all its 36 business-to-consumer and business-to-business fulfillment centers and 220 delivery locations, comprising 12 million sq-ft. of warehouse space, by the end of 2026.
The retailer chose Manhattan Active WM to support its efforts to streamline warehouse processes, reduce picking and order errors, and improve overall order and inventory management processes across its U.S. fulfillment network comprising 6,000 associates who pick, pack and ship 2.5 million units per day.
In addition, Staples processes orders for several marketplaces and wholesale customers, having integrated cross-dock capabilities with several third-party brands. The new warehouse management system helps Staples seamlessly receive both business-to-consumer and business-to-business orders from various order management systems across several divisions and brands.
Staples also found ease of integration with other modern supply chain applications and capabilities, as opposed to some legacy platforms which were increasingly complicated to link.
"With our broad and deep supply chain network, capabilities and expertise, Staples today services over 98% of the U.S. with next-day delivery, and we are investing in the right solutions to serve our customers," said Ryan Hanson, chief supply chain officer at Staples. "With a robust, cloud solution that addresses not only the present but future operational and integration needs, we’ve only begun to tap into opportunities to drive efficiency and maximize the operator experience."
The retailer has also been leveraging the Manhattan Associates embedded Warehouse Execution System (WES) with its autonomous robotic item-handling system based on the RightHand Robotics RightPick 4 artificial intelligence (AI)-based robotic picking solution.
[READ MORE: Staples expands next-day delivery with AI-based picking robots]
The RightPick system is an autonomous item-handling robot equipped with a sensor suite and RightPick AI software that is designed to pick items of different shapes, packaging, sizes and weight.
Collaborating with Staples, RightHand Robotics developed new features that the company says have nearly doubled the range of items that a RightPick station can handle while reducing the number of required interventions by 80%. As a result, Staples intends to offer next-day delivery to more than 98% of the U.S.
"We are delighted to partner with Staples to modernize their distribution technology and create a more intuitive user experience," said Stewart Gantt, executive VP, professional services at Manhattan.
Headquartered near Boston, Staples operates through e-commerce, direct business-to-business sales and approximately 1,000 retail stores across the U.S.
