Our First Distribution Center - Part 4

The Nitro Express® 3.0 Conveyor (Sawtooth Merge) — The “conveyor” is quite a miracle, and the entire System takes its name from it—Nitro Express® 3.0. The “sawtooth merge” (on the mezzanine level) reduces five lines of packages and boxes to one.

Nitro Express® 3.0 is the name we gave the conveyor system, as it became operational in the spring of 2022. It accepts everything delivered by the incoming trucks, small packages, less-than-truck-load freight, full truck loads and containers of merchandise—everything. After Logistics inbound receives all products they are sent to their appropriate storage areas, where each will wait to be picked; sometimes, there are multiple storage areas. From storage, items are picked and sent to the outbound area where they are packed, and the waiting trucks take the orders away. The overall length of the conveyor system is about 14 miles. It was made by the Hytrol folks, in Jonesboro, Arkansas and represents the very latest in conveyor technology.

Perfect Pick – Two lines of Perfect Pick — The heart and soul of the Nitro Express® 3.0 system is this large cabinet with picking and stocking robots inside. It automatically brings totes to the operators (goods to person) and holds 184,952 different products in 16,000 square feet of space.

The two things we were looking for in Nitro Express® 3.0 were quietness and efficiency, we didn’t want to have to wear ear plugs, and we wanted to serve Customers, from beginning to end, very quickly and cost efficiently. Both of those were easily achievable, with modern technology, if these requirements were part of the original design.

Fast Pick (from East end) — This is “fast pick,” for items that move too quickly to economically put completely away. We “pick to box” for an order to be shipped in a box and “pick to tote” for orders to be shipped in a Jiffy® bag—and “stock from totes.”

Picking and packing is still the basis of everything we do, but the “thinking” of receiving everything properly, putting everything away properly, picking it properly and then packaging it properly. Well, this is what separates one warehouse from another. For MidwayUSA’s Logistics, we have and do spend a lot of time “thinking” about how this can work best for our Customers.

Vertical Lift Module towers, with fishing rods out front — Where would we store fishing rods to get them “out of the way,” well, large towers with many trays is the answer. Sitting outside there are some fishing rods, ready for storage.

There are eleven different storage locations at MidwayUSA, depending on the type and size of the product and how often Customers want it. Immediately after a product is received, it starts the trip toward “put‑away.” There is no room for error, our receiving folks must send the right product to the right location, every time; there it waits a short time, or a long time, for the Customer’s to say “I want this one,” after which an order is generated, and it is picked and packed and on the way.

Outbound and Inbound – From Mezzanine looking south — This picture from the Mezzanine level, looking south. On the far end, the first ten overhead doors are inbound. On this end, the last overhead doors are all outbound.

Every Customer wants their order shipped quickly and correctly, whether it’s a single item, or a big box, containing several different items. It doesn’t matter to the Customer whether it starts in a box or a tray, or what goes on inside the plant. The only thing that matters to the Customer is quick and economical shipping of the correct product. It’s not difficult if we do everything right from the beginning.