“The LRS paging system has saved us 2.5 hours a day—I would recommend this system to other retail distribution centers that have ‘live deliveries.”
Located in Connecticut, the Distribution Center is 303,000 square feet. They service 282 stores and have a total of 39 dock doors – 19 shipping doors and 20 receiving doors.
The Distribution Center faced two challenges in their receiving department. First and foremost was the time spent walking out to trucks to communicate with drivers, “Our biggest challenge was that our associates were wasting time by having to walk outside to sign drivers out (we were spending an average of 2.5 hours per day going out to sign out drivers)”, states Sanchas, Senior Receiving Supervisor. Employees were required to walk out to each and every truck to communicate with drivers. This wasted time was cutting into their productivity by reducing the time they could spend on more important tasks. The second issue they faced was the potential for shrink. With impatient drivers constantly walking in and out to check on the status of their deliveries, the potential for shrinkage was a big concern.
The distribution center turned to Long Range Systems for a wireless communication system that would solve these issues, survive in a rugged environment, be easy to implement, and be easy to use. They chose the Coaster Call onsite paging system because it met each of these criteria.
A transmitter was placed in the receiving office where drivers check in. When a driver checks in, the receiving clerk assigns them a door and a pager. The driver returns to their truck and backs up to the assigned door and the unloading begins. When the unloading is complete, the receiving clerk sends a page to the driver’s pager notifying them to return to the office to sign their bills and get their copies at which time they are free to leave.
The system has been well received by drivers and staff alike. The staff is especially grateful for the system during inclement weather. They no longer have to trudge outside just to tell a driver to come in when it’s nasty.
Because receiving staff no longer having to walk out to each truck, they’ve regained lost time. “The paging system has allowed us to increase our overall receiving productivity by approximately 2.5 hours each day,” says Sanchas.
Drivers are issued a pager and can wait in their trucks confidently knowing they will be notified when they’re needed. The number of drivers coming in and out of the receiving are are greatly reduced as well as the potential for shrink.
Sanchas states, “Our staff really likes using the system, especially during inclement weather.” Because they can contact drivers with the indoor paging transmitter, they’ve eliminated the necessity to go outside in the rain, snow, sleet and cold.
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