J. Knipper & Co Sets Out For Scalable, Cost-Effective Solution to Support ECommerce Fulfillment
“OPEX was a true partner. The Perfect Pick was installed and operational exactly as promised”
Vic Ricci, SVP Operations, J. Knipper & Co.
The Background
J. Knipper is a leading healthcare solutions company serving the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries. Knipper is registered with the FDA, DEA and is an AMA database licensee. Their services include sample program consultation, product re-packaging and re-labeling, print management, trade distribution, and specialty pharmacy. J. Knipper’s operational mandate is to create the shortest distance between patient & therapy. To do this, they ensure that they design an operational solution that is specific to the business need of their client. It is imperative that it runs parallel to the business details.
The Challenge
The demands of a new client that J. Knipper was bringing on board, presented new challenges that were unique to their business. Vic Ricci, Senior Vice President Operations, knew that the details of the business was going to define the solution. He surmised that based on the data, automation that included high density storage and production efficiencies were needed to solve for the business both today and provide for future growth. The material handling solution that was needed, had to mitigate costs and provide a reliable, flexible solution for high-SKU count and high velocity, while still maintaining a reasonable footprint and delivering scalability.
Key Challenges
Picking and sorting was entirely manual
Increase in business during the pandemic due to increased online buying
Order fulfillment was taking too long
The Solution
As Ricci researched available options for their client within their Charlestown, Indiana warehouse, one solution stood out. Knipper chose Perfect Pick® HD, a flexible goods-to-person robotic picking system, that uses iBOT® robotic vehicles to bring goods directly to the operator for picking. The Perfect Pick HD offers dense, secure storage of items in a small footprint, both of which were important to Knipper and their client. The flexibility of the machine allows for easy reconfiguration of totes, to accommodate for varying quantities and sizes of product and additional iBOTs or aisles can be added, too.
When it came time to install Perfect Pick HD, OPEX delivered. Ricci felt OPEX took the time to build a partnership and could trust OPEX to do as they committed. An unexpected benefit was how quickly new associates could be trained and operational.
Key Results
3K
Orders per day
and growing
6
Seconds between order presentations
10K
Number of storage totes
inside Perfect Pick HD
The Future
Perfect Pick HD easily supports future expansion without any major disruptions to the operation. The flexibility of the system allows Knipper to accommodate other business in the future. By adding an innovative solution like Perfect Pick, Knipper demonstrates to their customers and prospective clients their dedication to providing state-of-the-art order fulfillment and exceptional customer service.
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