USANA (USNA)

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USNA NEWS - Warehouse Control System by QC Software Allows USANA to Increase Capacity by 300 Percent

Cincinnati, OH -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/06/2010 -- Dr. Myron Wentz founded USANA Health Sciences in 1992 in Salt Lake City, Utah. USANA is a direct selling company that develops and manufactures high-quality nutritional, weight management, and personal-care products. USANA has experienced several years of record growth and USANA has expanded internationally and currently operates in 14 markets throughout Asia, the Americas, Australia and Europe. With annual net sales exceeding $430 million, USANA has become a leader in the industry.

USANA’s management team recognized the need to increase capacity and improve efficiency at their Utah distribution facility. Their manual process was too costly and inefficient, and they had to find new ways to remain competitive in the global economy. After careful consideration, QC Software’s Warehouse Control System (WCS) was chosen to manage the facility’s order fulfillment operation because it was a proven, cost-effective solution. The goals were to improve material flow and the overall throughput of the material handling system; improve the accuracy of the order fulfillment process; improve productivity; and support future growth and expansion.

Phase I was completed with the implementation of QC Navigator to manage the real-time activities of the equipment and QC OMS (Order Management System) to facilitate order fulfillment.

The 20,000 square foot distribution facility now processes 5,000 - 7,000 orders per day, and has the capability of shipping 21,000 orders every day. Features such as cartonization, wave planning, and a new line dedicated to small orders optimized their operation and lowered costs. After the WCS implementation, order fulfillment was reduced from a 24/7 operation down to two eight-hour shifts for five days per week. Since the system is faster and more efficient, the number of employees needed was cut in half and order capacity increased 300 percent.

According to Jim Brown, VP of Operations, “USANA is dedicated to implementing green initiatives, and we are proud to be working with a company that has the same goals. We are grateful that QC Software has provided USANA with valuable tools to continue our mission to protect and preserve the environment.”

In 2009, as part of their green initiative, USANA looked for additional ways to improve efficiency and reduce their environmental impact. The conveyor system was not designed to accommodate small packaging, so employees had to either manually repack these orders or ship them in larger containers. Since both of these solutions were inefficient, QC Software developed a new process to separate these orders from the regular pool. USANA then added a third line dedicated to smaller, non-conveyable orders, which reduced waste, lowered costs and further enhanced picking efficiency. Packages continued to be shipped in a timely manner without increasing labor costs. Brown estimated the company saved about 2,188 kilograms, or 2.2 metric tons, of cardboard in the first six months of operation. Using the pick-to-light system, barcode technology and quality checks, USANA was able to achieve a 99% order accuracy rate.

QC Software (http://www.qcsoftware.com) is the leading provider of Tier 1 warehouse control systems to the warehousing and distribution industries.

QC Software, Inc.
http://www.qcsoftware.com
Jerry List
[e-mail]
513-469-1424


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Jerry List
Queen City Software, Inc.


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Website: http://www.qcsoftware.com