Outbound: Allied's New Warehouse

Allied’s new warehouse is designed to run more efficiently than the old warehouse in many ways. The new state-of-the-art Knapp system has been a key factor in helping automate certain warehouse functions. For example, the new conveyor system is programmed to shut down, or go into sleep mode, during inactivity to reduce energy and wear. The conveyor was also designed as a closed loop tote system, allowing empty totes to be restacked and redistributed automatically, eliminating manual intervention.

While the new warehouse is double the square footage of the old warehouse, the new warehouse capacity is even larger due to its design. The major areas of the new warehouse include:

Receiving – Product is delivered into the warehouse in the receiving area. Product is scanned and verified against the P.O. and placed on the conveyor.

Conditioning – Totes are scanned in the conditioning area using a mobile terminal, which generates a readout from the warehouse management system (WMS) that determines the product’s put away location.

High bay – The high bay area is where reserve stock of heavy or large items is stored. These items cannot go into the forward picking phase.

Forward picking – Product travels on the conveyor system from conditioning to the forward picking phase, which is separated by zones. Electronic readers at different points along the conveyor system serve as check points, sending the product to the appropriate put away location.

Packing – After orders have been picked, they are placed in totes and put on the conveyor system, which then delivers them to the appropriate packing station. In the packing area, team members verify totes, weigh and pack orders and affix shipping labels.

OSR (Order Storage and Retrieval) – When multi-line orders, which require multiple totes, are incomplete, they are stored in the OSR area until the order is complete. This area holds partial orders until the entire order is ready. When the final product is picked, placed in a tote and onto the conveyor, the stored totes are released from OSR and sent to the appropriate packing station.

Shipping – The system separates packed orders by carriers and sends them to the appropriate shipping station along the conveyor.

Inside Allied's Corporate Office

Visitors to Allied's new corporate office are welcomed through the front lobby, shown below.

The corporate office space was designed to allow natural lighting to be dispersed throughout the building. Offices align the new facility's 278 exterior windows.

The new facility was designed to increase efficiencies and allow for future growth. The corporate office design supports improved communications, better collaboration between team members and a clean, linear look to match Allied's business practices.

State-of-the-Art Facility

The size and structure aren’t the only things grand about our new facility. Both the front office and warehouse have been equipped with state-of-the-art systems. Some features of the new facility include:

Knappsystem – The new warehouse conveyor system is programmed to shut down specific sections during inactivity to reduce energy and wear. The conveyor is essentially a closed loop tote system, restacking and redistributing empty totes without manual intervention.

Energy management systems – HVAC units are controlled by an energy management system that keeps the facility at a comfortable temperature, which will prove a big hit during our 100°F summer days. In addition, the facility’s powered lavatories help reduce water consumption.

Energy-efficient lighting – The front office lighting is wired through a breaker system that enables control of lighting from the security office. The warehouse lighting is wired similarly, but also allows for control of lighting percentage, saving energy on bright days when lighting can be dimmed to 50%.

Natural light – The front office has approximately 278 exterior windows that allow plenty of natural lighting to shine into the facility. In addition, 61 solar tubes installed in the warehouse highbay storage area let natural light into the area.

The investment in our new facility is a reflection of a bigger, stronger Allied. The new facility will allow us to stay at the frontier of the industry and compete for years to come.

Big As Texas: Allied's New Facility

Everything is bigger in Texas and that includes Allied! After outgrowing our former leased space, Allied completed construction of our new Texas-sized facility. Allied’s new 357,000 square foot home is twice the size of our former facility.

The new facility will accommodate our growth, as we have doubled sales and daily orders over the past 3 years and continue to add new employees. After months of preparation and planning, our front offices successfully moved to the new facility in early May. The Operations team is busy planning and testing systems for our warehouse move later this summer.

Our new facility has already proven to be Texas tough. It recently escaped major damage from a twister that ripped through Fort Worth and took the roof off a neighboring building.

Building a World-Class Data Center

Since breaking ground, the IT department has been busy building a world-class quality data center for our new facility. Allied’s new facility will have new wireless applications, a state-of-the-art warehouse management system and improved technologies for monitoring and securing our infrastructure.

So, how does Allied plan to shut down our servers, phone equipment, Internet services, routers, switches and firewalls, move them and restore them in a weekend? While it will be a challenge indeed, the IT department has forged ahead and they are confident that our relocation will be a smooth one that will have minimum impact on daily business. The IT department will be among the first to move into the new facility later this month.

The photos below show a data closet, as well as the server room in the new facility.

Corporate Office Nears Completion

Allied's new corporate office project is near completion. In just a few weeks, the corporate office staff will be moving to a new location. Below is a view of the front doors to the new building, as well as the view from inside the main lobby.

The style and color scheme will be consistent throughout the various departments in Allied's new corporate office, as shown below. One of the great benefits of the new corporate office space will be the break areas located throughout the building. Each department will be within close proximity to a break area.

Allied Prepares for Move

In just a few months, Allied employees will begin the move to the new corporate headquarters. Preparation for the move is already underway.

One of the most obvious changes in the new headquarters will be a new address. Allied Electronics' corporate headquarters will move to:
7151 Jack Newell Blvd. S, Fort Worth, Texas 76118.