Introduction of
Ed Williams
Vice President
Blue Horseshoe Strategy Division
ewilliams@bhsolutions.com
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BHS and Cengage
 Over a decade of Past Projects
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Cengage Learning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rz4rsh5kyJc
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Doing MORE with LESS : The struggle of
‘right now’ expectations and resource
limitations
Suzanne Wilsbacher
Project Manager Distribution Systems
Cengage Learning
Suzanne.Wilsbacher@cengage.com
@bhsolutions #bhscsummit
Tony Hayes
Project Manager Distribution Systems
Cengage Learning
Tony.Hayes@cengage.com
Agenda
 Introduction & Video
 Get CENGAGED!!
 Struggles and Challenges
 Opportunities for improvement at
Cengage
 Attendee Feedback & Discussion
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About Cengage Learning
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Offering print and electronic
learning services
Higher Ed, Research & Library,
K-12
MindTap ®
Aplia ™
Distribution Centers in 6
countries
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United States
Canada
Mexico
Brazil
Argentina
England
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“Managers today have to do more
with less, and get better results from
limited resources, more than ever
before.”
– Brian Tracy, Chairman and CEO of Brian Tracy
International, a leadership and development
organization, Full Engagement! Inspire, Motivate,
and Bring Out the Best in Your People
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You are about to
be CENGAGED!
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Challenges and Obstacles
 Doing more with less?
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Resource Limitations
Bodies
Brains
Bucks
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Related Fallout
 Customer Satisfaction
 Innovation
 Employee
Morale
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Cengage OVERCOMES!
 T-BOX Packing and Processing
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Cengage OVERCOMES!
Tote Prep and Picking
PREVIOUS PROCESS
NEW PROCESS
 8 Parcels to a tote per
 Totes packed out in LogPRO
LogPRO
based on Volume/Weight/#
 Ship label and pick slip printed of Parcels configuration
interleaved at plan time in
 No invoices or labels printed
tote groups
up front
 During picking, Picker had to  Using voice picking software,
find the correct label/invoice
Picker picks straight to tote
combo each time and rubber
with nothing to match up
band product to the combo
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Cengage OVERCOMES!
Tote Prep and Picking Benefits
– Less conveyor traffic
• More than 8 shipping parcels per tote when packed by
Volume/Weight/# of Parcels
• Less conveyor traffic from increased use of totes
– Less tote prep time• No more matching up invoices and labels
– No handling of invoices or ship/pick labels at all
– Pick slip label completely eliminated
• Only need to put tote label on the tote
– Less pick time• Picker does not need to match up product with correct
invoice/label combo
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Cengage OVERCOMES!
T-BOX Packaging and Shipping
PREVIOUS PROCESS
 Tote conveyed to Shipping
Dock
 Pallet of totes driven to cold
seal machines
 Two operators package
parcels with manual audit of
items and invoice/ship label
combo
 Gaylord of packages driven
back to the dock and onto a
truck
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NEW PROCESS
 Totes conveyed directly to TBOX packing stations on the
dock
 Parcels packed using LogPro
Parcel Audit
 Ship label and invoice printed
 Packed parcels taken by
conveyor to Gaylord
 Gaylord driven onto truck
Cengage OVERCOMES!
T-BOX Packaging and Shipping Benefits
– Less double handling• Totes are not stacked and unstacked
• Parcels are not driven from the dock and back to the
dock
– Improved accuracy (aka MORE!!!)
• Each item in each parcels is scanned or ISBN typed into
Parcel Audit
• Invoice is printed only for that parcel
• Ship label only printed for that shipping parcel
– Less labor• 1 T-box packer vs. 2 cold seal machine operators
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Cengage OVERCOMES!
Replenishment to TBOX Packing
– Entire case of loose is consumed and packed into
TBOX type box
PREVIOUS PROCESS
 RPLN cases conveyed to
Picking zones
 RPLN team performs
“Putaway” of cases
 Picker picks books from cases
into totes
 Tote conveyed to dock and
then driven to cold seal
machine for packing, etc.
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NEW PROCESS
 RPLN cases conveyed straight
to packing stations
 LogPro performs “Putaway” at
station on conveyor divert
 Packer scans RPLN label then
item
 Ship label and invoice print
 F-key for next label and
invoice, repeat.
Cengage OVERCOMES!
Replenishment to TBOX Packing Benefits
– Less double handling
• RPLN team does not need to handle case
• Picking team does not need to pick item
– Less conveyor congestion
• Cases sent to pack stations during low volume,
early morning hours
• Items not picked into totes, reducing number of
totes on conveyor
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Cengage OVERCOMES!
Benefit Review
 Less double handling of RPLN cases, items, and totes
 Reduced conveyor congestion
 Reduced label print
 Reduced tote prep and pick time
 Reduced error rate for item and invoice/ship label
miss-match
 Reduced labor
 Improved error tracking from Parcel Audit stamp of
User ID
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Cengage OVERCOMES!
 T-BOX Processing Stations
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Participation Time!
Share what challenges you face, and what
you have done to overcome them!
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Cengage OVERCOMES
continues!...
 Daily Staff meeting
 Cross training
 Shift timing changes – offer
more flexible work hours
 Combine synergies
– Order picking with WO
picking
– WO module enhancement
 Work flow management –
pick plan organization and
timing
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 Learning how to do in house
what we used to send out to
vendor
– Specialized label printing
 Ask HVAC contractor to fix ice
machine.
 Incentive plans for individual
contributors
 Recognition – Bravo system
 Meeting of the minds – like the
Blue Horseshoe Summit!!
Always remember…
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Thank You
Suzanne Wilsbacher
Project Manager Distribution Systems
Cengage Learning
Suzanne.Wilsbacher@cengage.com
@bhsolutions #bhscsummit
Tony Hayes
Project Manager Distribution Systems
Cengage Learning
Tony.Hayes@cengage.com