Zappos.com Implements Kiva Mobile Fulfillment System in Four Months

Tag : Sportwears Material

WOBURN, Mass.--( BUSINESS WIRE )-- Kiva Systems , a developer of breakthrough picking, sortation and shippingsystems for distribution center automation, today announced thatleading online retailer Zappos.com has implemented the Kiva Mobile Fulfillment System (KMFS) in just four months. Zappos has deployed a fleet of Kiva ’ s mobile robotic drive units and inventory storage pods at itsShepherdsville, Ky. facility to support their rapid order growthand expansion into new categories such as apparel, sportswear andaccessories.
“ Virtually all the previous automation system deployments I ’ ve overseen took a year or more to design, build and test, ” said Craig Adkins, VP of fulfillment operations, Zappos.com. “ We were amazed that Kiva transformed our new warehouse from bareconcrete to fully operational readiness — with trained supervisors and associates — just four months after we signed the purchase order. We ’ re already working on designs to cube out the building with Kiva ’ s MFS on multi-level mezzanines. ”
With an emphasis on e-commerce orders requiring split-case picking,the Zappos.com distribution center needs to manage a huge range ofunique products, while shipping orders as quickly as possible. TheKiva MFS effectively empowers inventory to manage itself, andtransforms the DC from a serial-process operation to a massivelyparallel processing order fulfillment engine. As a result, the KivaMFS enables breakthrough improvements over generally acceptedmaterial handling benchmarks, including order picking speed, orderaccuracy, volume scalability and flexibility in reconfiguringoperations or responding to market changes.
“ Zappos understands that, in e-commerce, the distribution center isthe store, and the order fulfillment operation needs to delivernearly instant gratification to consumers, ” said Mick Mountz, founder and CEO of Kiva Systems. “ As a rapidly growing e-commerce pioneer focused on delivering ‘ wow! ’ customer experiences, Zappos appreciates the wider strategicimpact of a flexible, scalable fulfillment operation. The KivaMobile Fulfillment System will go a long way toward helpingZappos.com maintain their high standards for customer service whilecontinuing to grow order volume and product selection. ”
About Kiva Systems
Kiva Systems, Inc. uses game-changing automation technology fordistribution centers that helps companies simplify operations andreduce costs, while increasing strategic flexibility. Usinghundreds of autonomous mobile robots and sophisticated controlsoftware, the Kiva Mobile Fulfillment System enables extremely fastcycle times with reduced labor requirements, from receiving topicking to shipping — all without conveyor. The result is a building that is quick andlow-cost to set up, inexpensive to operate and easy to change. Formore information on Kiva Systems and its solutions, please visit www.kivasystems.com .
About Zappos.com
Established in 1999, Zappos.com has quickly become one of theleaders in online shoe and handbag sales by striving to provideshoppers with the best possible service and selection. Zappos.comcurrently stocks more than 3 million shoes, handbags, clothingitems and accessories from over 1,000 brands. Zappos.com hasappeared in Inc. Magazine ’ s annual list of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in theU.S. for four years in a row (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007), with grossmerchandise sales of over $800 million in 2007. Zappos.com was alsoincluded in Time Magazine ’ s “ 25 Sites You Can ’ t Live Without. ” Zappos.com ’ s Customer Loyalty Team is available 24/7, 365 days a year. Formore information about Zappos.com, please visit www.zappos.com .