MidwayUSA built its own warehousing management system from scratch, and tweaks it constantly to accommodate growth and the corresponding requirements for speedier picking, quality control, shipping, and receiving. “We have an IT shop on-site staffed by four full-time developers, an applications engineer, a manager, and myself,” says Joel Felten, Midway’s vice president of information systems. Midway’s 80,000-sq.-ft. fulfillment facility uses automation only when necessary: “We employ a large staff of additional managers and technicians who work at the front lines of the operation maintaining everything that plugs in the wall and uses electricity,” says Felten. “Those guys are focused on all things electronic, from the fax machines and copiers to the telephone system, the computers, the building security systems, and the battery back-ups that keep everything on track in the event of a power outage.”
MIDWAYUSA INC.
Headquarters: Columbia, MO Annual sales: About $40 million Total employees: 183
Operation size: 80,000 sq. ft.; expansion to 100,000 sq. ft. planned by the end of 2004 SKUs: 54,000 currently active; another 2,500 scheduled to become active over the course of the next several months Volume: 1,000-1,500 orders per day Hourly pick rate: 200 lines per person per hour