Castellini Case Study

Background

With nearly 125 years of industry growth and expertise, Castellini is one of the largest distributors of fresh produce in the United States. They deliver to a multitude of customers and tailor produce solutions to meet specific needs. Castellini brings generations of produce experience, a network of growers,customers, and facilities that are second to-none. With customized supply chain solutions and an unmatched passion for customer service, Castellini works diligently to be an indispensable value at every touchpoint in the supply chain and deliver simpler solutions for their customers and business partners. With approximately 1,400 employees, Castellini’s operations spans several states throughout the US, including Kentucky, Georgia, New York, and Michigan.

Business Need

As Castellini continued to experience rapid growth within their business, they were looking for a replacement for their proprietary devices and warehouse management system (WMS). They first partnered with Blue Yonder, a leader in digital supply chain and omni-channel commerce fulfillment. Blue Yonder’s WMS enables enterprises to predict and fulfill customer demand. Castellini knew they wanted a unified platform from which they could deploy multiple devices to fit their daily operations, including receiving, picking, put away, inventory management, among a variety of other operations. The solution needed to be easily configurable, offering a long-term return on investment, reduced total cost of ownership, and it needed to operate on the Android platform.

Solution

Castellini, in partnership with Blue Yonder, determined that Honeywell was the best solution for their needs.
With Honeywell solutions, Castellini achieved the immediacy they required in deploying a seamlessly integrated and easily adaptable software and hardware solution suite. They replaced their mobile computing devices, which were unable to meet their software and hardware requirements, with future-proofed Android devices.
Castellini selected several of Honeywell’s Mobility Edge-backed devices, including the CK65 and CT40 mobile computers, Thor VM1A Vehicle- Mounted Mobile Computers, and the RT10A Rugged Tablets. Mobility Edge devices offer a durable, stable, and secure platform to protect Castellini’s investment. These devices are designed to optimize business performance through accelerated deployments, enhanced security, and extended device lifecycles. Each of these Mobility Edge devices were positioned within different sectors of Castellini’s operation:

• The ruggedized CK65 mobile computer for receiving and shipping operations. The CK65 works efficiently in both climate temperature and cold storage environments, making it ideal for Castellini’s cold storage warehouse operations. It has enhanced scanning capabilities, allowing users to scan near and far, from an arm’s length away up to 30 feet or more.

• The CT40 mobile computer with a wearable ring scanner for picking operations. Lightweight and durable, the CT40 easily fits in the hand, and is comfortable to wear in its watch band style configuration. The wearable option allows warehouse workers to quickly scan and pick items “handsfree”. The rubber wristband doesn’t absorb perspiration, can be easily cleaned, and is ambidextrous.

• The Thor VM1A Vehicle-Mounted Computer for Castellini’s forklift operations. Designed to provide essential information to the operator without being a visual distraction, the VM1A’s large 8-inch touchscreen is readable in outdoor and indoor environments and has a screen defroster for cold storage use. Its Smart Dock feature allows the mobile computer to be easily moved from vehicle to vehicle, without the need to power the device down.

• The RT10A Rugged Tablet was deployed among Castellini’s supervisors. With the tablet, supervisors can scan barcodes, take instantaneously focused pictures, quickly troubleshoot other devices, and monitor other Mobility Edge devices in use during a shift. When outfitted with a shoulder strap, the RT10A can be comfortably worn and easily accessed by the user.

• Castellini also selected Honeywell’s Granit scanner to accompany the Mobility Edge devices to optimize scanning performance and productivity. Powered by sixth-generation Honeywell Adaptus imaging technology and revolutionary decoding architecture, the Granit scanner offers Castellini’s workers exceptional barcode reading performance in a variety of warehouse settings. Ultra-rugged, it can handle the demands of working in a warehouse environment and work seamlessly with Honeywell’s VM1A Vehicle-Mounted Computer.

• Castellini also opted to have real-time line-of-sight on their investment by utilizing Honeywell’s Operational Intelligence software. Pairing data-driven analytics with real time device locationand battery-health gave Castellini the power to minimize device downtime and maximize worker productivity. With Operational Intelligence, Castellini can quickly identify a potential problem before it happens and take proactive measures to avoid costly challenges. Castellini can also use Operational Intelligence to locate lost devices, even if the device is on low or no battery, and monitor device health after accidental drops, further helping to reduce their total cost of ownership

Customer Results

• Improved scan performance, especially at longer ranges
• Devices were easily configured and deployed into the workforce
• Improved IT support, less IT technicians needed to go on-site
• Fast deployment within 2 months
• Increased data accuracy

Looking to the future

Rollout to the workforce for these new solutions occurred in just two months, with employees receiving training on the devices and software one to three times per week. Castellini found that employees were able to quickly adapt to the new devices through hands-on training that helped prepare for the first day of live implementation. Some of the most useful functions they have experienced since deployment are the devices’ ability to scan barcodes at a greater distance, and the accuracy of the scanners is notably better than previous devices they used. Castellini anticipates that with continued use of Honeywell Mobility Edge suite, they will experience increased picking productivity, better utilization of forklift equipment and operator time, and will have heightened product trackability, helping to eliminate waste and dumps. The increased flexibility of their new hardware and software will allow them to incorporate more 3PL-type business, allowing them to track, calculate and invoice for services provided. Previously, where their proprietary system presented operational inefficiencies, they found that Blue Yonder and Honeywell helped them keep up with their accelerated growth.

Summary

• Castellini required an Android mobile computing suite that paired software seamlessly with durable hardware solutions
• Deploying Honeywell’s Mobility Edge-backed devices allowed for one-time, universal configuration of mobile computing solutions and rapid deployment
• Enhanced scanning solutions and ergonomic form factors allowed for optimized business performance and seamless productivity
• Utilizing Operational Intelligence software, Castellini achieved enhanced visibility on their deployed mobile solutions and could proactively anticipate and triage device challenges in real-time
• By implementing Blue Yonder’s solutions, Castellini has greater inventory visibility for its customers, operational improvements, expanded value-added service tracking, and better orchestration of warehouse tasks