March Program is at Hyundai in South Brunswick

We will be touring the Hyundai DC in South Brunswick, NJ on Wednesday, March 24th.

Hyundai (Mobis Parts America) launched on January 1, 2009, has begun the challenging two year task of combining the Hyundai and Kia operations into one customer service focused and efficient operating company. Systems strategies are being developed to integrate both companies into a single state of the art system. Parts Distribution Centers will become Hyundai/Kia facilities, allowing MPA to position facilities closer to their customers increasing current service levels at a significantly reduced cost.

Increasing service and reducing costs are the primary goals in combing Inventory Control, Parts Training and the Parts Technical Call Centers. A key business opportunity is in Parts Marketing. By leveraging the strength of both companies and utilizing common market intelligence, design and execution resources, MPA will add real Market Value for the manufacturer and dealer for both retail customers and wholesale business. As a result of the dramatic increases in sales for both Hyundai and Kia products, the Hyundai/Kia parts market has become extremely competitive and MPA is now positioned to win Customer loyalty.

Mobis Parts America (MPA), launched on January 1, 2009, has begun the challenging 2-year task of combining the Hyundai and Kia operations into one customer service focused and efficient operating company. Systems strategies are being developed to integrate both companies into a single state of the art system. Parts Distribution Centers will become Hyundai/Kia facilities, allowing MPA to position facilities closer to their customers increasing current service levels at a significantly reduced cost.

Increasing service and reducing costs are the primary goals in combing Inventory Control, Parts Training and the Parts Technical Call Centers. A key business opportunity is in Parts Marketing. By leveraging the strength of both companies and utilizing common market intelligence, design and execution resources, MPA will add real Market Value for the manufacturer and dealer for both retail customers and wholesale business. As a result of the dramatic increases in sales for both Hyundai and Kia products, the Hyundai/Kia parts market has become extremely competitive and MPA is now positioned to win Customer loyalty.

Having concluded the move into their new facility in August ‘08, MPA has realized a dramatic increase in storage capacity of fixed location capacity from 42K slots to 74K slots (+76%) ensuring our commitment to growth and operating efficiency. Although the new facility footprint is only marginally larger the increased operational height allows MPA to maximize the cube and achieve a 47% storage advantage. Additionally, energy efficient lighting and natural lighting provided by perimeter windows improve processing accuracy and provides a brighter and more open environment.

This facility provides service to 204 Hyundai Dealerships located in 13 states in the Northeast. Processing in excess of 1.7 million order lines annually, while maintaining a world class accuracy rate 99.92% (1 error for 1250 lines processed). Hyundai has been recognized by Industry analysts as a leader in Fill Rates, measuring over 98%, PDC Productivity and overall Supply Chain Efficiency.

Tour Highlights:

• A 320K square foot of warehouse and distribution operations
• A state of the art Technical Training Center for Dealership Technicians
• Utilization of in house slotting tools, providing optimal storage of over 33K unique part numbers
• A transportation system that provides delivery service to 203 dealerships by noon the following day with 60% of dealerships ordering parts prior to 3PM receiving deliveries prior to their opening the following morning
  

People are truly their most valuable asset that sets MPA apart from the rest. Processors are routinely flown to other facilities in the network to work, learn and share best practices, resulting in a unique camaraderie within the collective group. In addition to experiences at the other facilities, many of their Processors have visited their US Headquarters and Korean Operations both in Seoul and Ulsan to learn about the company and the Korean culture which is their foundation.

Unlike most PDC’s in the Service Parts Aftermarket, Hyundai takes a somewhat different approach in compensation, paying for performance opposed to contractually negotiated or predetermined increases, reinforced by incentives that provide monetary reward for meeting and exceeding performance goals.

PROGRAM SPONSORS

MHSNJ would like to thank our program sponsor for their support
of this month's program, as well as supporting our society.

DINNER SPEAKER

Ronald M. Palochko
MPA National Parts Distribution Center

MPA is truly excited to share their story and hope you can join us on March 24 for an exciting tour and presentation by Ronald M. Palochko, MPA National Manager Parts Distribution Center, as he tells us “The rest of the story…”

DINNER PROGRAM LOCATION

Crown Plaza Monroe
390 Forsgate Drive
Monroe Township, New Jersey

SCHEDULE

3:30....................Registration at the Tour Site
4:00..............................................Tour Begins
5:30..........................Reception at Restaurant
6:00...........................Dinner Program Begins

DIRECTIONS

Mobis Parts America (Hyundai)
1122 Cranbury-South River Road
Jamesburg, New Jersey 8831

From NJ Turnpike

• New Jersey Turnpike to Exit 8A.
  
• Stay to the right and follow signs for Cranbury, South Brunswick, Route
  535.
  
• At traffic light, make a right onto Cranbury South River Road (Rt. 535)>
  
• Hyundai is first right.

DIRECTIONS FROM TOURSITE TO DINNER PROGRAM

Crown Plaza Monroe
390 Forsgate Drive
Monroe Township, New Jersey 08831

From Toursite:

• Make a left out of the Hyundai parking lot onto Cranbury South River Road (Rt. 535).
  
• Continue straight through 2 traffic lights (the one directly next to Hyundai; and over Route 32).
• Make your first left onto Interchange Plaza and proceed to the end.
  
• Make a left onto Abeel Road.
  
• Follow straight into the back of the Crowne Plaza Parking lot.

REGISTRATION

Registration prior to tours is strongly recommended to guarantee admittance. Tours often fill to capacity prior to program date which prevents same-day on-site registrations. Please pre-register to allow us to adequately plan our programs and dinners. Please note: Walk-in day of tour registrations are subject to availability and are subject to an additional charge.

MEMBER PRE-REGISTRATION RATE - $50.00

Please Enter Name:
Please Enter Company:

NON-MEMBER PRE-REGISTRATION RATE - $75.00

Please Enter Name:
Please Enter Company:

US1 REGISTRATION - REFERENCE CODE HK32410

Please Enter Name:
Please Enter Company:

FIRST MEETING SPECIAL: JOIN MHSNJ AND ATTEND THIS PROGRAM AT A REDUCED RATE - $95.00

Please Enter Name:
Please Enter Company:

NJ Franchise Practices Act Expanded to Cover Wholesale Distribution Warehouses

The following article has been provided by MHSNJ member Jeremy Silberman.

MHSNJ Member Jeremy I. Silberman, Esq.

In the January 2009 MHSNJ Newsletter, I wrote about the wide range of businesses covered by New Jersey’s Franchise Practices Act (“NJFPA”) and its protections. Click here to download January 2009 Newsletter. On January 16, 2010, the NJFPA was amended to cover an even wider range of businesses, including specifically warehouse based wholesale distributors.


Enacted in 1971, the NJFPA prohibits a “franchisor” from terminating a “franchisee” without “good cause” or from imposing unreasonable standards of performance. First, let’s be clear that a “franchise,” for purposes of the NJFPA, is not just your neighborhood McDonalds, Burger King, and other types of traditional franchises. Many types of businesses in New Jersey, are franchises for purpose of the NJFPA, including companies in material handling industries. A contract between any two businesses is a “franchise” under the NJFPA so long as six requirements are met: (1) a written arrangement between the parties, (2) one party (called the “franchisor”) grants the other party (the “franchisee”) permission to use a trademark, trade name, service mark, or related characteristic, (3) there is a “community of Interest” in the marketing of goods or services, (4) the franchisee has “a place of business” in New Jersey, (5) more than 20% of the franchisee’s gross sales are derived (or intended to be derived) from this arrangement, and (6) gross sales of products or services between the franchisor and franchisee exceed $35,000 in the prior year.


I highlighted the “place of business” element in the above paragraph because that requirement was just amended to include warehouses and offices of wholesale distributors. Prior to the recent amendment, the NJFPA defined a place of business as “a fixed geographical location at which the franchisee displays for sale and sells the franchisor’s goods or offers for sale and sells the franchisor’s services... [but] shall not mean an office, a warehouse, a place of storage, a residence or a vehicle.” Thus, the law required some level of sales activity to take place on the premises and excluded certain types of facilities. Manufacturers used this “place of business” definition to deprive distribution businesses of the NJFPA’s protections. Distributors frequently do not conduct sales activity on their own premises; the distributors’ personnel make sales calls, obtain orders, and make deliveries at their customers’ facilities. This led to the following anomaly: if a distributor required its customers to buy goods at the distributor’s place of business, it could be protected from termination by the statute, yet if the distributor instead delivered products to its customers and consummated its sales at the customer’s location, it did not meet the place of business requirement, and was not protected by the NJFPA.


Following this logic, in 2007, the federal district court in New Jersey allowed the termination of a New Jersey wholesale distributor of Vitaminwater™ beverages, holding that it was not protected by the NJFPA. This company had been distributing Vitaminwater™ beverages since the product was first introduced, and invested considerable time and money to create a market for the product where none previously existed. Its personnel made sales calls at customers’ corporate offices and supermarkets, obtained orders at the customers’ facilities, and delivered the product to the customers’ stores. After the distributor built a multi-million dollar market, the Coca-Cola Company purchased Glaceau, maker of Vitaminwater™ , terminated the Vitaminwater™ distributors, and replaced them with Coca-Cola’s existing distributors. The New Jersey distributor sued for unlawful termination, in violation of the NJFPA. However the federal district court found it was not protected by the statute because it did not have sufficient retail sales activity at its own warehouse to meet the “place of business” requirement.


The legislature passed the new amendment to the NJFPA in response to this Vitaminwater™ distributor case and other instances where wholesale distributors were denied NJFPA protection. In passing the amendment, the legislature expressly found that protections against unreasonable termination “are necessary to protect not only retail businesses, but also wholesale distribution franchisees that, through their efforts, enhance the reputation and good will of franchisors in this State.” (P.L. 1971, c.356, Sec. 2.)


Under the amended law, effective January 16, 2010, the place of business definition is expanded:


Place of business means a fixed geographic location at which the franchisee displays for sale and sells the franchisor’s goods or offers for sale and sells the franchisor’s services. Place of business shall not mean an office, a warehouse, a place of storage, a residence or a vehicle, except that with respect to persons who do not make a majority of their sales directly to consumers, “place of business” means a fixed geographic location at which the franchisee displays for sale and sells the franchisor’s goods . . . or an office or a warehouse from which franchisee personnel visit or call upon customers or from which the franchisor’s goods are delivered for customers. (P.L. 1971, c.356, s.3)


This expansion of the place of business requirement is limited to companies “who do not make a majority of their sales directly to consumers.” For these businesses, at least, the place of business requirement can be met by an office or warehouse from which sales personnel make sales calls or from which product is delivered, even if no sales activity takes place at the facility. The amended NJFPA is a significant improvement in protecting New Jersey’s wholesale distributors from unreasonable terminations, and expands the opportunity to structure your business operations to fall within its protections.

Jeremy I. Silberman (MHSNJ Member) and Haekyoung Suh, who contributed to this article, are members of Norris, McLaughlin & Marcus, P.A. and specialize in franchise and distribution law. Norris, McLaughlin & Marcus is a full service law firm based in Bridgewater, New Jersey, with offices in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and New York City. For more information visit www.nmmlaw.com.

Coming in June: The 2010 MHSNJ Classic

On Wednesday June 9th, the Material Handling Society will host our annual MHSNJ Golf Classic at Minebrook Golf Club in Hackettstown, NJ. This event raises thousand of dollars that we award to students from both Rutgers University and New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT).

At our March meeting, professors and student attended our program and were awarded $6,000 in scholarship money. Many of our past scholarship winners have gone on to jobs in the material handling industry, and are current members of the society.

We invite you to join us as a golfer, a sponsor, or at our dinner program after a day of fun, friendship, and networking.

Click here to view the companies and individuals who support our scholarship.

Download an application to be a golfer or sponsor here.

December 2009 Newsletter

Download this month's newsletter here.

DOWNLOAD LINK

January Program from MHSNJ

Our next program will be at the Newark Refrigerated Warehouse in Newark, New Jersey on the 20th of January.


TOUR DETAILS

Newark Refrigerated Warehouse operates two public refrigerated warehouses one in the City of Newark and one in the Port. The facility handles largely imported and exported food products coming from or going to the Port. The largest commodity is juice concentrate.

The building is refrigerated by four engine driven compressors, two liquid Kathabar desiccant systems and traditional brine coils. The facility is comprised of 2 buildings, the older 1926 building, and a new building about five years old which has man up cranes. The new facility is about 75 feet high with about 65 feet of product and 9,200 pallets in a 25,000 square foot footprint. The facility also manufactures frozen dough bagels and is in the process of building a juice pumping facility to pump concentrate from drums and totes to tanker trucks.

Five aspects of the building are of interest:

1. Engine driven compressors with heat recovery
2. Liquid desiccant systems
3. Bagel manufacturing
4. Aisle mobile cranes
5. Concentrate pumping (under construction)
   

Other features:

• 4 Million Cubic Feet
• Crane Building – RF – 4 years old
• Conventional Building – RF
• 16 rooms with Separate Temperature Controls
• Building is Being Partially Automated
• Fully Enclosed Dock
• Less Than 2 Miles from the Port
• Desiccant De-humidification and Air Filtering Including Microbe Reduction

ABOUT OUR HOST

Newark Refrigerated Warehouse focuses on handling imports and exports going through the Port of Newark / Elizabeth. The products are largely food stored in temperature controlled conditions, although some of the products are dry products handled for customers that want the care associated with temperature controlled conditions. Their customers are global so they have done everything possible to provide global access to all of the information about their inventory their customers need. All ordering activity, inventory records, etc. are available on the internet. EDI is available as are the more modern XML files. Most communications between their customers and the warehouse personnel now takes place largely on cell phones and through emails. When a problem occurs with an inbound load, the customer immediately receives an email containing pictures and a description of the problem. The actual warehouse receipt will be emailed to the customer within 24 hours so that each customer is completely informed about the status of their cargo no matter where that customer is. Customers should, and do, call and email individual management people directly. Their customers receive the best possible information as quickly as possible.

Although the Newark Refrigerated Warehouse handles many commodities, they specialize in:

1. Juice concentrates
2. Meat
3. Kosher products

The warehouse has developed special skills in handling these commodities. For instance, the warehouse can redissolve precipated sugars in white grape juice concentrate. The warehouse performs USDA meat inspections on all imported meat and, in fact, the Port Newark Refrigerated Warehouse accounts for about 80% of that business coming through Port Newark. They have excellent relationships with a number of kosher certifying agencies to make sure that the USDA meat inspection and other procedures interfere with Kashrut.

The warehouse provides all services an importer or exporter may need including drayage to and from the Port, handling, storage, cross-docking, rail connection, product sampling, inventories, etc. They also have other specialized services such as central customs container exam station (CES), USDA clean room, cold treatment capabilities and bulk pumping facilities.

Because ships arrive at any time, over which the warehouse has no control, the warehouse is accustomed to doing whatever is necessary to get the containers from the piers and put the product in the warehouse without regard to weekends, holidays or any other event. Many of their customers are local and pick up their own product. Therefore, appointments are not required although a 24 hour in advance appointment, however, is much appreciated.
Newark Refrigerated Warehouse has 16 temperature controlled rooms and, therefore, they can offer customers specific temperatures, 55°F for white grape, 28°F for fresh meats and so on. If a customer has any special needs, they probably can accommodate them.

The new building at Newark Refrigerated Warehouse has man-operated cranes, 65 feet tall and is a very efficient warehouse using RF. RF is also being installed on the older building in Newark. Port Newark Refrigerated Warehouse is building a new building which will have fully automated cranes 120 feet tall and will be able to provide better service more economically to their customers. The New Refrigerated Warehouse is focused on using the best available technology to serve their global customers.

DINNER PROGRAM

Stefan Pryor
Deputy Mayor for Economic Development
City of Newark

Stefan Pryor is Deputy Mayor for Economic Development in the City of Newark. In that capacity, he oversees the City offices responsible for economic development, city planning, housing, and workforce development. Pryor also serves as Chairman of the Brick City Development Corporation (BCDC), which is Newark’s economic development organization and which Pryor helped found.

Before his appointment to these posts, Pryor served as President of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. In that capacity, he served as the agency’s chief executive. The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) was created in the aftermath of September 11th by the State and City of New York to plan and help coordinate the physical rebuilding and economic revitalization of Lower Manhattan. Pryor was the first employee of the LMDC, which was formed in November of 2001, and he served in a number of leadership capacities before serving as its President.

Pryor previously served as a Vice President at the Partnership for New York City (where he worked from 1998 to 2001). The Partnership is the NYC’s leading business organization. At the Partnership, Pryor spearheaded the organization’s public education efforts and served as Executive Director of its main school reform program. After September 11th, Pryor helped coordinate the Partnership’s efforts to get downtown businesses up and running again. Pryor helped found ReStart Central, which provided donated and discounted goods and services to 9/11-affected businesses.

From 1994 to 1997, Pryor served as Policy Advisor to the Mayor of New Haven, Connecticut. Pryor is a co-founder and was the first Board President of Amistad Academy, a highly acclaimed charter school in New Haven. Amistad is the flagship for the Achievement First network of charter schools. Pryor serves on the board of Achievement First, which has opened and now operates 15 academies and schools in Connecticut and in New York City. Pryor is a graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School.

SCHEDULE

3:30...................Registration at the Tour Site
4:00............................................Tour Begins
5:30.........................Reception at Restaurant
6:00.........................Dinner Program Begins

DINNER PROGRAM LOCATION

IBERIA
80-84 Ferry Street,
Newark, New Jersey

DIRECTIONS

NEWARK REFRIGERATED WAREHOUSE
104 AVE C, Newark, N.J. 07114
PH:973-824-6694

From South

• New Jersey Turnpike to Exit 13A Newark Airport/Elizabeth Seaport
• Continue onto US 1 & 9 N (1.6 mi.)
• Left ramp onto McCarter HWY RT21 N (1.3 mi.)
• Right on Miller St (0.4 mi.)
• Right onto Avenue C
  

From North

• New Jersey Turnpike to Exit 14/Newark Airport (US-1)/Clinton (US-9)/US-22
• Take the Newark(RT-21)Left exit onto US-1 & 9 S (US-1 S) toward Newark (US-22)/US-9 S
• Take ramp onto McCarter HWY(RT-21 N) toward Newark
• Turn Right on Miller St
• Right onto Avenue C
  

DIRECTIONS FROM TOURSITE TO DINNER PROGRAM

IBERIA
67 Ferry Street,
Newark, New Jersey

From Newark Refrigerated Warehouse:

• Avenue C back to Miller St
• Left onto Miller St, Right onto McCarter HWY RT-21 (1.3 mi.)
• Right onto Market St (0.1 mi.)
• Bear Right onto Ferry St to 67 Ferry St (0.2 mi)
  

REGISTRATION

Registration prior to tours is strongly recommended to guarantee admittance. Tours often fill to capacity prior to program date which prevents same-day on-site registrations. Please pre-register to allow us to adequately plan our programs and dinners. Please note: Walk-in day of tour registrations are subject to availability and are subject to an additional charge.

MEMBER PRE-REGISTRATION RATE - $50.00

Please Enter Name:
Please Enter Company:

NON-MEMBER PRE-REGISTRATION RATE - $75.00

Please Enter Name:
Please Enter Company:

FIRST MEETING SPECIAL: JOIN MHSNJ AND ATTEND THIS PROGRAM AT A REDUCED RATE - $95.00

Please Enter Name:
Please Enter Company:

November 2009 Newsletter

Download this month's newsletter here.

DOWNLOAD LINK

December Program

Our next program will be at the CVS/Caremark Distribution Center in Lumberton, New Jersey on Wednesday, December 2nd.


TOUR DETAILS

This is an immense, well run distribution center that CVS management is very proud to show off. The tours of their facility are extremely informative and will be a great learning experience for all our members. We are expecting a good turnout for this tour so please register early.

This facility services 666 stores in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and parts of New York. Located on 50 acres in Lumberton the DC comprises 1,014,409 SF, with an additional 162,000 SF in their Central Warehouse across the street.

CVS / Caremark’s operations include RX Pick-to-Light, pharmacy loose picks, daily, seasonal and promotional store replenishments and order fulfillments. The facility comprises:

• 44 receiving dock doors
• Over 7 miles of conveyor
• A propriety CVS WMS, RF based, UCC 128 BC driven system runs all order and labor management processes
• The DC has over 1,000 full time employees on a 3 shift, 5 day operation supported by a 41 person management team

Some operational statistics for the DC:

• 145,000 cases received on a daily basis
• 23,000 total SKUs
• Average Front Store Pick = 1,200,000 pieces using totes using roughly 35,000 totes
• Average Pharmacy Loose Pick Daily = 212,000 pieces using 2,600 totes
• Average Outbound Parcels = 115,000 parcels direct delivery daily
• Weekly deliveries from this facility = 740

DINNER PROGRAM

The CVS/Caremark DC Story

For our dinner panel discussion / presentation Ron Richmond, Director of CVS / Caremark and his team will present additional information on CVS / Caremark’s distribution channels, future growth and answer any questions you might have on the facility.

Ron Richmond – Director, CVS Lumberton Distribution Center, began his CVS career in July of 2009. Prior to CVS, he spent 5 years as the General Manager of IKEA Home Furnishing’s 1.8mm square foot distribution center in Perryville, Maryland. Prior to IKEA, Ron spent 16 years with Wal-Mart Distribution in various roles and locations throughout the United States.

Rich Sanitate – Sr. Operations Manager, CVS Lumberton Distribution Center, began his CVS career in 1998 after a successful distribution career with Sony Music Entertainment in Chicago where he was the Associate Director of that operation. Rich has filled several roles in the Lumberton building and is currently part of an implementation team who assists other CVS Distribution Centers in the new WMS platform implementation.

Matt Forster – Operations Manager, CVS Lumberton Distribution Center, began his CVS career in early 2008 as Operations Manager for the facility. Matt has responsibility for operations and inventory control across all shifts and schedules. Prior to Matt joining CVS, he worked for Target Corporation in various roles to include transportation and distribution as well as time in the retail sector as a Store Manager


PROGRAM SPONSOR

Intelligrated® is an American-owned supplier of integrated material handling systems that provide logistics solutions throughout the supply chain with services and products primarily serving the warehousing and distribution sector. The world class equipment we produce demonstrates our ability in high speed case sortation, accumulation, merging and controls technology, all supported by 24x7 customer service and sales. The acquisition in 2009 of automated material handling supplier FKI Logistex® (www.fkilogistex.com) expands the Intelligrated product line to include Alvey® palletizers, Real Time Solutions® order fulfillment systems, and Crisplant® tilt-tray and cross-belt sorters.


MHSNJ would like to thank our program sponsor for their support

of this month's program, as well as supporting our society.

SCHEDULE

3:30 - Registration at the Tour Site

4:00 - Tour Begins

5:30 - Reception at Restaurant

6:00 - Dinner Program Begins

DINNER PROGRAM LOCATION

Deerwood Country Club
845 Woodlane Road
Westhampton, New Jersey 08060
609-265-1855
www.deerwoodcc.com

DIRECTIONS

TO CVS DISTRIBUTION CENTER
1 Berry Drive , Lumberton, NJ 08048
609-267-6700

From North or South Jersey

• New Jersey Turnpike to Exit 5 – Burlington/Mt. Holly
• Thru tolls, right at light onto Rt. 541 South
• Follow Rt. 541 South thru 2 lights for 1.6 miles
• Bear right just before the 3rd light (Burger King on right) onto the Lumberton/Medford (Rt. 541 Mt. Holly Bypass)
• Continue on Rt. 541 - Mt. Holly Bypass for 2.2 miles, thru 3 lights, crossing over Rt. 38
• Make right at next light onto Berry Drive
• Go 0.3 miles, CVS is on LEFT side
• Park in middle of lot near the front entrance (visitor spots), sign in at lobby.

TO THE DEERWOOD COUNTRY CLUB
845 Woodlane Road, Westhampton, New Jersey 08060
609-265-1855

From CVS / Caremark DC: (back toward NJ TPK)

• Right out of parking lot, 0.3 miles
• Left turn onto Rt. 541 - Mt. Holly Bypass for 2.2 miles
• Left at 3rd light onto main Rt. 541
• Go 0.3 miles, right onto Woodlawn Road, Deerwood CC is 0.4 mile on left

From NJ Turnpike:

• New Jersey Turnpike to Exit 5 – Burlington/Mt. Holly
• Thru tolls, right at light onto Rt. 541 South
• Follow Rt. 541 South @ 1 mile to Woodlane Road, take jug handle, make left onto Woodlane Road
• Deerwood CC is 0.5 mile on left

REGISTRATION

Registration prior to tours is strongly recommended to guarantee admittance. Tours often fill to capacity prior to program date which prevents same-day on-site registrations.

Please pre-register to allow us to adequately plan our programs and dinners.

Please note: Walk-in day of tour registrations are subject to availability and are subject to an additional charge.

MEMBER PRE-REGISTRATION RATE - $50.00

Please Enter Name:
Please Enter Company:

NON-MEMBER PRE-REGISTRATION RATE - $60.00

Please Enter Name:
Please Enter Company:

Photos from Our October Program

Our October Program was a great success. Over 60 people attended the tour and/or dinner presentation.

We wish to thank the people of Loehmann's for opening their doors to us, our speakers for donating their time, and SDI for sponsoring the event.

Bill Thayer of Loehmanns speaks to our group.

Fred Gerstler thanks our guest from Loehmanns.
From left to right Pete Inchausti, Bill Thayer, Fred Gerstler, Andrew Love, and Greg Cioffi.

Our Dinner Presentation.

Steve O'Reilly thanks our speakers.
From left to right Anthony DeIeso, Steve O'Reilly, and Christopher Ulricksen.

October 2009 Newsletter

Download this month's newsletter here.

DOWNLOAD LINK

October Program and Registration

We are pleased to announce our next program will be held at the Loehmann's Distribution Center in Rutherford, New Jersey on Wednesday, October 21st.


About Loehmann's

Loehmann's Distribution Center supplies floor ready goods to their 60+ stores in 16 states. Over the past few year, Loehmann's management has made the decision to install SDI high speed sorters and convert their historically labor intensive operation into a one with higher speed, accuracy, and throughput.

Over the past few years, Loehmann's unit volumes have increase by 44% (2002-2008), yet the company was able to continue to operation from the same building and avoid expensive moving costs and upheaval. Because of the dramatically increased speed of merchandise flow, they avoided the exhaustion of the DC's capacity, which consultants had predicted would occur in 2006.

Despite a 40% increase in labor costs across the period, cost per unit rose only 12%. There has been a significant reduction in head count. In 2000, there were 400 employees handling 12 million items and in 2008, just 350 staff members were handling over 17 million items and with nearly perfect accuracy.

Highlights of this tour will be:

• 400,000+ square feet of warehouse and distribution operations
• Receiving of boxed and hanging goods.
• QA rocesses and breakdown of garments to hangers.
• Picking, Putaway, and Staging processes
  
• Value Added Services of Price Ticketing and Security Tagging
• Miles of GOH Rail and Powered Conveyor Systems
  
• High Speed Soration of Hanging and Flat Product Utilizing SDI Sortation Equipment
• 350 Staff Members handling over 17 Million units with nearly perfect accuracy
  

Today, more than 87 years after opening its first off-price apparel store in Brooklyn, NY, Loehmann’s continues to distinguish itself as a preeminent, upscale, off-price specialty retailer for name brand designer fashions.

Couture and designer fashions plus current, in-season merchandise and frequent new arrivals, all at prices 30% to 65% less than department store prices, still serve as hallmark features of Loehmann’s, attracting generations of fashion-savvy women and men to a shopping experience unlike any other.

Loehmann’s carries a wide spectrum of looks favored by customers with classic to contemporary lifestyles. Store departments include ladies sportswear, dresses, career and casual collections; shoes, accessories including handbags and jewelry plus men’s, juniors and children’s.

Loehmann’s continues to feature its famous “Back Room” where shoppers are privy to a select yet ever changing and surprising array of high end designer and couture clothing at lower prices. With an exclusive selection of colors and sizes represented, the thrill of “getting a deal” on something special and unique is as exciting today as it was when Frieda Loehmann started the Company in 1921.

Now, more than 60 stores strong in 16 states, the stores are filled with collections from today’s top designer names such as Calvin Klein, Diane Von Furstenberg, Kenneth Cole, Dolce & Gabbana, Valentino, Nicole Miller, Anne Klein, Donna Karan, Michael Kors and more! Loehmann’s has grown to include a large flagship store in Manhattan and one in Beverly Hills, as well as a “Size Search” in-store service that helps find and ship appropriate sized items to customers; plus, in select large stores, free personal shopping service.

Program Sponsor

SDI Industries is a leading specialist in the provision of integrated materials handling solutions for retail, wholesale, fulfilment and e-commerce distribution operations.

MHSNJ would like to thank our program sponsor for their support
of this month's program, as well as supporting our society.

Dinner Program

Achieve More. With Lean Ergonomic Six Sigma

The current economy and competitive pressures continuously drive the need for organizations to reduce costs, the value of implementing Lean principles coupled with workplace ergonomic improvements and Six Sigma is becoming increasingly evident. Resource constraints faced by most organizations make it essential to prioritize improvement opportunities so that available energy is focused on solving the problems that have the most impact to business and productivity with a bi-product of health and safety.

Lean, ergonomics, and Six Sigma can produce significant benefits to companies that are seriously committed to a scalable and sustainable approach to reduce costs. The use of the DMAIC process of Defining, Measuring, Analyzing, Improving and Controlling, when performing ergonomic business case analyses allows organizations to control ergonomic risk factors and the impact ergonomic solutions have on risk reduction, efficiency and company metrics.

Review of a series of case studies will outline an effective process and toolset resulting in 50-75% reduction in ergonomic risk factors and 30-80% improvement in operational efficiency.

Speakers

Anthony DiIeso, OTR, CPE

Mr. DiIeso is a Board Certified Professional Ergonomist (CPE) and Registered Occupational Therapist (OTR) who has over 10 years of experience in the field of occupational ergonomics in rehabilitation, workers compensation and lean manufacturing. He is currently a Senior EHS Consultant with Environmental and Occupational Risk Management, Inc. (EORM®). As a consultant he is experienced in developing, deploying and managing corporate wide ergonomics programs; implementing effective engineering solutions; designing return to work programs, fitness for duty programs and physical demands analysis; utilizing qualitative and quantitative ergonomic risk assessments to focus on implementing engineering solutions for risk reduction and increasing efficiencies. His expertise lies in the areas of human anatomy, physiology, biomechanics and job/process redesign. Key accomplishments include:

• Successfully developed, deployed and managed return to work and ergonomic programs and initiatives. Program results have included: reduction in Workers Compensation costs, ergonomic risk factors and an increase is productivity.
• Achieved risk reduction and efficiency gains while working with design teams, engineers, management, medical personnel and employees in fortune 500 companies.

Christopher Ulriksen, CSP

Mr. Ulriksen is a Certified Safety Professional with over 10 years of experience in environmental health and safety matters in the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors. Prior to joining Environmental and Occupational Risk Management, Inc. (EORM®) as a Principal Consultant, Mr. Ulriksen had a 5 year tenure as the EHS Manager for Laureate Pharma in Princeton and Totowa, NJ. His experience ranges from the development of cost-effective training and OSHA compliance programs to performance-based program management. Mr. Ulriksen is a member of the AIHA, NSC and ASSE.

Environmental and Occupational Risk Management, Inc. (EORM®)

EORM is a national, multi-disciplinary environmental, health, safety and sustainability management and technical consulting firm, founded in 1990 and incorporated in the State of California in 1992. The Company’s headquarters are located in San Jose, California with multiple offices strategically located to serve clients in major markets through-out the United States and select projects internationally. We feel that the best way to service our clients in a timely, efficient and cost effective manner is to have expertise as local as possible. Supporting our office locations are field offices comprised of experienced consultants working from a home office or a key client site. Our team of 125 experts has provided professional consulting services all over the US and globally for many fortune 500 companies. EORM is both ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001-certified.

TOUR LOCATION

Loehmann's Distribution Center

299 Thomas E Dunn Memorial Hwy

Rutherford, NJ 07070

Loehmann's DC is on the left (Red A)

From the Turnpike/Route 3 West:

• NJTPK Exit 16W (Giants Stadium)
• Route 3 West for 2.5 Miles
• Exit for Route 17 North SERVICE ROAD
• At the end of the ramp, make a right onto Rutherford Ave/Thomas E Dunn Hwy
• Drive 1/4 mile and make a sharp left into the Loehmann's parking lot
• Park in the right hand lot as you enter the property.

SCHEDULE

Registration At Tour Site.…..……….…..3:30 PM
Tour Begins………………….…..……….…..4:00 PM
Reception at Restaurant….……..……….5:00 PM
Program begins……..………>………..…...6:00 PM

DINNER LOCATION

The Landmark
26 Rt. 17 South
East Rutherford, N.J. 07073
(201) 438-3939

Directions From Loehmann's: Turn right out of Loehmanns parking lot Take exit for Route 17 north. Then exit at Paterson Plank Road. Make a left turn at the light at the top of the ramp. Cross over highway and follow sign for U-turn to Route 17 south. See entrance to Landmark 50 feet past underpass on right.

REGISTRATION

Registration prior to programs is strongly recommended to guarantee admittance. Programs often fill to capacity prior to program date which prevents same-day on-site registrations.

Please pre-register to allow us to adequately plan our programs and dinners.

Please note: Walk-in day of programs registrations are subject to availability and are subject to an additional charge.

MEMBER PRE-REGISTRATION RATE - $50.00

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NON-MEMBER PRE-REGISTRATION RATE - $60.00

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