Heinz (Borden Foodservice)
A Priya Success Story

Company Overview
Heinz (formerly Borden Foodservice) manufactures and distributes food products to a variety of public and private sector institutional customers, and a number of fast food chains like Burger King and Wendy's.

The Problem
In 1991, Heinz was in the process of implementing a national expansion and investment program in excess of $150 million. The plan called for the construction of several large Hyperplant facilities located in strategic parts of the country. Each Hyperplant, some in excess of 1 million ft2 in size, combines state of the art food manufacturing and packaging with national warehousing and distribution.

Faced with the dilemma of using paper-based systems to control, track, and manage inventory and distribution, Heinz turned to Motek to provide a comprehensive national distribution and warehouse automation solution.

The Motek Solution
Following a comprehensive analysis by Motek operations and computer consultants, Heinz's national warehouse and distribution center operations were automated with Motek's Priya. Priya utilizes real-time, RF handheld and forklift mounted computers, bar code scanners, and the latest in relational data base technology to provide a comprehensive, performance oriented Inventory/Warehouse Management System. Priya centers around a true Random Access Locator, and handles all aspects of warehouse automation including: Put-away, Staging, Let-downs, Picking, Cycle Count, Physical Inventory, Warehouse Space Optimization, and Customer Service. Priya was designed to enhance, not replace, existing data processing systems (in this case HP3000-based production and accounting applications), and to be implemented in such a way as to minimize any impact on operations. Priya has resulted in worker productivity gains of 40%, the virtual elimination of overtime, a 100% increase in pounds shipped per day, a ten fold decrease in scrap, a 300% decrease in physical inventory costs, and 20% overall increase in warehouse space utilization.