GEM Products, Jacksonville, Florida, USA

The Hänel Lean-Lift® for marine parts distribution

For more than 50 years GEM Products has been one of the leading providers of marine and boating equipment made of stainless steel. The company employs 28 people in Jacksonville, Florida, who ship products to satisfied customers throughout the USA. A high-speed Hänel Lean-Lift® was installed in a new building complex to optimize shipping processes.

Compact and neat storage of stainless steel components in the Hänel Lean-Lift® 

During the planning phase, Hänel’s channel partner, South Atlantic Systems Group, collaborated with us to provide a solution based on the Lean-Lift® for vertical storage from floor to ceiling in the new building. The design of the Hänel Lean-Lift® ensures that maximum storage capacity is available within an extremely small footprint. The compact and systematic storage of stainless steel latches, handles, barrel bolts and pipe brackets in the Hänel Lean-Lift® saves enormous amounts of floor space. 

Fast and error-free order picking 

Employees request items stored on Hänel multifunction containers at the touch of a button. The system brings the containers to the access point where employees retrieve the items. This speeds up the picking process and considerably improves ergonomics. The Hänel compartment and sub-level indicators located across the access point show item locations and thus support reliable and error-free retrieval.

Direct communication between HänelSoft® and the WMS 

HänelSoft® was seamlessly integrated in the customer’s cloud-based Warehouse Management System, powered by Netsuite. The Hänel Lean-Lift® serves as the final pick zone in the warehouse process. 

If an order calls for parts stored in the Hänel vertical lift system, the WMS generates a pick list and sends it to HänelSoft®. Once the employee records the pick order with the barcode scanner for the compact MP 12 N controller, this data is sent to the lift system to start the retrieval process. 

The extractor in the Hänel Lean-Lift® quickly works through the pick list using the most efficient routing.

Seamless system integration and intelligent intralogistics concepts from Hänel once again prove that modern automated storage systems can reduce costs effectively and boost customer satisfaction!

"We chose the Hänel system for the increase in productivity. Hänel gives us the ability to have a single operator pick multiple orders from one location as the system brings parts to the operator, thus reducing the overall pick time." 

Eric Muzzillo,
Vice President Engineering & Operations