Food supplier modernises DC operations

Honeywell has announced that one of the largest suppliers of fresh and frozen produce and fruit in the US Midwest has deployed the company’s mobile computers, tablets and software to help its mobile workers pick, pack and ship perishables.

The Castellini Company, one of the oldest produce companies in the country, has deployed Honeywell’s CK65 and CT40 mobile computers, its VM1 vehicle-mounted computers and RT10 tablets. These portable devices are all based on Honeywell’s Mobility Edge platform, which is designed to extend asset life, accelerate deployment and simplify management of mobility solutions.

Castellini will use Honeywell’s Operational Intelligence Professional software, a centralised cloud-based platform that enables it to keep track of its new devices, manage their operational status and reduce unplanned downtime to give customers an even more trusted, reliable service. Honeywell will provide on-demand support to the Castellini Company, serving as a single point of contact for ongoing mobility device management and help desk support.

“To keep up with customer demand and a rapidly-changing environment, we were looking to use the latest technology to keep our mobile workers productive,” said Brian Kocher, president and CEO of the Castellini Group of Companies, which transports perishables to some of the largest retail grocery chains, food service distributors and home delivery services in the United States. “The combination of our warehouse system technology paired with Honeywell’s mobile computers allow us to operate at a productivity level we’ve never seen before in our history.”

The rise in e-commerce continues to set faster and more complex delivery standards, putting strains on warehouses and distribution centres to meet customer demands. Mobile computers are critical tools used by operations and mobile workers to allow for faster, smarter and more effective work. With these devices, workers can access to operational data through barcode scanning, complete picking and packing operations through voice-guided solutions and communicate with other workers to ensure tasks are complete.

“From the store back into the food supply chain, customer experience expectations coupled with new food preferences have made food supply chain efficiency more important than ever before,” said Kevin Dehoff, president of Honeywell’s Productivity Solutions and Services business. “Honeywell’s mobile computers and software provide distributors like the Castellini Company tools to connect with each other and view real-time enterprise information to work faster, smarter and more efficiently.”

The Castellini Company’s distribution centres provide next-day delivery and distribution centre replenishment. Its 1,400 truckloads deliver over 4,000 tonnes of perishables and more than 300,000 meals per week.

Honeywell’s Mobility Edge platform is a unified hardware and software architecture with an integrated software toolset and the only one that guarantees support through Android 12. Mobility Edge enables IT departments to reuse their investment in solution development and software certification across multiple computer form factors.

Honeywell’s mobile computers, voice technology automated material handling solutions and software solutions are designed to help customers answer supply chain challenges and meet the exponential growth of ecommerce and rising consumer expectations.