Getting the order right and delivering it on time, every time, may be paramount, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy—especially when you have 550,000 customers dotted around the world.
Automated operation and a single warehouse approach underpin Mouser Electronics’ commitment to customer service. Employees and e-commerce capabilities add to the mix, but at the heart of Mouser’s logistics capabilities lie its facilities—and boy, what a facility it is.
Mouser’s 750,000ft² corporate headquarters and distribution center has access to the world from the nearby D/FW International Airport. The warehouse is a 24-hour automated operation, vast in size but also in its capabilities, which are constantly evolving to meet Mouser’s growth.
The massive warehouse has, for instance, more than 3.5 miles of conveyor belts, which can handle as many as 15,000 orders every day. It has processed as many as 70,000 lines in a single day and the warehouse’s order accuracy and on-time arrival rates are said to top 99 per cent, aiming to deliver perfect orders to customers every time.
Reflecting these exacting standards, the global distributor has been recognized five consecutive years with the NorthFace ScoreBoard Award for global customer service excellence. The award recognizes Mouser’s excellence in customer satisfaction, identifying those organizations which center their existence on a commitment to exceeding customer expectations. Getting the right order delivered on time to the customer is paramount.
Automation plus expertise
Automated equipment, computers, conveyors and other machines in its warehouse underpin these capabilities and are run by the dedicated warehouse team of hundreds of full-time employees. Team members process orders as quickly as possible thanks to an impressive logistics operation that focuses on selection, speed and accuracy with sophisticated, automated shipping equipment.
The warehouse’s wireless management system, for example, delivers streamlined pick-and-ship operations for a five-sigma confidence rating, said to be better than 99 per cent. The warehouse team processes most orders in just 15 minutes, enabling same-day shipping to over 550,000 customers in 170 countries.
To further speed operations, the receiving area has been expanded to include 20 new stations to efficiently handle the thousands of boxes that arrive daily. Conveyor belts now take the incoming inventory, sort it and send it to the receivers’ stations for processing. Eighteen receiving and shipping bays help speed loading and unloading of FedEx, UPS, DHL and other transport trucks. In fact, major carriers have dedicated support teams on site to further expedite the incredible volume of orders.
Mouser vice president of warehouse operations, Tina Sears, said: “We’ve redesigned the warehouse to be truly smart in every way — from receiving to shipping. Our goal here at Mouser, as always, is to provide superior customer service. To do that we must accommodate growth and maximize efficiency, and I am happy to announce we are succeeding.”
Order pullers use iPads outfitted with a mobile app that links to the Mouser warehouse system for rapid processing. For smaller orders, a team of workers is trained to use an automated shipping machine that helps speed packing and shipping.
In the consolidation section of the warehouse, four levels of conveyor belts help process orders more quickly. A wire-guided turret forklift truck in the pallet area is equipped with sensor technology that precisely places pallets of inventory on shelves to maximize storage.
Single-warehouse solutions
The reason for all this automation is, of course, inventory — specifically, rapid access to the latest inventory available. Mouser’s focus on new product introductions is something it prides itself on and key to this offering is its single warehouse approach.
Sears explained: “Our centralized approach — using a single warehouse — streamlines operations and allows our customers to receive the newest products and overall inventory faster. This is a major differentiator for Mouser. We can ship anywhere in the world same-day, with arrival in one to four business days.”
A single-warehouse approach also helps to control inventory, ensuring all products are up-to-date and genuine. Mouser believes access to the latest technologies for prototyping helps engineers and buyers avoid costly redesigns, manufacturing delays or even the termination of a project further down the line. It can also provide to a design edge in delivering more product features, greater capabilities and longer lifecycles.
Thanks to Mouser’s quality standards, customers can be confident that every component stocked in its warehouse is genuine. All components are obtained directly from the original manufacturer or through authorized sources and Mouser is an AS9100C certified distributor. This quality and control standard provides design engineers and buyers with assurance that their orders are traceable and genuine.
As an Electronic Components Industry Association and China Electronics Distributor Alliance authorized distributor, Mouser is also contributing to the SAE G-19 counterfeit electronic parts committee. This body is working to set standards for industry channels to ensure customers receive only the newest genuine authorized parts.
With smart global logistics and service, backed by its website for easy ordering, Mouser aims to be the preferred choice of buyers and engineers worldwide for the newest semiconductors and electronic components.