B&H Photo Material Handling Case Study

B&H is the premier supplier for photo and video equipment – Known as "The Professional's Source". Over 30 years old. Aimed at both professionals and amateur photo-video enthusiasts. Emphasis on extensive product selection and outstanding service.

B&H's New York Superstore is located at 34th & 9th, just 1 block from Madison Square Garden, down the street from the Empire State Building. This location had a number of implications for the project. Storage space at a premium!! Footprint critical!! Expensive travel & lodging. Traffic.

Very large range of products – nearly everything a photo-video professional could need, including premium and hard to find items. Since many are very high value, and most would take up valuable sales floor space, the bulk of products at the NY Superstore and stored in the basement warehouse, and brought up to the sales floor as needed by the BMH system.

The Project was created due to need to expand their current system to service a new 2nd floor retail space. There was an existing system to service the first floor sales area. BMH's scope was to expand and update this system of conveyors and vertical lifts to service the new second floor and the increased volume. The equipment consisted of motor-driven roller conveyor, several reciprocating lifts, two continuous vertical lifts, and transfers for sales stations.

All product travels in the system in a uniform tote. If a customer is interested in seeing a product, the salesman enters a request into their computer system. The product is delivered from the basement to the salesperson's station via the lift and conveyor system. The salesperson and the customer then can examine the item and discuss the product further. If a sale is made, the sales person places the item back on the conveyor and it travels to the customer pickup area near the store exit.

When a salesperson on the floor enters in a request for a product, it generates a barcoded slip in the basement. A worker there retrieves the product and places it in a tote, with the barcoded slip in a transparent sleeve on the tote's side. The barcode indicates which station the tote will be diverted to. The tote is then placed on the lift for that area. Products in the basement are located near their corresponding sales area, (that is, cameras are stored directly below the camera sales area). So each lift services a dedicated product group in the basement and on the sales floor.

Some lifts go to a single output station on the sales floor. Other lifts feed to conveyor which travels under a counter servicing multiple sales stations. Along this conveyor, at each station the barcode is scanned and a right-angle transfer will kick out the tote if it is the correct station.

After the salesperson is finished with the product, they place it back into the tote and it is placed back onto the conveyor or takeaway lift. If the sale is successful, the tote will then travel to a lift which takes it to the overhead conveyor on the ground floor. These overhead conveyor lines merge and product travels to a customer purchase and pickup area, near the store exit.

The installation presented many unique challenges, some known, some unanticipated. The schedule was mostly night work, so that the store could remain open during the day. Also, B&H did not allow work on Friday evening or Saturday to observe the Jewish Sabbath.

The installation presented many unique challenges, some known, some unanticipated. The schedule was mostly night work, so that the store could remain open during the day. Also, B&H did not allow work on Friday evening or Saturday to observe the Jewish Sabbath.

This project was an expansion of an existing system, and because it was in a retail environment where B&H's customers would be able to see the equipment, B&H was concerned that the new equipment look the same as the existing system. For this reason, we were essentially bound to use the existing conveyor's manufacturer. This was IPS, whose motor driven roller conveyor consisted of aluminum extruded frames, and Itoh Denki powered rollers. We chose United Sortation Solutions for the VRCs because, although more expensive than some others, their lifts had a very compact footprint (meaning more retail floor space), and they were aesthetically pleasing, which was important to the customer.

All of the items discussed made this a challenging project. However, with flexibility and creative design, we were able to deliver a system that exceed's B&H's expectations, and we did it while the store continued operation. The phased cutovers from the old to the new system were successful, and allowed the new system to get up and running without losing any days of sales.

B&H's prime location and high traffic make it an excellent showcase for BMH's capabilities. Additionally, B&H understood the unique challenges, and worked with us as a partner to make the project a success.