The award recognizes advanced automated solution for parcel superhub
MHS, a single-source provider of material handling automation and software solutions, announces its recognition on Supply and Demand Chain Executive’s list of innovative supply chain projects. The company earned its place on the 2020 SDCE 100 for the design and implementation of high-performance automated systems in the expanded UPS ground operations hub at its Louisville Centennial campus.
MHS completed the project six months ahead of schedule and more than doubled the now one-million-square-foot facility’s throughput to 85,000 packages per hour. The solution includes two separate systems to accommodate significant package variety, one for small parcels and another for large, irregularly shaped packages. Several miles of conveyor and multiple scan tunnels support the sorters and provide data for control software to direct package routing.
“Winning recognition on the SDCE 100 is an incredible honor, as is having such an exceptional customer,” says Pat Cowgill, senior vice president, MHS. “Our relationship with them allowed us to deliver a system that met all business requirements and got them up and running ahead of schedule.”
With the hub operating on a 24/7 schedule and the project including retrofits, new equipment installation and integration, MHS used a phased approach to minimize disruption. This allowed UPS to reap the benefits of an interim boost in capacity before the project was completely finished, expanding from 39,000 to 60,000 parcels per hour during the 2018 peak season. And when UPS expressed interest in expediting the project timeline, an experienced field service team worked overtime to get the project completely finished and online in April 2019 – six months ahead of the original schedule. Today, UPS considers the facility a super hub, one of its 10 largest ground-sorting facilities in the world.
