Mouser Electronics, Inc., the industry’s leading New Product Introduction (NPI) distributor with the widest selection of semiconductors and electronic components, continues to invest heavily in state-of-the-art automation in its global distribution center to increase order processing, accuracy and speed, helping customers further reduce time-to-market.

As of this year, Mouser has installed 102 vertical lift modules (VLMs), the most at any company in the Western Hemisphere and the fourth largest VLM installation in the world. VLMs are essentially giant vertical filing cabinets, complete with shelves and an automated elevator to bring the components to the employee’s workstation. This increases efficiency and floor space and can reduce an employee’s walking time by 45 percent or more.

In addition, the distribution center features multiple Ultipack and I-Pack machines, a sophisticated automated system for sealing and labeling shipments that can process up to 14 orders per minute. Mouser is also currently installing an OPEX Perfect Pick system and an AutoStore system — all of these investments are focused on getting orders processed, picked, packed and shipped in a very short amount of time.

“As automation technologies continue to evolve at a rapid pace, so too do advances in warehousing and logistics,” says Pete Shopp, Mouser Electronics’ Senior Vice President of Business Operations. “The resulting efficiencies in picking and packing help meet our goal of providing exceptional customer service.”

Mouser’s massive global distribution center, located on the 78-acre campus of its corporate headquarters in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, handles a vast inventory of more than 1.1 million unique SKUs for products from over 1,100 manufacturer brands. Processing tens of thousands of orders weekly — most within 15 minutes — and maintaining a strong commitment to customer service, Mouser employees are handling the technological advancements with great success.

Though the adoption of start-of-the-art automation acts primarily as a means of boosting efficiency, productivity, accuracy and speed, the systems also enable more sustainable operations and improved customer satisfaction.