VARGO® President and CEO Mike Vargo named one of Central Ohio’s Smart 50 leaders by Smart Business Columbus magazine

art on October 30, 2015

VARGO® President and CEO Mike Vargo was named by Smart Business Columbus magazine as one of Central Ohio’s Smart 50 leaders. Read the entire article below.

Central Ohio’s Smart 50 share renewed commitment toward future success

By: SBN Staff

Over time VARGO has changed in order to meet its customers’ changing needs, but it was the acquisition of ADS Specialists in 2006 that demonstrated President and CEO Mike Vargo’s willingness to adapt and embrace innovation in order for his company to grow.

The acquisition marked a paradigm shift for VARGO because it revolutionized how the company provides material-handling solutions for its customers. Mechanical equipment alone is no longer the answer — it needs to be paired with smart software and unique methodologies to achieve lean and efficient distribution.

The acquisition of ADS Specialists launched VARGO into a different hemisphere, as far as sales and growth. In the past five years, revenue has more than tripled, and employee numbers are up by 30 percent.

Vargo credits his team of engineers and distribution experts for transforming how the company looks at problems and provides solutions for companies running fulfillment centers.

VARGO®s Omnichannel Solution for AEO Featured in Scranton Times-Tribune

art on August 12, 2015

The Scranton Times-Tribune featured VARGO®s omnichannel solution for American Eagle Outfitter at their Humboldt Industrial Park distribution center in July. Read the full article.

American Eagle’s Hazleton warehouse breaking tech boundaries

JIM DINO, STAFF WRITER

HAZLE TWP. — A new system in place at the American Eagle Outfitter distribution center in the Humboldt Industrial Park will allow workers to simultaneously pull orders for online customers and retail store stock-replenishment.

And it might just be the first in the world to do that.

The system will allow the warehouse to expand its reach and will mean hiring an additional 125 people, said Christine Miller, director of operations at the distribution center.

The Humboldt Industrial Park facility is 1 million square feet — the largest structure in the Hazleton area — and still has room to grow on 120 acres. Last year, Ms. Miller said the local center would employ as many as 600 during busy seasons.

Vargo, a material handling company located in Columbus, Ohio, went live with its Continuous Order Fulfillment Engine warehouse execution software system on June 15 at the Humboldt facility.

“What is really different here is that the people doing the picking do not know whether each pick is for a direct-to-consumer order or for store replenishment,” said Carlos Ysasi, vice president of integrated systems for VARGO. “In this distribution center, there is no difference, just one inventory with a seamless transition.”

As soon as the inventory is inside the distribution center, Mr. Ysasi said the software system knows where that inventory is located, where the workers are within the building and “it is making real-time decisions to move people and drive the processes.”

It is the only all-waveless omnichannel fulfillment operation in the world that Art Eldred, a client executive for systems engineering at Vargo, is aware of.

The ever-growing e-commerce business drove American Eagle to this point. The 2014 holiday season saw Americans spending $100 billion shopping online, and nearly $300 billion for all of 2014, according to the U.S. e-commerce forecast by Forrester Research.

“We needed the infrastructure to support that growth,” David Repp, vice president of North American distribution at American Eagle told DC Velocity magazine in January.