VARGO® and OPEX® Take Gap Inc. to Highest Peak in Company History

GREENCREST on July 1, 2025

DUBLIN, Ohio (July 1, 2025) — VARGO® a leading automation systems integrator and provider of warehouse execution software for distribution centers, is pleased to announce the successful completion of a collaborative project with its technology partner OPEX® for Gap Inc. Gap, a longstanding client of VARGO®, leveraged COFE® and VARGO®‘s successful experience supplying and integrating intelligent automation. With the implementation of one Sure Sort®, VARGO® was able to boost picking productivity by over 10% and automate the work of five manual put-to-order work stations.

In 2025, VARGO® integrated OPEX® Sure Sort® in one of Gap Inc.’s Gallatin, Tennessee distribution centers. VARGO®‘s continuous flow WES optimizes efficiency by maintaining a steady stream of products to the OPEX® Sure Sort® to maximize the return on automation investments. Not only does it increase efficiency of the operation, but it is also one of the top performing machines in the OPEX® Sure Sort® network of more than 900 systems.

“E-commerce growth brings challenges that must be addressed proactively,” said Robert Nilsson, Chief Commercial Officer at VARGO®. “Retailers struggle to meet consumer expectations due to package delivery issues, automation limitations, space constraints and labor concerns. Partnering with OPEX® helps us introduce technologies to manage current and future e-commerce volumes while improving productivity and optimizing labor.”

By incorporating OPEX® Sure Sort® technology into COFE® WES, VARGO® has significantly enhanced its capabilities and feeds automated packaging processes downstream. Gap continues to achieve outstanding building throughput and order fulfillment speed due to VARGO®‘s integrated solutions powered by COFE®.

“Partnering with experienced integrators like VARGO® enables us to deliver scalable, high-impact automation solutions,” said Alex Stevens, President, Warehouse Automation at OPEX®. “By combining our Sure Sort® technology with VARGO®’s WES expertise, we help clients like Gap Inc. boost efficiency and meet the demands of modern retail.”

VARGO® Announces Strategic Partnership with Sitma

GREENCREST on May 14, 2025

DUBLIN, Ohio (May 14, 2025) — VARGO®, a leading provider of automated material handling systems integration, warehouse execution software and equipment solutions for major fulfillment and distribution centers, announces a new partnership with Sitma. These two pioneers and leaders in warehouse execution software and mailer automation technology are partnering for end-of-line packaging automation that improves the overall facility throughput, reduces direct labor in a reduced building footprint, and promotes sustainability via right-to-size paper-based mailer packages for customers.

This partnership is combining VARGO®’s capabilities through its’ COFE® Put-Wall Speedpack® stations with Sitma’s high speed automated packaging capabilities. In real-time COFE® Put-Wall Speedpack® stations facilitate order consolidation dynamically for single and multiple orders. Those orders are then completed via an automated workflow delivered into Sitma’s Fast Pack Plus fully automated mailer automation system. This creates a continued and sustainable throughput process for all orders, end-to-end, from order creation and release to shipping.

“As fully automated and on-demand packaging becomes more essential for our customers, our partnership with Sitma will help us to continue to support them in addressing ever-changing business challenges,” said Robert Nilsson, Chief Commercial Officer at VARGO®. “Delivering enhanced efficiency, boosting productivity and optimizing labor is core to both VARGO® and Sitma and we are thrilled about the value our collaboration will bring to new and existing customers.”

“VARGO® is a natural choice for a Sitma partnership,” said Francis McMahon, President of Sitma Americas. “Sitma’s mailer automation systems for fast and efficient packaging across a broad range of SKUs with VARGO®’s expertise in waveless and e-commerce order fulfillment, bring customers an integrated and synergistic solution built for the future.”

VARGO® Transforms Fulfillment Network for Luxury Consignment Retailer, The RealReal

GREENCREST on May 3, 2023

Arizona and New Jersey authentication centers get major upgrade

HILLIARD, Ohio — VARGO®, a leading provider of material-handling systems integration, warehouse execution software and equipment solutions for major fulfillment and distribution centers, will upgrade authentication centers in New Jersey and Arizona to support fulfillment operations for The RealReal, a major national luxury consignment marketplace. The 2022-23 project includes a 500,000-square-foot facility in Perth Amboy, NJ and 600,000 square feet in Phoenix, AZ. VARGO® state-of-the-art technology systems will help transform the online and brick-and-mortar retailer’s fulfillment network by increasing capacity to support their continued growth.

A three-phased approach has been planned to enhance each site’s performance and throughput capabilities. Phase one of the retrofits, which began in November 2022, will use MHS’s NBS-90 Polysort ship sorter for its unique capabilities to sort polybags more efficiently through traditional sorter techniques. Phase two will retrofit VARGO® Speedpack matching stations to increase capacity, reduce order cycle times and re-control the e-commerce-specific conveyor system.

In the third and final phase, MHS conveyance will be incorporated throughout the processing area, from pick module through matching and connecting with the new shipping sorter. VARGO®’s cloud based COFE® Warehouse Control System (WCS) functionality will be deployed throughout to drive conveyance and put walls.

“We are excited to partner with the RealReal to use our technology to help them provide a faster, more efficient fulfillment system and an improved customer experience,” said Bart Cera, VARGO® president and COO.

The complete system upgrade is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2023.

VARGO® Promotes COO and President, Bart Cera, to CEO

GREENCREST on February 8, 2023

With over 16 years with VARGO®, Cera will continue to lead the company to new heights in 2023

HILLIARD, Ohio (February 1, 2023) — VARGO®, a leading provider of material-handling systems integration, warehouse execution software and equipment solutions for major fulfillment and distribution centers, has promoted Bart Cera to CEO with over 16 years in leadership roles with the company including COO and President.

Prior to his time at VARGO®, Cera spent much of his career in the financial sector as a certified public accountant and earned his bachelor’s degree in finance from Bowling Green State University. Cera first joined the VARGO® team in 2006 as CFO/COO at a time when the company was experiencing exponential growth and looking to hire a seasoned financial and operational mind to help organize the business. While his initial contribution relied largely on his finance expertise, Cera quickly found his footing in the materials handling, automated equipment and systems integration spaces and today, he is a seasoned advocate for VARGO®’s approach to solving fulfillment challenges and their unique warehouse execution software, COFE®.

In 2019, after over a decade with VARGO®, Bart was promoted to President and COO. Since then, the worldwide impact of Covid-19 and overall trends in the retail industry have allowed Cera to lead VARGO® to unprecedented success with significant industry interest and record-setting peak volumes across clients.

With Bart’s promotion to CEO, current CEO Mike Vargo will step into the role of Chairman of the Board. “I speak for myself and the board when I say that VARGO® has prospered under Bart’s guidance and we have full confidence he will continue to bring record-breaking growth to us and our world-class clients,” said Vargo. “His background, institutional knowledge and leadership qualities are key to continuing our growth as we look to the future.”

VARGO® Improves Order Capabilities for Plus-Size Apparel Brand

GREENCREST on December 22, 2022

HILLIARD, Ohio (December 22, 2022) — VARGO®, a leading provider of material-handling systems integration, warehouse execution software and equipment solutions for major fulfillment and distribution centers, has completed work for a leading plus-size apparel retailer, to increase capacity and reduce order cycle times at its 1.1 million-square-foot facility in West Jefferson, Ohio.

VARGO® installed its exclusive COFE® warehouse execution software (WES) which will interface with the operation’s existing warehouse management system to enable waveless order fulfillment. VARGO® will also retrofit the current item sortation systems with VARGO® Speedpack matching stations to increase capacity, reduce order cycle times and re-control the e-commerce-specific conveyor system.

The conversion took place in two phases with the first phase consisting of both software and hardware modifications that re-control half of the system and will yield the same capacity as the current operations. During the second phase, VARGO® retrofitted the remainder of the operation which will double the overall capacity.

“Not only will our solution double our client’s capacity,” said Art Eldred, VARGO®’s vice president & growth officer, “VARGO® will also implement picking from our COFE® software which will yield very significant increases in picking efficiency by leveraging an extensive picking feature set for e-commerce. We are very excited to watch the growth with the use of our system.”

This system facilitates the fulfillment process and flows through the brand’s existing MHE with software and MHE modifications that are set to double its e-commerce throughput. Re-control of the e-commerce-specific conveyer directs inbound cartons, empty totes and processed totes. This impacts existing equipment including the inbound sorter and conveyer, pick module conveyor and right-angle transfers, routing sorters and conveyors and a brand-new takeaway conveyor to the ship sorter. A new spiral was installed that will facilitate a more real-time flow by eliminating a since removed tote buffer.

VARGO® began the retrofit project in May and concluded the project in early July 2022.

VARGO® Expands Cincinnati Office to Keep Up With Continued Growth

GREENCREST on December 21, 2022

HILLIARD, Ohio (December 20, 2022) — VARGO®, a leading provider of material-handling systems integration, warehouse execution software and automation solutions for major fulfillment and distribution centers, recently completed an expansion project of their office in Mason, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati.

VARGO® opened its Mason office in the fall of 2019 in the Governor’s Pointe Office Park at 4680 Parkway Drive. Since then, the company has experienced substantial growth. To accommodate this growth, VARGO® doubled its existing space.

Bart Cera, president of VARGO®, said “There is a wealth of supply chain, logistics and warehouse automation experience in the Cincinnati-Mason area. With our expanded investment in this market, we can double the size of our already talented staff to support our continued business growth.”

Headquartered in Hilliard, Ohio, VARGO® also has a Technology Center in Dublin, Ohio, and an office in Austin, Texas.