Category: Press Release

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.

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.

HILLIARD, Ohio (November 22, 2022) — VARGO^®, a leading provider of material-handling systems integration, warehouse execution software and equipment solutions for major fulfillment and distribution centers, announces the enhancement and expansion of the existing Fresno, CA facility for worldwide clothing and accessories retailer, Gap Inc.

A third completed project for VARGO^® this summer for Gap was commissioned in August, 2022. The enhancement and expansion include the addition of several modules of COFE^®, VARGO^®’s WES Continuous Order Fulfillment Execution software. The distributed architecture included the addition of COFE^® routing, sorting, picking, shipping, sorting and conveyor modules. The expansion increases capacity at the 750,000 square-foot facility from 500,000 peak day units to 1 million peak day units per peak day.

“We are pleased to be a part of Gap’s growth strategy as they plan to double their online business over the next few years,” said Art Eldred, VARGO^®’s vice president & growth officer. “Our state-of-the-art equipment and processes greatly expand Gap’s capacity to deliver more products to more locations. We look forward to watching Gap’s growth.”

HILLIARD, Ohio (November 11, 2022) — VARGO^®, a leading provider of material-handling systems integration, warehouse execution software and equipment solutions for major fulfillment and distribution centers, announces the commissioning of a new greenfield facility in Longview, TX for worldwide clothing and accessories retailer, Gap Inc.

To help Gap speed up inventory delivery and become more efficient with its digital online shopping fulfillment, VARGO® completed a new customer experience center in Longview, TX, including the installation of its COFE^® WES Continuous Order Fulfillment Execution software. Commissioned in July 2022, the new 800,000 square-foot facility was built in seven months from start to finish with installation taking place at the same time the as the facility’s roof was being laid. The new facility is capable of processing up to 1 million peak day units and 325,000 peak day packages to more than 220,000 active locations.

“This was a very exciting and fast-paced project for our team, but we have been working with Gap for sometime, so it came together like clockwork,” said Art Eldred, VARGO^®’s vice president & growth officer. “Our state-of-the-art equipment and processes continue to expand Gap’s capacity to set new records in delivery of merchandise to an increased number of locations.”

HILLIARD, Ohio (November 16, 2022) — VARGO^®, a leading provider of material-handling systems integration, warehouse execution software and equipment solutions for major fulfillment and distribution centers, announces the retrofit of a brownfield facility for worldwide clothing and accessories retailer, Gap Inc.

VARGO^® completed a second customer experience center for Gap’s 550,000 square-foot Fishkill, NY campus including a new installation of its COFE^® WES Continuous Order Fulfillment Execution software to expand Gap’s ecommerce capabilities for capacity and timing for east coast distribution. With a June 2022 completion date, the additional customer experience center expands capacity for 500,000 peak day units and 325,000 peak day packages.

“We are very excited to continue to be an important partner of Gap’s growth strategy,” said Art Eldred, VARGO^®’s vice president & growth officer. “With every project we break barriers and improve output. It is exciting work and even more exciting to witness what is possible.”

HILLIARD, Ohio (October 10, 2022) — VARGO^®, a leading provider of material-handling systems integration and warehouse execution software was selected by a leading beauty retailer to reimagine its fulfillment network. The multi-project initiative is driven by expansive growth and will expand capacity, improve productivity and allow the retailer to get closer to their customers. Existing fulfillment centers will receive an upgrade to add automation and improve productivity. Additionally, a new class of fulfillment centers are being added to the network to increase capacity and position inventory closer to stores and customers.

“We are very proud of our team, the collaboration with our client and our vendor partners for the creative design and application of automation to solve the client’s needs,” said Bart Cera, president and COO. “VARGO^® is excited to be an instrumental part of our client’s supply chain transformation and their future success.”

The first project of the initiative tackles an existing omni-channel distribution center to process 750,000 units per day. The facility is being upgraded with automation across all functions in the operation. An inbound sorter and replenishment sorter from Hytrol will improve material flow from receiving to reserve storage to active picking. OPEX ® Perfect Pick ® ASRS’ will reduce touches in reserve storage. Additionally, OPEX^® SureSorts systems will provide and automated alternative to putwalls. Finally, a Dematic Multishuttle® will improve retail unit picking productivity. VARGO®’s COFE® warehouse execution system (WES) will orchestrate the flow of work throughout the new and existing automation. This project is expected to go live in January, with Phase II completion in the summer of 2023.

The second project of the initiative is implementing a new omni distribution center designed to fulfill 250,000 units per day. This facility will utilize similar inbound and replenishment processes with Hytrol conveyor and sorters. In addition, Locus Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) are being used to discrete order pick both retail replenishment and e-commerce orders. The new facility is expected to go live Summer of 2023.

VARGO^®’s COFE^® WES, warehouse execution software enables companies to connect to various automation technologies and seamlessly sequence and synchronize the various workflows for increased efficiency, operational effectiveness and simplicity. This allows the retailer to use the same WMS configuration across all the various types of automation in both facilities.