Category: Press Release

Together, companies will conquer supply chain complexity through latest WMS, WES, system design, MHE, and automation solutions

HILLIARD, Ohio (April 7, 2020) — VARGO^®, a leading provider of material-handling systems integration, warehouse execution software and equipment solutions for major fulfillment and distribution centers, today announced an alliance partnership with Körber, the global supply chain technology leader from software to material handling automation.

This alliance provides a referral program through which Körber will offer VARGO^®’s Continuous Order Fulfillment Engine (COFE^®) warehouse execution system (WES) and other VARGO^® solutions in North America. In turn, VARGO^® will provide Körber’s warehouse management system (WMS) as part of its design solutions for customers.

“In designing solutions for its clients, VARGO^® provides a comprehensive material handling systems integration approach, which includes designing, implementing and supporting optimized solutions based on the customer’s needs,” said Bart J. Cera, president and COO of VARGO^®. “This partnership with Körber provides an integrated cross-selling model of products, which allows both of our companies to bring a total proven business solution to the industry.”

“Today’s supply chains are under more pressure than ever before,” said Chad Collins, chief executive officer for Körber Supply Chain – Software. “Partnering with VARGO^® exemplifies our dedication to providing the solutions and expertise businesses need to handle any complexity that comes their way. Be it more products, suppliers, distribution channels or competition, we provide a range of solutions to fit any business size or strategy.”

Körber’s industry-leading WMS, empowers quick and efficient tracking of all materials entering, being managed in and leaving the distribution center. The WMS uniquely handles the needs of small businesses to global enterprises. This includes handling diverse day-to-day operations, rapid growth, and complex workflows requiring personalized solutions.

VARGO^®’s COFE^® WES manages the elements that make up the outbound workflow. It synchronizes and sequences all work resources — equipment, devices and personnel — and keeps orders flowing by providing real-time visibility and controlling automation, labor and other elements. The ever-advancing growth of e-commerce has challenged companies to address both efficiency and expediency in their fulfillment centers. Just this past peak season, the top seven fulfillment centers powered by COFE^® experienced a 20-percent growth from 2018 to 2019 in the number of units they processed in one peak, seven-day period after Thanksgiving.

The Körber Business Area Supply Chain is part of the international technology group Körber. Formerly Körber Logistics Systems, this consists of Aberle, Aberle Software, Cirrus Logistics, The Cohesio Group, Consoveyo, DMLogic, HighJump, inconso, Otimis, Langhammer, Riantics and Voiteq. Based on 40+ years of experience, Körber uniquely provides an end-to-end offering for all supply chain needs, spanning software, automation, voice/vision/mobility, robotics, materials handling equipment, systems integration and consulting. The company already has proven success with thousands of companies worldwide.

About the Körber Business Area Supply Chain

Supply chains are growing more complex by the day. Körber uniquely provides a broad range of proven, end-to-end supply chain solutions fitting any business size, strategy or appetite for growth. Capable of delivering not just software, but automation, voice, robotics, and materials handling – plus the expertise to tie it all together. We are a global partner not just for today, but also as the needs of supply chains continue to evolve. Conquer supply chain complexity – with Körber. The Business Area Supply Chain is part of the global technology group Körber. Find out more on www.koerber-supplychain.com.

HILLIARD, Ohio (Feb. 27, 2020) — VARGO^®, a leading provider of material-handling systems integration, warehouse execution software and equipment solutions for major fulfillment and distribution centers, has hired William Dillow as an implementation and quality assurance specialist.

In this role, Dillow works with the solution delivery, software and quality assurance teams to understand client needs and work with the team to ensure successful implementations for clients who are using VARGO^®’s Continuous Order Fulfillment Engine (COFE^®), the first waveless warehouse execution system (WES) software that organizes and optimizes order fulfillment by sequencing and synchronizing workflow. The WES, first developed in 1976, has been successfully installed in many different distribution environments. Dillow also will troubleshoot and assist with customer support and reporting.

“We welcome Billy to our team,” said Bart Cera, president and COO of VARGO^®. “We know that his experience on the retail and the 3PL side will be invaluable as he grows into his role in providing support and quality assurance for our customers.”

Prior to joining VARGO^®, Dillow worked as fulfillment operations manager at BonTon Inc., an online retailer, where he was responsible for inventory control and systems administration, among other things. He also worked for DHL Supply Chain in multiple roles, most recently  as a senior business data analyst and an operations systems analyst.

Dillow lives in Columbus, Ohio (ZIP Code 43228).

HILLIARD, Ohio (Feb. 27, 2020) — VARGO^®, a leading provider of material-handling systems integration, warehouse execution software and equipment solutions for major fulfillment and distribution centers, has hired Janelle McCollor as an implementation and business analyst on the solution delivery team.

In this role, McCollor gathers software requirements, provides documentation and COFE^® training. She also helps to facilitate solution delivery to ensure successful implementations for clients who are using VARGO^®’s Continuous Order Fulfillment Engine (COFE^®), the first waveless warehouse execution system (WES) software that organizes and optimizes order fulfillment by sequencing and synchronizing workflow. The WES, first developed in 1976, has been successfully installed in many different distribution environments.

“We are excited to have Janelle join our team,” said Bart Cera, president and COO of VARGO^®. “Her experience as an analyst will be beneficial to our clients, and we look forward to seeing her grow in her role on our team.”

Prior to joining VARGO^®, McCollor worked as a business analyst and quality analyst at eRetailing Associates LLC, a Columbus, Ohio, company that provides start-to-finish service in the design, order and fulfillment of custom-printed apparel and accessories. Prior to that, she worked as a regional logistics planner in the New Albany, Ohio, office of MXD Group (now Ryder Last Mile), a company that specializes in final mile logistics solutions.

McCollor lives in Columbus, Ohio (ZIP Code 43202).

HILLIARD, Ohio (Jan. 7, 2020) — VARGO^®, a leading provider of material-handling systems integration, warehouse execution software and equipment solutions for major fulfillment and distribution centers, was selected by Gap Inc. to design a robotics solution for its fulfillment centers in Phoenix, Arizona, and Rugby, England.

“In both facilities we implemented a solution to use VARGO^®’s WES to manage, direct and control workflows for direct-to-consumer order fulfillment, which included two primary continuous order release workflows,” said Art Eldred, client executive-system sales. “Multi-item orders are marshalled to a consolidation area that later feeds orders into VARGO^® Speedpack™ stations for final order matching. A similar process exists for single-item orders, however they flow directly to a packer or an auto-bagger packing machine.”

This lean-based system designed by VARGO^® uses some proprietary picking techniques and enables the retailer to meet its goals for fast order cycle times, according to Eldred.

The solution includes VARGO^®’s Continuous Order Fulfillment Engine (COFE^®), a Warehouse Execution System (WES) that works in real time to organize, sequence and synchronize all warehouse resources — equipment, people and processes. COFE^® is a waveless WES that enables continuous flow picking in order to minimize order cycle times, maximize efficiency and eliminate waves and buffers.

“VARGO’s solutions are flexible and help retailers scale with expected and unexpected changes,” Eldred said. “From inception to full production, retrofitting the Phoenix facility took only four months, and the facility in England was fully operational within nine months of its changeover.”

HILLIARD, Ohio (Dec. 2, 2019) — VARGO^®, a leading provider of material-handling systems integration, warehouse execution software and equipment solutions for major fulfillment and distribution centers, has hired Tate Westall as a software support specialist.

In this role, Westall provides on-site and remote software support for clients around the country. He assists with installations for new clients who are using VARGO^®’s Continuous Order Fulfillment Engine (COFE^®), the first waveless warehouse execution system software that organizes and optimizes order fulfillment by sequencing and synchronizing workflow. The WES solution, first developed in 1976, has been successfully installed in many different distribution environments.

“We look forward to seeing how Tate grows in his role at VARGO^®, where we will tap into his knowledge of software engineering to provide support and quality assurance for our customers,” said Bart Cera, president and COO of VARGO^®.

Westall earned a Bachelor of Science in computer science in May 2019 from Kent State University. He is certified as a Python Developer and, as a hobby, is a game developer with Wild Beard Games.

He lives in Mansfield, Ohio (ZIP Code 44907).

Cera promoted to president; Condit hired as CFO

HILLIARD, Ohio (Oct. 24, 2019) — VARGO^®, a leading provider of material-handling systems integration, warehouse execution software and equipment solutions for major fulfillment and distribution centers, is announcing the opening of a sixth office, this time in Mason, Ohio, and changes to the company’s leadership team. The growing company has also recently hired 11 new associates.

VARGO^® has promoted Bart Cera, who joined the company in 2006, to president. Cera will retain the title of chief operating officer, as well. Since he joined the company, Cera has provided strategic financial and operational direction for VARGO^®’s business goals and has been responsible for developing corporate strategies and systems. Prior to joining the company, Cera was the senior vice president, COO and CFO at Emerald Bank, where he successfully charted a de novo bank and was responsible for all operations.

VARGO^® has hired Gary Condit as the company’s chief financial officer, a title Cera held until his promotion. Condit, who has worked as a CPA for almost 40 years, has previously worked with VARGO^® as a consultant. Condit, who owned his own firm — Condit & Associates — from 1986 to 2011, most recently worked as director of assurance services at GBQ Partners LLC from 2011 to 2019.

“The growth our company has achieved in the past decade can be attributed, in part, to Bart’s leadership, and I am looking forward to seeing him excel in his expanded role,” said Mike Vargo, CEO. “When I look back at how we have grown in the past 13 years, let alone since our founding in 1971, it is fulfilling on a personal and professional level. We have achieved so much by providing the best combination of engineering, technology and material handling expertise and customer service to help our clients achieve success.”

The company — with headquarters in Hilliard, Ohio; a Technology Center in Dublin, Ohio; and additional offices in Austin, Texas; Berkeley, Calif.; and the Grand Rapids, Mich., area — is opening an  office at 4680 Parkway Drive, Mason, Ohio, in the Governor’s Pointe Office Park. The Mason office is tentatively set to open in early November.

In addition to the new office location and changes to its leadership team, VARGO^® welcomed 11 other new employees. George Belivanakis and Steve Crawford, both senior project engineers, and Andre DeGiuseppe, project engineer, will work out of the Mason, Ohio, office. In addition, VARGO^®’s other recent hires include: Michael Shannon, implementation and business analyst; Steven Speer, manager of implementation and QA; Christopher Beseda, implementation and business analyst; Keegan Doyle, software support, QA and implementations specialist; Dan Mattson, site manager; Jeffrey Johnson, software engineer; Arianna Bryant, software support, QA and implementations specialist; and Charles Steward, junior systems administrator.

“The addition of the Mason office space and the increase of our staff provides more project engineering bandwidth to support current company growth,” Cera said. “It also enables us to position ourselves to continue adding engineering talent and supporting new business activities.”

The suburban Cincinnati location will expand VARGO^®’s opportunities to attract and retain the brightest talent in southwestern Ohio and capitalize on business development opportunities in the area.

“There is a wealth of talent in the Cincinnati area that is specific to the material handling industry,” Cera said. “In addition, the greater Cincinnati, northern Kentucky market is a hotbed for distribution, with numerous e-commerce facilities in the region.”

As logistics has changed and Amazon has raised consumer expectations for order processing time to the door, retailers have felt the pressure to maintain productivity and yet turn orders around within an hour or two of receipt, Cera explained. VARGO^®’s fulfillment solutions, including its leading-edge Warehouse Execution System (WES) software called COFE^® (Continuous Order Fulfillment Engine), have enabled retailers to be successful in a very competitive market.

VARGO^® offers complete fulfillment solutions for e-commerce, retail, wholesale and manufacturing clients. COFE^®, its intelligent software, drives the fulfillment of many global retailers’ distribution centers across the country, including American Eagle Outfitters, Forever 21, Gap, Inc., Thirty-One Gifts and several other well-known retail brands. VARGO^® uses its proven, pull-based methodologies to create intelligent solutions for these fulfillment centers and continues to be a leader in its industry by integrating robotics and automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) into its solutions.

Some of the company’s more well-known projects include:

• American Eagle Outfitters Inc.: VARGO^® worked with American Eagle Outfitters Inc., to design the first fully waveless, omnichannel facility in Hazle Township, Pennsylvania. Built new from the ground up, the 1-million-square-foot facility is designed to handle e-commerce and store-replenishment orders. As the integrator, VARGO^® managed every aspect of the design and installation of the fulfillment center, implementing the appropriate WES solutions to maximize speed, efficiency and expediency. Since the facility opened in 2014, AEO has continued to invest in its Hazle Township facility by integrating robotics and an automated storage and retrieval system into COFE^® to handle increasing order volumes, maximize floor space and make the most efficient use of labor.
• Gap Inc.: At Gap Inc.’s Gallatin, Tennessee, location, VARGO^® worked quickly to design the fulfillment center and outfit it with VARGO^®’s waveless COFE^® WES. In less than a year from beginning of design, the facility went live in 2017. In 2018, VARGO^® worked with Gap Inc., to add new workflows, and VARGO^® updated the facility with an automated storage and retrieval system. Gap Inc., has since hired VARGO^® to work on facilities elsewhere in the United States and in the United Kingdom.