in the state," said Tony Faraca, Anderson's chief deputy director, who is also in charge of the division's finance and human resources departments. One of the first things Anderson had to do, a mere three weeks after starting as the ISLD's new director, was to oversee the second wave of that workforce reduction. At the same time, Anderson strove to continue the modernization efforts begun under Nally. In the 2000's, Nally began a three-year, $7.5 million renovation of the
ISLD's warehouse in Boise. By the time Nally retired, a 17,000 square-foot, 55-foot tall expansion of the ware- house had been completed, the warehouse staff had switched from handheld scanners to pick-to-voice tech- nology (both completed by 2007), a mezzanine area for "repacking," the assembly of mixed-case orders, had been built (completed 2008) and a warehouse manage- ment system (WMS) had been implemented. The tall addition on the warehouse and the WMS were meant to pave the way for the implementation of an automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) for the warehouse's bulk storage.
Anderson continued with the implementation of the AS/RS, which was completed 18 months ago. Three robotic cranes now work in the bulk-storage area of the warehouse, automatically replenishing the stocks in the picking area.
Modernizing State Stores
t the same time, Anderson began the next phase of modernizing the ISLD's operations. This project, currently the main initiative at the division, focuses on modernizing the ISLD's 66 state stores. Simultaneously, the ISLD must contend not only with the ever-changing landscape of running a retail business – such as the continued explosion of new liquor
A
The warehouse has undergone an extensive expansion and modernization, beginning several years ago under the previous ISLD director Dyke Nally. The warehouse now boasts automated cranes, voice-to-pick technology, and other features of cutting-edge technology.
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StateWays s www.stateways.com s July/August 2012
