Material Handling System Design: Levi Strauss Canada Distribution Center

Levi Strauss & Co. Fulfillment Overhaul
🏗️ Sillman's team was tasked with overhauling the fulfillment and shipping system at the Levi's Toronto distribution center.
📦 The central solution involved creating two distinct sorts: one for orders requiring value-added services (Vaz) and another for cross-dock traffic.
✨ Vaz services include specialized offerings like applying price tags, security devices, or other client-directed campaign collateral.

System Upgrades and Performance
🚀 Prior renovations included updated racking, RF picking technology, and customized carts to boost picking speed and volume.
✨ Advanced stations now feature gravity induction for orders to the outbound conveyor, improving ergonomics by avoiding awkward lifts and twists.
📈 The new induction conveyors maximize accumulation, increasing orders processed per station, leading to increased throughput capacity from day one.

Implementation Success
✅ The entire system upgrade, including conveyance equipment and controls, was implemented without interrupting existing operations.
🌟 The new system immediately provided increased capacity and performance that exceeded Levi's expectations.

Key Points & Insights
➡️ Dual-sort strategy effectively separates value-added service orders from standard cross-dock traffic for optimized workflow.
➡️ Ergonomic improvements, such as gravity induction, enhance team member comfort while maximizing order processing at each station.
➡️ The project achieved immediate success, demonstrating increased throughput rates on the very first day of system activation.

📸 Video summarized with SummaryTube.com on Nov 24, 2025, 09:15 UTC