Rinnai

View the details behind our VLM Case Study

Rinnai, a leader in hot water, heating & cooling solutions. A trusted household name, providing reliable, high-quality products, ensuring your comfort.

Project Background

Rinnai operates a high-volume manufacturing facility specializing in heating and cooling systems, where production efficiency depends on seamless component delivery to the assembly line. Any delays in accessing parts directly impact output and manufacturing schedules. Beyond production, the business also supports a national service network through its spare parts division—supplying technicians across the country with critical components for repairs and maintenance. To meet growing demand and service expectations, the team needed to modernize both operations with a unified, intelligent storage solution.

Project Details

Constraints

The project faced demanding operational constraints that required a heavy-duty, resilient solution. The high-traffic manufacturing environment operates across multiple shifts, meaning any storage system needed to withstand constant, intensive use without compromising performance or reliability. Downtime simply wasn’t an option. Space presented an additional challenge—only a limited footprint was available near the dispatch docks, where rapid access to components was most critical. The solution had to deliver maximum storage capacity and throughput within a tightly confined area close to shipping operations.

Implementation

The implementation introduced a powerful three-machine system strategically positioned to serve as a centralized “super-store” for all small-to-medium components. This consolidated approach eliminated scattered storage points and brought critical inventory within arm’s reach of dispatch operations. To maximize throughput, the picking sequence was fully optimized to enable efficient batch-picking workflows. Operators could now fulfill multiple orders in a single retrieval cycle, dramatically increasing hourly output and ensuring the assembly line and national service network received components faster than ever before.