The Stevens Company, a leading Canadian distributor of medical supplies and equipment, transformed its warehouse operations in Brampton, Ontario.
Facing increasing demand and operating within the limits of an aging facility, the company implemented AutoStore, empowered by Toyota Automated Logistics, to enhance efficiency and improve accuracy. This solution also enabled scalable growth while continuing to support healthcare providers nationwide.
“Automation and robotics represent the future of medical distribution.”
Jay Stevens, President of The Stevens Company.
Operating from a more than 15-year-old facility, The Stevens Company faced increasing pressure from growing SKU counts and rising order volumes. The existing warehouse setup limited both storage capacity and throughput, making it difficult to scale operations efficiently.
At the same time, the company needed to meet the expectations of healthcare providers across Canada, including reliable next-day delivery. Manual processes further restricted productivity and scalability, creating a need for a solution that could modernize operations without requiring a complete rebuild of the facility.
“As a business, you cannot stand still. You’ve got to be forward thinking and innovate.”
Jay Stevens, President of The Stevens Company.
AutoStore enabled The Stevens Company to significantly improve performance while maximizing the use of existing space.
Storage capacity increased by 25% within the same footprint. At the core of the operation, AutoStore centralizes inventory and streamlines fulfillment processes. The system delivers high accuracy, with 99% of units picked directly from AutoStore.
Throughput improvements allow operations to scale, achieving double throughput on peak days and up to ten times legacy throughput during seasonal surges.
“On peak days we’re able to surpass our throughput targets by almost two fold… on absolute peak we can do ten fold what we were doing in a legacy format.”, says John Lowerison, VP of Opearations at The Stevens Company.
These improvements support next-day delivery to 96% of Canadians.
“We are committed to improving the Canadian healthcare system and this type of enhancement will decrease delivery times and create efficiencies across the supply chain.”
- Jay Stevens, President of The Stevens Company
AutoStore forms the core of a goods-to-person solution. Robots operate on top of the Grid, retrieving Bins and delivering them to Ports where operators complete picking tasks.
The system is controlled by Exacta WCS, which manages both AutoStore operations and the conveyor system for outbound handling.
Autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) from OTTO Motors transport carts within the facility, moving goods between processes and delivering them to the AutoStore system.
“It was important that we found a way to integrate these new technologies into our operations rather than change everything we do. Having robots and staff work side by side, we’re aiming to transform inventory management and productivity.”
- Jay Stevens, President of The Stevens Company
Installation type Brownfield
Bins 18,600
WMS Exacta WCS
Integrated technology/automation Conveyors, sortation systems, AMRs (OTTO Motors), cart transport system
The implementation demonstrates how AutoStore can modernize a brownfield facility without disrupting ongoing operations. By placing AutoStore at the core of the warehouse, The Stevens Company has improved efficiency, accuracy, and scalability while maintaining service continuity.
The solution enables the company to meet growing demand and strengthen its ability to deliver next-day service to healthcare providers across Canada.