New system doubles capacity for automated variety-pack production, supports larger role with Monster Beverage, other beverage clients, for processing, fulfillment of energy drink orders
Bettaway Supply Chain Services has expanded its Garden State beverage distribution and fulfillment services, launching a second, automated ‘variety pack’ processing line for assembly and fulfillment of beverage product orders.
The new variety pack line doubles Bettaway’s production run capacity, increasing it to some 14,400 beverage cases per 8-hour shift, or 72,000 cases over a five-day work week.
John Vaccaro, Bettaway’s president, explained that the company invested in the new processing line to support an expansion of services for Monster Beverage. The company currently provides warehousing and inventory management for a full range of Monster energy drinks. In its expanded role, Bettaway will provide custom packaging and variety pack fulfillment, as well as order management and distribution to stores. Vaccaro noted as well that other Bettaway beverage clients will benefit from the expansion, including Powerade and Arizona Beverage Company, the makers of AriZona Iced Teas.
The variety pack line assembles, shrink-wraps, and labels cases of beverages, either bottles or cans of varying sizes, incorporating custom wrap colors, product logos and graphics. The product moves along automated conveyance and material-handling equipment, rapidly assembling packaged cases of various flavors and SKU configurations, exiting through a sophisticated, heat shrink-wrap process which seals and secures each case of mixed beverages. A typical variety case is made up of 24 bottles/cans with 3 or 4 different flavors.
Once through the assembly line, cases enter a computer-controlled mechanical palletizer, which automatically builds precise loads of variety-packed case beverages on pallets, securely shrink-wraps the pallet, and stages them for loading on to trucks.
“Speed to market is critical for beverage producers, grocers and other retailers,” noted Igor Katsman, Bettaway’s vice president of operations. “Addressing this demand requires fast, precise yet flexible production capacity, as well as proven experience employing automated material handling systems technology,” he noted. “These investments provide our customers with the most efficient and responsive fulfillment co-packing operations in the Northeast.”
Variety-pack orders typically are secured as pallet-loads and trucked to club stores such as Costco and BJ’s as well as regional distribution centers and eCommerce facilities, Katsman explained, adding that the company’s dedicated trucking fleet can be deployed to serve pool distribution and multi-stop delivery needs.
He emphasized that Bettaway’s approach not only accelerates product velocity, it also provides lowest overall landed cost for beverage producers. Previously, beverage products were shipped out to a re-packer, and then back to Bettaway. The in-house automated variety pack lines eliminate the cost and time involved with this intermediate processing step.
In addition to pallet-load deliveries to stores, Bettaway also has extensive eCommerce order fulfillment capabilities. The company is integrated with various multi-client eCommerce platforms as well as proprietary order management systems of beverage producers. eCommerce orders are typically 4-packs of beverages shipped direct to consumers. Today, Bettaway systems and teams process and ship hundreds of orders per week.
The company as well supports orders through Amazon, assembling and bundling shipments, then trucking them to Amazon warehouses for later fulfillment.
Bettaway also provides other third-party logistics services. Those include inbound trucking of product from beverage plants to Bettaway facilities, receiving and offloading, inventory management, rehandling, order assembly and delivery through Bettaway’s dedicated fleet as well as with trusted third-party trucking providers. The company’s services include local drayage to truck ocean containers from the Ports of New York and New Jersey. Bettaway also operates one of the nation’s largest pallet supply, distribution and asset management networks, providing pallets and an associated suite of services to thousands of businesses from over 400 depots across the United States.
