Sortation System Case Study: Borders Group, Inc.

Borders selected Mantissa’s Scorpion ® Target Tilt high-speed sortation system as the hub of their new 200,000 sq. ft. distribution center after careful evaluation of high-speed sortation technology available in the marketplace, which consisted of cross-belt sorters versus tilt-tray sorters. The system consisted of two tilt-tray sorters: one to handle Borders product and one for Waldenbooks. Each sorter included 220 chutes and 10 automatic book inductors, and was designed to handle 150 trays per minute (9,000 trays per hour).

Mantissa developed a special kneeling chute concept, which allowed the sorted product to gently accumulate, rather than slide into one another thus eliminating damage to product, e.g., hardback and soft cover books, calendars, and accessories.

In order to accommodate Borders' desire to automatically price label books, Mantissa integrated label applicators as part of the automatic induction application handling 30 books per minute. This integration allowed Borders to realize the savings achieved by eliminating the manual packing price labeling operation. The Mantissa Sortation Control System provided the interface between the Borders Host System not only to control the sortation process, but also to direct the automatic price labeling operation.

By selecting Mantissa’s Scorpion ® Target Tilt high-speed sortation system, Borders Group, Inc. has been able to expand both geographically and in the scope of products offered, by incorporating the “most gentle sortation process in the book industry.”