SKU proliferation has made beverage distribution a logistical nightmare. Zac Boehm, Chief Automation Officer at Hy-Tek Intralogistics, breaks down how their innovative automation systems, High-Sync and High-Flow, tackle the challenges of rising product counts and high labor turnover. Learn how optimizing pick paths and simplifying operations can lead to double or even triple pick speeds and a more efficient workforce.
Hy-Tek Intralogistics has introduced two automation systems — Hy-Sync and Hy-Flow — designed specifically for beverage distributors struggling to manage exploding SKU counts and chronic labor turnover. The systems aim to shorten pick paths, protect on-time truck departures, and reduce the physical demands on warehouse workers, according to Zac Boehm, Chief Automation Officer at Hy-Tek Intralogistics.
The core problem, Boehm said, is that distribution facilities built for hundreds of SKUs are now expected to handle thousands. A warehouse originally designed for 500 SKUs may now be picking across 4,000, with each additional SKU adding footage to the pick path. What once took 10 minutes to complete can now take 15 to 20 minutes — directly threatening the truck release schedules that distributors depend on to serve customers.
“Every quantity of SKUs that they add, again, if a building was really designed for 500 SKUs and now they’re picking 4,000 SKUs, you can imagine every SKU that they add adds additional footage to the pick path,” Boehm said.
Hy-Sync takes a surgical approach, targeting only the slowest-moving SKUs — roughly 60 to 70% of total SKU count but just 10% of volume — and automating their retrieval to a single downline location. By consolidating those slow-movers, pickers no longer have to traverse extended paths to complete a pallet build. Boehm said the goal is to double or triple pick speeds, and during the industry’s peak “100 days of summer,” some facilities are achieving triple the pick speed or more.
“We’re synchronizing 2 different pick paths or 2 different processes together ultimately to drive efficiency. And our goal is to either double or triple pick speeds.”
Hy-Flow is a broader, facility-wide solution. Boehm described it using a vending machine analogy: product is automated on inbound and stored inside the system, then dispensed on demand to build pallets for outbound trucks. The system handles the full flow within the four walls rather than targeting specific SKU segments.
Labor retention is the other major driver behind both systems. Boehm said most beverage distribution facilities see turnover rates of 80% to 100%, and the cost of that churn extends well beyond hiring — it includes marketing, training, and the constant productivity drag of onboarding new workers. Automation, he argued, is meant to keep existing employees in place by eliminating excessive walking and repetitive equipment mounting, not to replace them. “Automation’s goal is to keep the people that want to stay and keep those people as efficient as possible,” Boehm said.
Prospective customers can evaluate both systems at Hy-Tek’s 20,000-square-foot innovation lab in Erlanger, Kentucky. Boehm said the company began its automation and robotics work six to seven years ago with a smaller lab and has since expanded it to demonstrate three distinct technology approaches — goods-to-person at the unit level, goods-to-person at the pallet level, and other configurations — using a customer’s actual product, which typically needs to arrive one week in advance.
- Beverage distributors scaling from hundreds to thousands of SKUs face pick paths that can add 5 to 10 minutes per pallet build, threatening on-time truck departures.
- HySync automates the slowest 60-70% of SKUs (just 10% of volume) to a single pick location, targeting double or triple pick speeds during peak seasons.
- Facilities report turnover rates of 80% to 100%; Hy-Tek positions automation as a retention tool rather than a workforce reduction strategy.
This Summary is generated thanks to a transcription of the interview, for the full interview please enjoy the video above.
