Technology Rentals and Services Creates Unique Customer Value Through Material Handling System

Technology Rentals and Services integrated its returns process with conveyor automation, allowing equipment to be tested, routed and prepared for its next rental much faster and with greater accuracy.

Transforming returns into a competitive advantage

Returns processing is one of the most challenging material handling functions. Unlike outbound fulfillment, returned products must be received, inspected, cleaned, tested, repaired or reconfigured before they can generate revenue again. Every hour spent in that process delays availability and increases operating costs.

That challenge is central to the business model at Technology Rentals and Services (TRS), where nearly every product shipped eventually returns to the distribution center. Instead of treating returns as an unavoidable expense, TRS redesigned its operation to make the process faster, more consistent and highly controlled.

TRS is one of North America's largest equipment rental and leasing companies, supplying electronic test and measurement instruments, telecommunications equipment, computer workstations, peripherals and digital broadcast media equipment. Because virtually every asset cycles back through the facility, returns processing directly affects equipment availability, customer service and profitability.

The receiving area

The partnership between TRS and Cisco-Eagle began with a project focused on improving receiving operations. At the time, the existing process had become a significant bottleneck that limited throughput and visibility.

Incoming computers were unloaded onto carts before being manually transported to separate stock, repair and cleaning areas. Employees determined their own work priorities, creating inconsistent workflow while requiring products to be handled multiple times throughout the process.

The manual cart-based system also made inventory tracking difficult. Equipment locations often had to be verified manually, increasing search time and reducing operational visibility. Every additional product touch added labor cost while extending the time required to return equipment to service.

Cisco-Eagle redesigned the process by integrating existing gravity conveyor and ball transfer sections with new straight and curved conveyor. The result established a continuous receiving flow that automatically routed equipment through receiving, sorting, reuse and recycling activities while reducing manual handling.

The improvements were immediate. Returned equipment could be processed the same day it arrived, eliminating receiving backlogs and significantly increasing throughput. The new process also enabled TRS to recycle approximately $20,000 in packing materials each month, allowing the project to pay for itself rapidly through material savings alone.

Beyond the direct savings, the conveyor system standardized workflow by allowing the process—not individual employees—to determine the pace of receiving. Returned equipment moved consistently through each operation without waiting for manual transport or work assignment.

The impact extended throughout the operation. Processing time for returned equipment entering the system was reduced from approximately eight hours to four hours, while monitor turnaround improved from roughly two weeks to just 24 hours.

The success of the receiving project established the foundation for a broader modernization effort. TRS and Cisco-Eagle continued working together to address the next major opportunity: redesigning the company's shipping operation.

The shipping system

After improving receiving operations, TRS turned its attention to shipping. The existing process relied on gravity conveyor feeding a powered takeaway, with all manifesting performed at the end of the line. This created a bottleneck that extended order processing to nearly 96 minutes while making it difficult to meet carrier cutoff times consistently. Missed deadlines often forced the company to use more expensive shipping options.

Like the previous receiving operation, workflow depended on employees selecting the next cart to process. The lack of a controlled flow reduced consistency, limited throughput and increased the likelihood of shipping errors. Orders containing multiple items could become separated, creating incomplete shipments and additional rework.

Cisco-Eagle redesigned the shipping operation around an automated conveyor and accumulation system. Orders are staged on gravity conveyor before entering a Hytrol EZ-Logic accumulation system, where totes remain grouped by order. Reflective markers allow photo-eyes to distinguish between new orders and multiple totes belonging to the same shipment, ensuring large orders stay together throughout packing.

The system includes ten configurable packing lines that automatically balance work based on demand. As shipping volume increases throughout the day, additional lines are activated while photo-eyes continuously distribute orders across available stations. Packers generate shipping labels at their workstations, eliminating the downstream manifest bottleneck.

Completed cartons travel by incline conveyor to the shipping dock, where barcode scanning automatically diverts each shipment to the correct carrier lane. Shipping lanes can be reassigned as carrier volumes change, and full lanes automatically divert cartons to secondary lanes to maintain continuous flow.

The redesign also created a more ergonomic workplace. Products now arrive at waist height, eliminating the bending and lifting associated with cart-based handling while improving employee comfort and productivity.

The results were significant. Freight costs declined by approximately 33%, while order processing time dropped by 53 minutes, reducing order-to-ship time to just 43 minutes. Improved workflow also reduced reliance on outsourced labor, increased shipping accuracy and virtually eliminated the overtime that had once been routine.

The receiving system gets another upgrade

With shipping performance dramatically improved, TRS returned to its receiving operation for a second phase focused on increasing capacity and making better use of available space.

The objective extended beyond material movement. TRS wanted to shift many routine processing tasks from the laboratory into the warehouse, allowing technical personnel to concentrate on higher-value work while expanding available lab space.

Cisco-Eagle developed a powered conveyor system integrated with the facility's laboratory network. A two-level conveyor can simultaneously load software onto up to 120 computers using the lab LAN or disc duplication systems while the equipment remains on the conveyor.

The new process transformed the warehouse into an extension of the laboratory. Desktop computers, notebooks and projectors are routed through automated reloading and configuration processes before returning to rental inventory. Test instruments follow separate processing paths for cleaning, inspection and accessorizing before reaching technicians for specialized work.

By completing non-technical work in the warehouse, technicians spend more time performing skilled service activities rather than routine handling. The conveyor system became an integral part of the refurbishment process rather than simply transporting equipment between departments.

The improvements dramatically reduced Days in Due—TRS's measurement of the time equipment remains unavailable for rental. Desktop and notebook computers fell from approximately 2.5 days to less than half a day. Instrument turnaround dropped from more than six days to less than one day, while monitors and printers improved from roughly two weeks to same-day availability.

Some calibration and preparation tasks also moved from the laboratory to the warehouse, further reducing turnaround time and allowing revenue-generating equipment to return to service more quickly. Because rental assets generate income only when available to customers, every reduction in processing time directly improved asset utilization.

The benefits extended beyond faster returns processing. Large customer orders can now be configured, loaded with software and prepared for shipment directly on the conveyor, eliminating repeated manual handling while improving consistency for high-volume deployments.

Since implementing the system, TRS has increased revenue by approximately 33% without adding inbound technical staff. Automation improved throughput, reduced labor requirements and allowed the company to scale its operation while maintaining high quality and customer service.

What began as a single receiving improvement evolved into a long-term partnership between TRS and Cisco-Eagle. By continually refining warehouse processes and integrating conveyor automation into both logistics and technical operations, TRS transformed returns processing into a strategic competitive advantage.