A sophisticated system of bar codes and conveyors keeps Wolff Bros.' warehouse humming along.
Casual passersby driving along Wolff Road near Medina, Ohio, would have no idea of the sophisticated technology behind one of the white barns that dot the landscape. If they slowed down to get a better look at the miniature horses in the paddock in front of the barn, they might also get a glimpse of the huge building behind it. They could see tractor-trailer rigs and smaller vehicles backed up to an expansive dock.
In fact, they'd be looking at the 120,000-sq.-ft. warehouse of Wolff Bros. Supply Co. If they were to step inside the warehouse, though, it would be easy to convince them they were in a kind of Tomorrowland for wholesalers. The warehouse is brightly lit, colorful, scrupulously clean and literally humming with activity. It even has a parade of sorts: plastic totes that wind their way along a conveyor system from a three-level mezzanine to shipping and will-call.