Alliance Entertainment Begins Installation of Cost-Saving OPEX Sure Sort X Sortation Technology at Kentucky Warehouse

3 Year ROI With Current Processes Redirected into Sure Sort X with Expected Time Frame Reduction Through Streamlining Additional Processes, New Capabilities and Continuous Improvement

PLANTATION, Fla., March 21, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alliance Entertainment Holding Corporation (Nasdaq: AENT), a global distributor and wholesaler specializing in music, movies, video games, electronics, arcades, toys, and collectibles, has commenced installation at its Kentucky facility of Sure Sort X, a cost-saving sortation technology system from warehouse automation solutions provider OPEX, to be completed April 1^st, 2024.

Utilizing this new Sure Sort X technology will result in annual labor savings of nearly $400,000 for Alliance Entertainment, along with an immediate savings of $460,000 from avoiding retrofitting older sorting technology set to be retired.

With nearly eight billion items sorted to date, Sure Sort leads the industry with its state-of-the-art product handling and throughput capability. Sure Sort X provides a reliable and robust industrial solution to handle nearly 100% of customer-sortable products, including items 60% smaller, nearly 20% larger, and up to 4X heavier.

The Alliance Entertainment Kentucky warehouse fulfilment center covers 873,000 sq feet, warehousing 31 million units of entertainment product across 330,000 SKUs and ships 52 million units annually. In 2023 Alliance went live with an AutoStore automated storage and retrieval system to maximize space with increased storage density, improve pick time to order completion and reduce overall headcount required. The AutoStore system with its 52,000 bins and 58 Blackline robots allows AEC the flexibility to add different product configurations and sizes into the warehouse ecosystem without having to modify the physical locations.

With the introduction of the Sure Sort X, this larger format sorter complements the five existing CD/DVD and vinyl record sorters at Alliance, giving the warehouse the ability to move away from manual sortation of larger product, specifically toys and electronics and accessories. OPEX’s technology and design using iBots allows Sure Sort X to utilize a significantly smaller footprint than traditional sortation with more destinations at a throughput rate of 2,100 units per hour. The Sure Sort X handles 95% of the current warehouse product with multiple bin/order size capability.