Project Overview
INDUSTRY
Logistics
PROJECT
Design, deploy, and validate the
mission-critical wireless fabric
TIMEFRAME
April – October
Executive Summary
A national logistics company set out to modernize healthcare distribution with a flagship, highly automated facility. These pallets cross a short handoff point and automation manages everything that follows—storage, picking, packing, and shipment—24/7. Bailiwick and ePlus partnered to design, deploy, and validate the mission-critical wireless fabric required to keep autonomous systems moving without interruption across multi-story racking and a complex radio frequency (RF) environment.
“Zero-downtime and fully redundant wasn’t a tagline—it was the design mandate,”
Jimmy Hinshaw, Bailiwick Director of Sales.
Together, the team established a delivery blueprint that combines enterprise-grade network architecture with field-proven deployment discipline. The result is a fully redundant, zero-downtime wireless backbone engineered for clean roaming. Due to high robot density, the performance is verified through predictive modeling, active surveys, and post-cutover heat maps.
Business Challenge
Healthcare logistics demands speed, precision, and resilience; any delay can ripple into patient care. The program carried executive-level visibility and a significant cost-of-delay, requiring a network that would not just provide coverage but sustain uninterrupted mobility for autonomous systems. “If the signal drops, the robots stop—that’s the operational reality we had to engineer for,” said Steve Roach, ePlus Account Executive.
Compounding the stakes, the RF neighborhood was crowded and sensitive. The new plant had to be physically and logically separated from any existing systems and avoid interference across five stories of racking, mezzanines, and long aisles. “We had to create a fully separate, fully redundant infrastructure that coexisted cleanly—no excuses,” said Hinshaw. All of this unfolded under a compressed schedule with multiple parties—client, robotics OEM, ePlus, and Bailiwick—needing to lock decisions in real time.
Solution
Bailiwick and ePlus adopted a joint delivery model that aligned responsibilities without overlap: ePlus led network architecture and professional services; Bailiwick owned low-voltage infrastructure, field deployment, surveys, and on-site execution. The teams co-authored a detailed response that set the standard for feasibility and detail, then moved directly into coordinated design sessions and on-site reconnaissance. “We mapped a matrix of strengths—it lined up perfectly and let us move as one team,” said Roach.
On site, engineers blended predictive design with active RF validation, iterating AP placement for five-story racking, mezzanine loads, and aisle geometry. The build featured independent, redundant internet paths, segmented switching, and AP layouts engineered for fast, lossless roaming. “We validated assumptions with heat maps after cutover to confirm roaming under real traffic—not just on paper,” said Matthew Kirner, Bailiwick project manager. When client-side electrical timelines shifted, Bailiwick flexed scope to keep pace, coordinating closely with the on-site partner while holding firm to change-control and compliance.
50,000
Square Foot Facility
7,000
Feet of Fiber Cables
55,000
Feet of CAT6 Cabling
96
Wireless Access Points
Results
The network went live on schedule for robotics commissioning and testing, delivering stable performance across high-density, constantly moving workloads. “It’s up and working for the robotics team,” said Kirner, following punch-list closeouts and RF verification. The program has been recognized internally by the client as the reference model for future automated healthcare sites, with the wireless fabric forming the backbone for end-to-end automation.
Beyond the first site, the partnership secured a multi-year maintenance engagement to sustain and optimize the environment, including ongoing RF tuning as density and traffic patterns evolve.
What’s Next
With a proven reference in place, the program is positioned to scale to additional regions, reducing time-to-patient for critical therapies and improving resilience in the healthcare supply chain. The blueprint—architect once, validate rigorously, replicate with discipline—enables faster time-to-value and consistent outcomes across new facilities. “The playbook is built: design for motion, segment relentlessly, and measure everything,” said Hinshaw.
Bailiwick and ePlus will continue operational stewardship through maintenance and optimization, expanding the model to new facilities as demand scales. The focus remains on continuous RF improvement, telemetry-driven adjustments, and coordinated change control—so the automation layer stays online and productive. “This was absolutely a team effort—and a great collaboration,” said Kirner.
