Storing up the benefits

Trends such as SKU proliferation, multi-format retailing, the need for store-friendly deliveries, the increasing cost of transport, the demand for greater traceability and a focus on health and safety have helped to strengthen the case for automation in the warehouse. This covers a wide variety of products and technologies, and need not always mean a fully automated warehouse or highbay.

While such fully automated facilities might deploy ASRS automatic stacker cranes in highbay racking, along with pallet conveyors, AGVs and shuttles, automation can also include both tote and carton storage systems or miniloads, along with tote conveyor, sorters and even robots. In deed, automation in its simplest form is about efficient operation and streamlining, particularly when it comes to repetitive tasks, and can include label printers, carton erectors, packaging machines and other end-of-line equipment.

The changing nature of the way we make purchases has brought about new challenges for all those in retail and this particularly true for fashion, a market which sees strong seasonal fluctuations, a broad product range with constant additions and large and small order quantities from customers, along with demands for reduced delivery times. These were the logistical challenges faced by, Fossil, an international company specialising in the design and marketing of handbags, watches, fashion and jewellery.

Fossil is a growing company and sells its products through brick-and-mortar stores as well as online. This means that retail, wholesale and e-commerce must go hand-in-hand – a multi-channel approach that the company's former logistics infrastructure could not keep pace with. Addressing the issue, a considerable expansion of its former warehouse and picking capacity was undertaken, equipping an existing zone-to-zone picking system with state-of-the-art shuttle technology from Swisslog. As a result, Fesco the European logistics provider for Fossil, has created a multi-purpose logistics centre which provides Fossil with a competitive edge.

The new intralogistics solution went into operation in 2013, comprising an expanded zone-to-zone picking system, implemented by Swisslog in 2008 based on a pick-by-light principle. Swisslog updated the existing infrastructure with a state-of-the-art shuttle facility: the SmartCarrier system.

This warehouse and transport solution for products stored in totes or on trays, features a highly dynamic, space-saving design and boasts virtually unlimited scalability. Fossil’s goal for the new logistics system was to optimise the flow of merchandise in addition to increasing capacity. Thanks to the seamless integration of old and new, the company was able to considerably improve the warehouse and its picking process.

"By connecting our state-of-the-art SmartCarrier system to the existing zone-to-zone picking system, we have made the picking process lean and seamless,” explains Swisslog’s Dr. Volker Jungbluth. "Only B and C items are stored and picked in the new automated system, which are slower moving products. This prevents slowing down the workflow in the existing zone-to-zone picking system, which now only handles bestselling A products.” This has greatly improved efficiency; thanks to a continuous flow of merchandise, the picking stations in the old system are now optimally utilised.

In addition to handling less popular products, the new SmartCarrier system also performs an important warehousing function, by providing the flexibility that Fossil needed from its intralogistics infrastructure. For example, the seasonal business for fashion accessories is very dynamic; today’s fast-moving items can quickly become tomorrow’s slow-movers, and vice versa. If a former B or C item suddenly gains popularity, the SmartCarrier system automatically adds it to the zone-to-zone picking system. Likewise, items no longer in high demand are removed from the zone-to-zone picking and placed in the SmartCarrier system. The exchange between the two systems takes place so quickly and smoothly that Fossil can respond immediately to any and all customer requests.

Aside from its B and C item handling as well as its backup capability, SmartCarrier offers impressive performance no matter how it is used. It is a powerful logistics solution with a throughput of more than 1600 totes per hour. The shuttles are rated for a speed of up to two meters per second. Up to 6000 totes can be stored in each aisle, and each tote can carry a load of up to 35kg. The system is designed for continuous operation and can be expanded when its capacity limit is reached. Because of SmartCarrier’s modular design, it is easy to increase the number of aisles, levels and shuttles as needed. Picking stations can also be added to increase the number of workstations.

In this application the SmartCarrier system is designed as a 6-aisle automated case warehouse on 19 levels with approximately 35,600 storage locations and currently 12 picking stations. If necessary, the number of picking stations can be increased to a maximum of 32. The system accommodates 5000 items, which are stored in totes and transported by a 2.2 km conveyor to the different workstations. Every day the new system processes up to 40,000 order lines, which corresponds to approximately 5600 customer orders in the same time period.

To prevent operator errors, Swisslog made sure that the system is straightforward, with easy to operate picking stations. The merchandise is automatically retrieved from the SmartCarrier warehouse and transported to the workstations. There a display shows the pickers how many items to remove and, guided by a pick-by-light system, they transfer these items to the target totes. Each picking station can manage up to 28 active order totes. The picking process at the workstations is highly efficient because it is based on order lines rather than orders. When a source tote arrives at a picking station, the picker first distributes all order lines for an item to the different target totes. Then the SmartCarrier system returns the source tote to storage whilst simultaneously delivering a different item to the picker.

Sophisticated material flow

In another retail sector application, automated warehouse solution provider TGW Logistics has installed an innovative ‘DropBox’ picking solution for international fashion brand, Esprit.

Located in Mönchengladbach, Germany, Esprit’s Distribution Centre Europe (DCE) supplies all Esprit’s retail shops and wholesale outlets throughout Europe. Operated by Fiege, the DCE has the capacity to handle up to one million items every day.

To meet high demand and to also enable customer-specific item sequencing, TGW designed and installed a sophisticated material flow concept, which ensures that all goods are in the correct location at the right time in the DCE.

The DropBox solution that TGW designed and installed responds to the requirement for shop-based sequencing in shipping cartons. It allows for defined individual sequences in which items are packed in the DC, based on how the goods are arranged in the respective stores and provides a ‘store friendly’ presentation within the carton.

The system operates in two steps and allows for high-performance picking and packing to work independently from each other. At the 45 picking stations, the goods are picked from the cartons into designated DropBox order totes. A DropBox is used for each order line to enable single item sequencing.

The pick operatives receive their picking instructions via a touch screen, and the system combines the orders and merges the order lines with the same items at one workstation to minimise the generation of part-filled cartons. If some items remain in the carton, this carton is returned to the mini-load warehouse. Empty cartons are also withdrawn automatically. Thanks to the ergonomic arrangement of the workstations and a very simple picking process, the solution achieves a picking performance of 1000 items per hour at each workstation.

Non-stop healthcare

It not just the retail sector that can benefit from automated warehouse operations. German healthcare products supplier, ProServ, operates in the Cologne area, serving hospitals and clinics with a wide range of products from artificial hip joints to catering menu cards. When ProServ redesigned operations at its 4000m² warehouse at Pulheim-Brauweiler, the company opted for the OSR Shuttle solution from KNAPP.

As ProServ delivers to hospitals and larger health facilities, its orders can include up to 400 containers. These are delivered directly to the relevant departments or storage areas, so containers need to be consolidated in the warehouse in reverse order and supplied to dispatch in an exact sequence. With non-stop operation in the warehouse and order processing over two shifts, the order structure requires reliable replenishment to ensure smooth workflows. KNAPP supplied its multifunctional OSR Shuttle to handle all the central warehouse processes in what it terms a ‘low complexity warehouse’ – that is, a facility with just one central technology.

The OSR Shuttle at ProServ features two rack line systems and 17 shuttles to provide a total of 3720 storage locations that span all four floors of the building. As these accommodate containers weighing up to 30 kg with three different footprints and heights, the various levels of the OSR Shuttle have different heights, with the control software KiSoft SRC assigning each container to a suitable storage location.

KNAPP’s KiSoft WMS warehouse management software controls, monitors and manages numerous processes – from goods-in, consolidation and order picking to lot tracking, replenishment control, cross-docking and the handling of returns – while KiSoft i-POINT is used as visualization software. Each OSR Shuttle rack line has a powerful lift system, comprising two independently operating lift units. With horizontal and vertical transport decoupled by the use of shuttles and lifts, optimal availability and throughput are guaranteed, making possible a consistent throughput, independent of order structure.

The OSR Shuttle automatically replenishes the flow racks for manual picking as required and also provides storage for overstock. A total of 11 stations are available for manual picking, with RF terminals guiding the staff from one storage location to the next to ensure efficient, paperless order processing and enhanced picking accuracy. Containers are transported to the OSR ShuttleTM store for dispatch buffering. Oversized products are stored in pallet flow racks, which are automatically replenished by a rail-guided transfer shuttle, with empty pallets being transported to a collection point and stacked automatically. Products are picked from the pallet flow racks using pick-to-belt and RF technologies, with goods transferred to containers at an automatic tray-loading station.

All containers are temporarily stored in the OSR Shuttle system and are then put into the correct sequence for dispatch. One order – or ‘wave’ – corresponds to one recipient, such as a hospital. Each wave is divided into subwaves, which correspond to a department at the hospital or clinic. The subwaves must also be loaded in an exact sequence to ensure smooth and efficient deliveries. The desired sequence of containers is generated on the container loop upstream of the OSR Shuttle. After sequencing, the containers are conveyed to the repack stations and loaded into the transport vehicle, having already received an address label at an automatic label insert station.

In ProServ's low complexity warehouse, KNAPP’s OSR Shuttle takes care of storage, supply of the flow racks, buffering and sequencing of the goods. Manual and automated work processes are harmoniously integrated to ensure faster and more accurate deliveries.