Migros will pick fully-automated in the future with OPM

Issue Spring 2010
CONTENT
» P. 2
New WITRON-subsidiary in Spain
» P. 3
New innovation on the market: WITRON ATS
» P. 4
Porsche (DE) decides again in favor of WITRON
» P. 5
Mercadona (ES): Use of OPM and ATS in
fresh and frozen logistics
WITRON logistics day at Mercadona Madrid (ES)
» P. 6
WITRON logistics day at Future Electronics (USA)
Inex (FIN) trusts WITRON expertise
WITRON is awarded a follow-up order from Switzerland
Migros will pick fully-automated in the future with OPM
Migros, the largest food retailer
in Switzerland with a revenue
of 11 billion Euros, awarded
WITRON the order to implement
its OPM system in Suhr. After
ramp-up of the system in April
2011, Migros will have the capability to supply over 600 stores
throughout Switzerland using the
state-of-the-art logistics center
in Suhr.
As general contractor, WITRON will
not only design and implement
the logistics system, its subsidiary
FAS will produce and install the
tray conveyor system, tray stacker
cranes and COM machines.
This order further expands the
strong partnership between both
companies.
"With the new picking system,
Migros will be able to develop
additional business areas and
expand existing ones. The continuously increasing market
requirements can be perfectly
covered with the dynamic functionalities of the OPM system.
This investment is another step
into a bright and dynamic future
of the MVS (Migros Verteilzentrum
Suhr)", says Daniel Waltenspuehl,
head of the MVS.
The system is composed of a
56-aisle tray warehouse with
285,000 tray locations. In the
future, 315,000 cases from
a dry assortment consisting of
4,500 different SKUs will be picked
each day with 28 COM machines.
These 28 COM machines will
produce store-friendly pallets.
Since the entire order picking
will be done without human inter­
vention, it will be free from any
pick errors. The existing high bay
warehouse that was implemented
by WITRON in 2002 will serve as a
replenishment warehouse consisting of 68,000 pallet locations.
A part of the former system will
also be used for the processing
of special offers, as a buffer ware­
house for dispatch pallets and
for the receiving of vendor
supplied product.
The realization of the project
will be both a logistical and
architectural feat. The compact
footprint of WITRON's OPM will
allow the new storage area to be
erected on the roof of the existing
logistics center.
www.witron.com
WITRON establishes new subsidiary in Spain
The general contractor increases its presence in the international market
"WITRON has been successful in the Spanish market since 2004. The
five OPM systems we have designed and implemented for the Spanish
retail company Mercadona provide proof of that success", says CEO
Helmut Prieschenk. "The subsidiary in Spain helps us in supporting
Mercadona and the rest of the Spanish market that provides high
potential for our innovative tote and pallet picking system solutions".
So far, WITRON has implemented 286 COM (Case Order Machine) machines
in 17 OPM (Order Picking Machinery) projects throughout the world.
A total of 111 COM machines are operated in Spain alone, with OPM
systems serving ambient, cooled, and frozen environments. The OPM
case picking system uses WITRON's innovative COM to automatically
"build" store-friendly order pallets or roll containers.
More effective support of our customers
"The excellent market and product knowledge of our local employees
on-site has helped our WITRON subsidiaries to develop successful
projects in the different regions and markets we serve. The result is
strong customer loyalty as measured by the number of follow-up
projects.
We are convinced that our new subsidiary in Spain will expand our
cooperation with Mercadona and help in realizing similar projects with
other Spanish companies", says Helmut Prieschenk. "We are very
optimistic that we can achieve these goals."
The new established subsidiary of WITRON in Ciempozuelos, near Madrid.
WITRON Logistik + Informatik GmbH increased its international market
presence and established a new subsidiary in Ciempozuelos near the
Spanish capital Madrid at the end of March 2009.
WITRON Espana
Avenida de las Palmeras 16, A6
Poligono Industrial La Sendilla
28350 Ciempozuelos/Madrid
Phone: 0034 918 753 466
Fax:
0034 917 753 317
info@witron.es
www.witron.es
www.witron.com
WITRON Automated Tote System (ATS)
Fully automated picking of whole totes and drink crates
WITRON has launched a new, fully automated
tote picking system on the market. This patentpending ATS concept enables the fully automated generation of dispatch units, consisting
of totes and/or drinks crates, which have
been filled with goods from the in-house
production department or by the supplier.
The dispatch crates are collected in the ATS
without employee involvement or ID entry,
buffered, picked, stacked onto a dispatch unit
in a customised and/or store-friendly manner
and staged for outbound delivery. These
applications are most commonly found in the
fresh and temperature-controlled areas of
distribution centres in food retail. The solution
can also be used in crate picking with greater
cost efficiency. With eliminating strength-sapping
lifting and carrying of heavy totes, the ATS is
setting new standards in ergonomics.
The new system completes the WITRON portfolio of highly efficient modular warehousing
order picking solutions for the retail and
wholesale market and is the ideal complement
to the automated picking systems OPM for
case picking and DPS for piece picking.
With WITRON ATS it is possible to pick either crates or totes fully automated in a customized and/or
store-friendly manner.
With ATS, the entire material flow is significantly simplified. Firstly, a
large variety of products such as fruit and vegetables, meat or fish
items are delivered to the distribution centre in totes already packed
by the supplier in stacks on single SKU pallets. There, a single identification process takes place centrally. Follow-up in the system is
guaranteed by indirect target tracking, thereby completely disposing
of the need for time-consuming physical labelling of individual totes
with a barcode or other identification. Thanks to the flexibility of the
system, the use of whole and half totes, each with different heights,
are handled seamlessly. Once the stacks of totes have been slid off the
inbound pallet and then separated, highly dynamic stacker cranes
known as Picking Mini Loads (PMLs) place the totes in an ASRS
(automated storage and retrieval system) for intermediate buffering.
To increase system output, several totes can be stored and transported
simultaneously in stacks. The PMLs also provide for store-friendly
retrieval of the totes to generate dispatch pallets, with each PML
able to accept up to four totes simultaneously per trip.
intermediate storage area in a pallet warehouse, always taking into
account the consolidation of all the order pallets according to customer
requirements and shipping routes.
High cost efficiency
No physical labelling or checking of transport units required
anymore, since indirect target tracking can be used thanks to
branch-free transport and short conveyor lines
The removed totes are then transported to a stacking device, where
all the totes belonging to one client order are stacked mechanically
on top of one another and pushed onto a pallet using an efficient
pallet loading operation. Specific requirements, such as the unloading
sequence in the store, maximum fill level or loading height can be
parameterised flexibly according to the customers wishes. Even the
generation of double-deck (sandwich) pallets is provided for a way of
inceasing the shipping volume. The final step is the transportation of
the securely stretch-wrapped order pallets to the dispatch area or the
New standards in ergonomics
The ATS concept offers major benefits for the user:
High cost-efficiency due to a fully automated process chain
throughout the system - no longer any need for staff-intensive
repacking and order picking
100% accuracy is achieved using order generation in the ASRS
Generation of store-friendly crates and totes in aisle unloading
sequence based on specific customer requirements
Low energy and construction costs due to modular, compact design
With ATS, WITRON has again succeeded in recognising market
requirements and offering the best possible logistics solution to suit.
It has taken the company very little time to win its first project, and
there are two more currently in the detailed planning phase.
www.witron.com
Porsche (DE) decides again in favor of WITRON
New central warehouse will pick with WITRON's OPS-system
Porsche's new central warehouse is currently being erected at its locations
in Sachsenheim (Germany).
Porsche, the manufacturer of premium sports vehicles from Stuttgart
(Germany) awarded WITRON Logistik + Informatik GmbH the order to
realize an automated warehouse and picking system for their new
central spare parts center in Sachsenheim. WITRON was awarded the
order after convincing Porsche it had the best concept during the
course of a highly competitive bidding phase. Productive use of the
plant is scheduled for July 2010.
The heart of Porsche's new central warehouse is WITRON's OPS (Order
Picking System) for totes. Because its goods-to-man design allows it
to handle a very broad range of SKUs, the OPS has proven itself as an
effective and efficient solution for many spare parts applications
worldwide. The OPS for Porsche has been designed for maximum
flexibility, allowing spare parts to be stored in totes with different
heights, in totes with inserts or on trays that hold several small load
carriers. The OPS will store 75,000 different SKU's from Porsche's spare
parts assortment in a 12-aisle miniload AS/RS
that holds 170,000 totes. Picking will be
done at 16 workstations into both shipping
cartons based on a volume calculation and
returnable totes from Porsche. An
advantage of the OPS system is the
separation of the material flow from the
workstations enabling a highly dynamic
picking of articles and a sequenced provision
of the storage totes at the pick locations.
Once the dispatch packages and labeling have been finished, the
packages will be prepared for transportation to the dispatch area.
WITRON's RF-based TMS will carry out the loading control and manage
non-automated order picking areas which contain parts not suitable
for tote storage.
The WITRON performance scope for the Porsche project also includes
the production and installation of the entire tote conveyor mechanics
(cranes, conveyor system, sequence buffers) executed by its subsidiary
FAS.
This latest project in Sachsenheim further expands the long-lasting
partnership between Porsche and WITRON. WITRON previously
implemented its RF-based TMS system at Porsche's Ludwigsburg
location and several other conventional warehouses in year 2000,
optimizing its material flow from receiving through to dispatch.
INEX trusts WITRON expertise
Major order from Finland
INEX Partners Oy, the logistics service provider of the S Group has
commissioned general contractor WITRON Logistik + Informatik to
provide an automated material handling system for a new 53,000 m2
distribution centre. WITRON managed to impress by presenting the
best overall concept in an ideas contest and by boasting long-standing
experience with the realisation of projects of this magnitude.
By March 2012, the Sipoo site located close to the capital Helsinki will
be home to one of the largest logistics plants in Scandinavia, supplying
goods to over 1,200 outlets of the S Group.
to expand the e-commerce and spare parts business systematically
with the new warehouse.
The S Group, the market leading Finnish trade company, employs 37,735
people in total. S Group's retail sales were EUR 11.821 billion in 2008.
The logistics service provider INEX Partners Oy had 1,793 employees
in 2008 and posted revenue of EUR 1.754 billion.
Goods will span a huge variety of product groups, from clothing,
cosmetics and sports items to electronic equipment, garden items
and furniture, and right through to spare parts for cars and agricultural
machinery.
To achieve perfect synchronisation of all the logistical requirements
with maximum efficiency and cost effectiveness, the highly dynamic
WITRON picking modules DPS (Dynamic Picking System), OPS (Order
Picking System) and CPS (Car Picking System) will be used.
With the new distribution centre, the logistics service provider INEX
will be perfectly capable of covering the constant growth of all S Group
store chains. Through quicker deliveries that are more needs-oriented
and tailored to the different store sizes and formats, the level of service
for customers will be raised higher. What is more, it will be possible
By March 2012, the Sipoo site will be home to one of the largest logistics
plants in Scandinavia.
www.witron.com
Fresh and frozen logistics with OPM and ATS
Mercadona puts trust in the world's first ATS from WITRON alongside OPM at its Leon site
In early June 2009, the Spanish supermarket chain Mercadona decided to
vegetables to meat and fish products, then stacked onto order pallets in
adopt the fully automated warehouse and picking system OPM (Order
a store-friendly manner and dispatched. The 16-aisle tote ASW with 29,000
Picking Machinery), supplied by general contractor WITRON, for its fresh
storing positions is divided into two independent temperature zones (plus
and frozen foods sections at its Leon site. WITRON was awared to introduce
2 degrees and plus 12 degrees).
the OPM system for dry-range picking at this site back in December 2008.
The distribution centre in Leon supplies goods to 177 stores on a daily basis.
Use of the ATS results in significant optimisation of all processes, as is the
case with OPM, the entire material flow is processed automatically.
In March 2011, the fully automated OPM system will be up and running.
108,000 cases per day will be picked in a store-friendly manner from a range
In the future, store orders can be delivered on half or whole pallets and
of approximately 1,100 fresh, frozen and perishable products using 13 COM
placed together directly in the HBW using stacker cranes. Through picking
machines. The cases will be supplied to the COM machines via a 26-aisle tray
of another 10,000 cases from a small manual warehouse, almost 220,000
warehouse divided into three temperature zones (minus 23 degrees, plus
cases a day will leave the state-of-the-art logistics centre for fresh and
2 degrees and plus 12 degrees Celsius). Replenishment will be carried out
frozen articles .
from a pallet high bay warehouse with 8,800 storage locations.
The supermarket chain Mercadona, with a revenue of EUR 15.379 billion,
has forged a very successful partnership with WITRON that dates back to
Practical use of world's first WITRON-ATS
2004. Once the project in Leon has been commissioned, this will take the
number of WITRON COM machines in operation in the dry-range, fresh and
frozen sections of the five Mercadona distribution centres to 111. The
In addition to OPM, Mercadona will be using WITRON's world-first ATS
projects realised jointly to date are a clear indication of client satisfaction
(Automated Tote System) for highly dynamic, fully automated whole tote
and proof of the cost-efficiency, flexibility and high availability of the WITRON
picking. With this solution, more than 100,000 totes a day are picked error-
technology used.
free from a range of approximately 330 fresh items ranging from fruits and
WITRON Logistics Day at ...
Mercadona, Madrid (Spain)
Over 50 logistics experts from all over Europe learned all about the innovative logistics solutions in the Mercadona distribution centre.
More than 50 international guests visiting Ciempozuelos near Madrid were
totes with the Dynamic Picking System (DPS). The automated storage, stacking
given an insight into one of the most efficient distribution centres in Europe.
and consolidation of full, half and quarter pallets is optimised with the Pallet
The Spanish supermarket chain Mercadona chose the WITRON Logistics Day
Storage - Stacking Machinery (PSSM) module. The plant's picking speed is
as the occasion to open its doors for the first time to logistics experts from
very impressive. For example, up to 470 cases per COM per hour are picked
trade and industry.
with the OPM system. A total of 76 COM machines have been installed in
The central logistics element at the site in Ciempozuelos is the Order Picking
Ciempozuelos. The picking output at the DPS workstations is around 500
Machinery (OPM). With OPM, it is possible to produce store-friendly order
picks per workstation per hour.
pallets both in the dry goods range and in the fresh and frozen foods sections
On peak days, over 920,000 cases are delivered from Ciempozuelos to
without deploying any staff whatsoever. Small-volume SKU's are picked using
Mercadona stores throughout the greater Madrid area.
www.witron.com
1st WITRON Logistics Day in USA at ...
Future Electronics, Memphis TN
Supply chain experts were introduced to Future Electronics Memphis as part of WITRON's first "Logistics Day" event in US.
Delegates from the auto, construction, medical, electronics, consumer
goods, and grocery industries were introduced to WITRON's highly
flexible and cost efficient automated warehouse at Future Electronics
in Memphis, TN as part of WITRON's first "Logistics Day" event in US.
Attendees learned how Future Electronics has used WITRON's Order
Picking System (OPS) to gain market share and competitive advantage
in the five years since the system went live in Memphis.
Future Electronics notes several specific benefits they have realized
with OPS:
The lead time from order receipt to shipping has been reduced
to a mere 30 minutes
Labor requirements have been reduced by 70% compared to their
previous conventional storage and picking methods
Injury claims and accidents have been nearly eliminated due to
major ergonomic improvements
Employee retention and worker morale have been markedly
improved, with employee turnover reduced to 1% or less
Energy costs (air conditioning and lighting) have been reduced
as a result of a more compact warehouse footprint
Flexibility and expansion capability have been greatly improved
through the modular design of WITRON's OPS
North-West Europe
WITRON Engineering BV
Keizersveld 47c
NL-5803 AM Venray
Phone +31 (0) 478 551 855
Fax
+31 (0) 478 551 850
info@witron.nl
Logistics Day was an educational event for all, enabling guests from
different industries to see how automation can be used to solve today's
distribution challenges. Karl Hoegen, CEO of WITRON North America,
noted that "events like this give guests the opportunity to benchmark
their own operations against world-class facilities like Future Electronics'
Memphis DC."
Future Electronics is the third largest electronic parts supplier in the
world. Operating in 42 countries with 169 locations, Future provides
an exemplary standard of quality. They are a world-class leader and
innovator in the distribution and marketing of semiconductors, passive
components, inter-connect, solid state lighting and mechanical pro­
ducts.
WITRON's OPS at Future Electronics is based on a 23-aisle miniload
AS/RS that holds 83,000 SKUs. The miniload system is used to deliver
products to stationary picking workstations in front of the AS/RS. This
automated goods-to-man picking system eliminates picker travel,
thereby boosting productivity. Because the pickers are focused entirely
on picking, accuracy is greatly enhanced as well.
WITRON's relationship with Future extends beyond the Memphis DC.
Their partnership continue with a second OPS in Leipzig, Germany,
which went live in January 2010.
Responsibility
Helmut Prieschenk
CEO
Editorial staff
WITRON Logistik + Informatik GmbH
92711 Parkstein (Germany)
marketing@witron.de
Reprint and processing of the information presented, requires the
written permission of the issuer. Despite highest possible diligence,
no guarantee and/or liability is taken over for accuracy of statement.
www.witron.com