Book wholesaler invests in automation

Libri is building Europe’s largest and state-of-the-art print-on-demand centre with sister companies and partners. The logistics site in Germany is expected to be completed by the autumn. With the integration of print-on-demand production into Libri’s bookstore logistics, the production and delivery time for paperback titles will be reduced from two to three days to one day. In the future, there won’t be any delivery time distinction between books in stock and hot off the press books, says the firm.

Implementation partner for the project is Witron. In October, employees celebrated the finishing of the outside building structure for the new hall with a floor area of 10,000 sq mt.

“The basement covers the delivery area for the print machines, print-on-demand production, and the paper storage. Logistics and conveyor system are installed on the upper floor”, explains COO Jörg Paul. In the future, up to 50,000 books will be printed daily with and shipped overnight. A fast track process for particularly time-critical orders is planned as well. Libri considers itself as a service provider for publishers and booksellers – and establishes new distribution channels for both partners.  

Ulrich Schlosser is responsible for the modernisation projects at Witron and has known Libri for many years. 

“IT systems have to be updated, the control technology of all stacker cranes and the entire conveyor system will be updated as well. But this modernisation project is even more complex and additionally includes a new material flow. “We are modernising and changing in parallel during ongoing operation, an open-heart surgery, so to speak,” explains Schlosser.

The print machines are connected to the ERP system and exchange data. From the ERP system, the Witron logistics systems also receive the information about the books to be printed, the shipping windows, and customer data. Once the book is printed, the machine automatically places it onto the conveyor system. The book from the printing machine is a second receiving process for the system. As soon as the book leaves the machine, the system identifies the book via barcode and guides it in the Witron WMS. There, the system processes the information whether it concerns a single or multiple positions.  

New receiving

The book is placed into a bin and either goes directly to the picking station or into a buffer. Paul is looking for 20 new employees in logistics in early and late shifts who are supported by the implemented technology during the picking process. “We are also using dynamic virtual pick fronts”, says Paul. In addition to order pickers, he is looking for technicians and print workers.

{EMBED(1187167)}

In the buffer, the individually printed book may be waiting for fast movers from the existing warehouse. “The customer orders a bestseller and a title as print-on-demand”. Both books are consolidated by the technology and then transported to a picking station. In the fast mover area, Libri works with Witron’s DPS system (Dynamic Picking System).  

Cross-channel

DPS works according to both principles, goods-to-person or person-to-goods. Depending on the order structure, the items are arranged in the pick front either permanently or on a demand-oriented basis, such that this is always optimised. The classification of the product structure is consistently verified and adapted by the DPS. Semi-automatic picking is supported by a pick-by-light system. Designed for the requirements of the omni-channel business, the products can be picked for store orders into shipping bins and for online orders in a pick and pack process into the shipping carton. Replenishment of the picking zones, integrated in the tote warehouse, is exclusively system-controlled by stacker cranes. 

WMS

“The challenge in the project is the IT. We have to coordinate the time windows, design the buffers, and feed the inventory system with information”, says Schlosser. In addition to the 156 tote stacker cranes in the old warehouse area, the technicians are installing additional devices in the buffer zone of the new book print area. 

Schlosser and Paul combine retail logistics with production logistics. “The project is also a special one for us”, emphasises Schlosser. However, such projects could also gain in importance in other industry sectors in the future. Additive production processes are changing the spare parts business in the automotive industry, for example. “When 3D printing leaves the prototype stage, then we will see similar approaches in other industry sectors”, Schlosser is convinced. Jörg Paul and his team at Libri are giving a 500-year-old business a new lease of life in production. They are reinventing themselves and their business.  

For more information, visit www.witron.com

{EMBED(1187166)}