Highly automated solution to boost shipping capacity

THE NEW highly automated solution will replace an existing system at the workwear specialist’s headquarters in Biebergemünd (Germany) and will be completed by the end of 2024.

The project includes a 17-lane shuttle warehouse with 25 order picking workstations and the Rovolution PickCenter as a highlight. The intelligent, self-learning robot picks SKUs of different sizes, shapes, and surface qualities fully automatically and with maximum performance. Unexpected events are corrected autonomously and without human intervention, which allows for uninterrupted operation around the clock. As a result, this solution can substantially boost the shipping capacity. The incoming and outgoing goods areas and downstream special processes are also being redesigned. Energy-efficient KingDrive® conveyors connect the different functional areas with each other.

This new hub further strengthens the partnership between TGW and Engelbert Strauss. In August 2020, Engelbert Strauss’ CI Factory in Schlüchtern went live. It is the most state-of-the art omni-channel logistics platform for workwear and work footwear in the world. TGW’s shuttle-based FlashPick system enables dispatch of 50,000 or more packages per day. 

The CI Factory also served as a pilot project for autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). A fleet of 26 AMRs will supply the returned goods workstations at the Biebergemünd fulfilment centre with empty totes and totes filled with returned goods - autonomously and without human intervention. 

The CI Factory will continue to serve as the central inventory warehouse and in charge of omni-channel order fulfilment. In the future, it will also serve as the replenishment warehouse for the order picking system in Biebergemünd.

For more information, visit www.tgw-group.com/en/news/press-releases/2021/engelbert-strauss-relies-on-tgw-once-more