Halfords picks small parts solution

Halfords has awarded Dematic, a global provider of intelligent logistics and materials handling solutions, a prestigious contract to install an innovative picking system that combines pick to light, pick to voice and a Dematic Multishuttle Consolidation Buffer at the retailer's new 310,000ft2 Small Parts Picking Centre in Coventry to provide highly efficient store order fulfilment.

Working closely with Halfords, Dematic has devised a solution to make the best use of what is typically wasted space above the marshalling area of a distribution centre. This will involve installing a small parts picking system on a two level, 165m long x 20m wide mezzanine that runs the entire length of the building, optimising the warehouse cube all the way to the loading docks. A long-span mezzanine design will facilitate marshalling below the structure.

Dematic will install a conveyorbased system with 3600 pick-to-light units for Halfords' fast & medium moving small parts and a pick-byvoice system from Vocollect for the slower movers. In total, the cost efficient, productive solution will process approximately 10,000 SKUs.

As Vocollect reseller for the project, Dematic is supplying a total of 60 voice terminals for the DC. Of these, 20 will be used for Dematic's pick-to-voice system while the remaining units will be used for other operations within the facility, such as bulk picking, bulk put away and decanting. These will be controlled by Manhattan Associates' WMS, which feeds orders to Dematic's DC Director WCS. This Warehouse Control System looks after stock profiling and integrates the pick to light and voice technologies seamlessly to achieve the most efficient pick possible.

It will then send picked totes to a Dematic Multishuttle Captive Buffer to dramatically increase speed, accuracy and throughput. Intelligent controls in this system enable complex sequencing that contributes to flexibility and building store friendly orders. For this solution, one of the 10 shuttles will receive the picked totes for each store and stack them six high in store sequence ready to go straight into the back of the delivery vehicles, eliminating the need for sortation lanes and reducing the number of totes sent to Halford's stores.

Dematic commenced the installation in December 2009 and the project is scheduled to go live in June 2010.