Automation allows manufacturer to future proof warehouse

The automated warehouse boosted efficiency and cost-effectiveness, as well as generating space for growth.

Pepperl + Fuchs had outgrown its previous automated warehouse due to company expansion, the development of new market segments, and increasing individual customer demands.

"Speed, reliability, and quality, as well as optimal cost-efficiency are absolutely decisive aspects for us,” says Ulrich Weiss, head of materials management and logistics at Pepperl + Fuchs. "Our sensor technology business demands short delivery times - a large part of the orders received today have to be supplied to customers across Europe by the next day.”

Witron won out in a tender process to deliver to this demanding brief.

The 45,208 sq ft EDC comprises a five-aisle tray AS/RS with 32,000 storage locations as well as a conventional area with 1,000 pallet locations. All articles that can be stored on a tray are located in the AS/RS, except slow movers.

Witron’s Order Picking System (OPS) is central to the installation. OPS has been installed in many different industry segments across the world and suits eCommerce applications. It is designed to cost efficiently handle a broad range of items and combines storage and order picking in one system.

The modular solution integrates automated small parts warehouse (AS/RS) and upstream picking locations that are separated from the stacker cranes through the use of sequence buffers or - as in the case of Pepperl + Fuchs - through a transfer car solution. This enables maximum individuality for all work processes.

The articles at the pick and pack workstations in the OPS are provided according to the goods-to-person-principle and on demand. Through the flexibility of the system it is possible to use totes, cartons, or small load carriers with different sizes, heights, and classifications on the trays. The workstations are staffed depending on the workload.

The pallet warehouse also takes care of replenishment for the AS/RS. In order to store the more than 56,000 different items efficiently and with minimal space, the trays used for storage are divided up to eight times. The occupation of the trays is automatically scanned in the receiving area.

The picking of up to 4,800 order lines per day is done according to the pick and pack principle at five pick locations and nine packing locations directly into the dispatch carton or into the order carton for production supply. This corresponds to a pick performance of 500 picks per hour, enabling a parallel processing of up to eight customer orders at each pick location.

 

The use of different technologies - pick-by-light, place-to-light, and surface scanning, guarantees maximum picking accuracy. Customer orders with articles from the AS/RS and the pallet or long-goods warehouse are consolidated to one delivery unit at a separate workstation. The operators in the pallet warehouse / long-goods warehouse are supported by a radio-frequency system from Witron. 

Highly ergonomic aspects were the main focus when designing all workstations. Transfer cars allow a high level of automation, efficiently connect all warehouse areas from receiving to dispatch, and enable a consistent tracking of all logistic units in the system.

"The decision to award the contract to Witron was made because the OPS solution in connection with the transfer car concept convinced us more than all other solutions we received,” explains Weiss.

"It is an innovative technology that provides high system performance with efficient picking at low error rates. The concept is space-efficient, highly available, and perfectly suits our structural infrastructure.

"Moreover, all workstations from receiving to dispatch are supplied and cleared by means of transfer cars which saves a large amount of conveyor system distance, as a huge loop or sorting lanes are not required.”

The speed of the transfer cars and stacker cranes is impressive. They were designed and produced by Gebhardt Foerdertechnik and Witron's subsidiary FAS. Goods registered in the receiving area are immediately available in the system and can directly be assigned to a customer order (taxi priority).

Project management

Witron acted as general contractor with overall responsibility. The delivery and performance scope included detailed project design as well as the delivery, and start-up of all mechanical, material flow, IT, and control systems. The entire AS/RS steel construction was planned by Witron's subsidiary FAS.

Weiss adds: "Another important decision criterion was the fact that we were always supported by the same Witron team - starting with the first visit and through all project phases. They worked in a highly motivated and professional manner with us.”

The manufacturer was also happy with Witron’s gradual ramp up of the new site, which included parallel running of the old site in a synchronisation phase.

"During the ramp-up phase we had to learn how to correctly handle the new technology and control system,” says Martin Preuninger, project leader IT and logistics of the EDC. "Therefore, it was important to intensively train the employees and service technicians together with Witron and to include them in important decisions. The employees already had experience in an automated warehouse, but the work processes could not be compared with the state-of-the-art technology that we are using today.

"It only took a little more than one year from the beginning of the design phase to productive use. In the course of a smooth ramp-up phase, the relocation from the old warehouse to the new distribution centre was carried out step by step.”

 

Business benefits

The new distribution centre has considerably boosted the performance of Pepperl + Fuchs.

Firstly, the EDC has helped with deliveries. Keeping to tight delivery dates, both with the customer and within its own production processes, in combination with a low error rate, is critical for Pepperl + Fuchs. In addition, they must provide a multitude of customer-specific features for many deliveries.

"With the new logistics centre, we could not only implement our customer's requirements successfully, but also our employee's demands in terms of ergonomic, light, and clear workplaces,” says Preuninger. 

Importantly from an eCommerce perspective, the manufacturer has been able to put back its cut-off times for latest possible order to closer to the departure time of carriers. The customers will then generally receive their goods by the next day.

The new EDC has also allowed Pepperl + Fuchs to supply its European end customers as well as its distribution centres in the US and Singapore directly with finished parts from one location. Moreover, all production sites across the globe receive purchased raw goods and manufactured assemblies from the EDC. 

Pepperl + Fuchs also sees itself as well prepared for the future.

"We are able to handle a further increase of customer orders with the same team and deliver the same high service level without any problems,” says Weiss.

"We do not only have sufficient resources for the future - with the new storage and picking technology - we are able to respond more efficiently to rapidly fluctuating workloads.”

The new technology also provides numerous benefits in terms of service and maintenance. For example, all loading devices of the stacker cranes are equipped with cameras. In case of an error message in the AS/RS, the cause can first be assessed via a camera, before a technician has to climb into the machine.