Month: September 2020

The HDC Hyundai Development Company of Korea has ordered a fleet of 28 Konecranes Noell Sprinter Carriers for Busan New Port 2-4 in Busan, Korea. The Sprinter Carriers will be delivered as part of the port’s expansion project 2-4. The order was booked in August 2020.

“The HDC Hyundai Development Company is a renowned developer of container terminals and we are proud to have received this repeat order as Busan New Port continues to expand,” said Peter Kania, Head of Sales for Straddle Carriers, Konecranes Port Cranes. “We delivered Sprinter Carriers as part of Busan New Port’s earlier growth phase. This further order is a vote of confidence and trust in the  performance and reliability of these machines as horizontal transport vehicles from the quayside, working closely with the automated stacking cranes in the container yard,” continued Kania. When the Sprinter Carriers on order are delivered and working, Busan New Port will have a Konecranes Noell Sprinter Carrier fleet of 64 machines.

The Sprinter Carriers on order are man-driven, diesel-electric machines stacking containers 1-over-1 as part of swift container transfer between the quayside and container yard. The first batch of twenty machines with single-lift spreaders, type NSC 424 E, will be delivered by the end of 2021. Four machines of type NSC 624 E, equipped with Konecranes Noell twin-lift spreaders, will be delivered by July 2022. The last four machines of type NSC 424 E, single-lift machines, will also be delivered by July 2022. All of the machines will be equipped with Stage IV diesel engines, and they will all have 8 wheels by special customer request to reduce ground pressure. The standard Konecranes Noell Sprinter Carrier has 6 wheels.

All of these Konecranes Noell Sprinter Carriers will have built-in readiness for automation. This puts Busan New Port on Kone­cranes’ path to port automation, where container terminals improve productivity and safety in manageable steps. The path to port automation applies to all container handling equipment brands. Full automation can be the final goal but it doesn’t have to be. Flexibility is the key.

WMS technology innovator SnapFulfil is enabling its customers to ‘go configure’ with the launch of a new digital adoption platform. SnapBuddy is a fully integrated platform offering proactive, step-by-step guidance on how to perform key processes within the SnapFulfil WMS.

Through the use of smart tips, system tours and walkthroughs, users can learn and enhance their understanding of a range of WMS processes as they work on a live system without any significant downtime or loss of productivity. The launch of SnapBuddy marks a further step towards enabling SnapFulfil customers to realise the full benefits of its unique and highly sophisticated rules-based configuration engine.

SnapFulfil Chief Operating Officer, Stefanie Rollins, explains: “Ours is a truly modular solution. Every customer has access to its full functionality and with the correct training can learn how to switch functions on and off to keep pace with an ever changing environment. The global Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated the need for businesses to react quickly and adapt to sudden market changes, with cost control absolutely key. The end result is that swift, self-configuration has never been more advantageous and timely.”

By enabling the customer to take charge of their independence earlier, SnapBuddy can support rapid scaling of warehouse processes, as well as quick succession of multiple warehouse rollouts, with minimal growth of the implementations and support teams. SnapBuddy can be tailored to an individual user’s organisation, role and tasks, plus additional content and features will be added on a regular basis. A new certification programme is also being developed in conjunction with SnapBuddy.

Rollins added: “Expect the unexpected is now our commercial reality. This means that businesses simply cannot afford to waste time and money on hard-coded systems that will ultimately compromise their ability to develop agile and responsive solutions.”

Looking to adapt to business’ needs in a post Covid-19 world, The Config Team, working in conjunction with SAP, has developed a new pre-configured SAP Extended Warehouse Management (EWM) solution specially designed for temporary warehouses.

Recent market analysis estimates that the global warehousing and storage market is expected to grow 10% from 2021 to 2023, as the industry begins its recovery from Covid-19, with an increase in demand of smart warehousing contributing to this rise. An uptake in short-term warehouse rentals is also anticipated, particularly within the online retail and fast-moving consumer goods markets, as businesses try to manage the need for extra capacity with the uncertain future market stability.

SAP Supply Chain specialists, The Config Team, has developed a unique proposition; an out-of-the-box SAP EWM solution that facilitates core business processes within a warehouse environment, fully integrated with both SAP S/4HANA and ECC. Incorporating mobile scanning as standard, all processes can be completed on a mobile device, avoiding the need for paper-based processes and ensuring it can be set up independent of IT infrastructure. With the mobile applications working with 3G / 4G technology, there is no need to implement corporate Wi-Fi infrastructure, while if Wi-Fi is already in place, it ensures all transactions can still be undertaken in any areas with Wi-Fi blackspots.

With the ability to be delivered in a third of the time of a full lifecycle EWM project, this innovative approach keeps investment and cost to a minimum, while getting processes in the warehouse up and running in less than 90 days. Providing a complete end-to-end EWM solution, The Config Team will deliver the pre-configured EWM implementation from design to deployment, set up and installation of specially designed mobile applications, user training and ongoing system and mobility support.

Commenting on its latest initiative, Andrew Moses, Managing Director of The Config Team, said: “With many businesses looking to reduce capital investment and avoid the costly outlay of permanent warehouse solutions in an uncertain economy, temporary and ‘pop-up’ warehouses are the clear choice. We have been working with SAP to look at how we can deliver a cost-effective warehouse solution that is simple to implement within this environment.

“The key is that it is quick and easy to deploy, with minimal development, it allows customers to benefit from the enhanced functionality of EWM, while only implementing the core elements needed to manage a warehouse in the short-term. Innovation is always central to everything we do, and this is just the latest example of our innovative thinking and flexibility to adapt to market and customer demands.”

Andrea Ricciarelli, Senior Director, EMEA Centre of Excellence – Digital Supply Chain – SAP, added: “We continually work with our partners to develop new solutions for our enterprise customers. Within the current climate, we are particularly looking for ways to reduce implementation times for customers to get them up and running on SAP as quick as possible. As a specialist in the supply chain environment, The Config Team has developed a fantastic proposition for pop-up warehouses that we are expecting to be popular across our customer base.”