Subscribe

Day: 10 December 2020

Wholesaler Doubles Output with Robotic Logistics

Posted on by David Priestman

The leading wholesaler in the Swiss organic market, Bio Partner, has doubled its output following the implementation of innovative robotic logistics from Swisslog at its facility in Aargau, Switzerland.

Bio Partner supplies business customers in the organic specialist trade as well as the rest of the retail and food industry from its location in Seon. As a result of the merger with Somona GmbH, the warehouse reached its performance and capacity limits, and the wholesaler turned to a local partner with a global footprint to deliver an automated storage system.

The 12,200m2 warehouse handles 10,000+ products, a process now optimized thanks to the high-performance AutoStore storage solution, delivered by global warehouse automation specialist, Swisslog, a member of the KUKA group.

“Companies with large warehouses have to constantly work on increasing efficiency and our robot systems work flawlessly around the clock,” says Swisslog CEO, Dr. Christian Baur. The aim of this new system from Swisslog is to automate the storage and picking of the dry assortment and to compress it in terms of volume.

Consistently high performance

The new AutoStore system at Bio Partner has 44 robots with the ability to handle 25,000 containers and at least 6,000 products completely autonomously. “The high-tech robots create a volume of 900 containers per hour and, depending on the development, this system can still be expanded considerably,” says CEO, Dr. Baur.
The orders are automatically transmitted to the AutoStore system and processed in accordance with parallel processes, which is a huge advantage in large warehouses. This means that higher volumes can be made available in a shorter time. Picking errors cost time and money, and robots don’t make mistakes since the hardware and software work together perfectly. Bio Partner relies on the modular warehouse management software SynQ from Swisslog to orchestrate the warehouse and picking processes based on data-based insights.

“Our company relies on long-term, sustainable partnerships. With Swisslog, we found a strong local partner and the system installation was quick and easy,” commented Lukas Mettler, head of warehouse logistics at Bio Partner.

As a leading global integrator with over 200 realized projects, this is just one example of many projects which showcase the wide implementation spectrum of AutoStore empowered by Swisslog.

Wholesaler Doubles Output with Robotic Logistics

Posted on by David Priestman

The leading wholesaler in the Swiss organic market, Bio Partner, has doubled its output following the implementation of innovative robotic logistics from Swisslog at its facility in Aargau, Switzerland.

Bio Partner supplies business customers in the organic specialist trade as well as the rest of the retail and food industry from its location in Seon. As a result of the merger with Somona GmbH, the warehouse reached its performance and capacity limits, and the wholesaler turned to a local partner with a global footprint to deliver an automated storage system.

The 12,200m2 warehouse handles 10,000+ products, a process now optimized thanks to the high-performance AutoStore storage solution, delivered by global warehouse automation specialist, Swisslog, a member of the KUKA group.

“Companies with large warehouses have to constantly work on increasing efficiency and our robot systems work flawlessly around the clock,” says Swisslog CEO, Dr. Christian Baur. The aim of this new system from Swisslog is to automate the storage and picking of the dry assortment and to compress it in terms of volume.

Consistently high performance

The new AutoStore system at Bio Partner has 44 robots with the ability to handle 25,000 containers and at least 6,000 products completely autonomously. “The high-tech robots create a volume of 900 containers per hour and, depending on the development, this system can still be expanded considerably,” says CEO, Dr. Baur.
The orders are automatically transmitted to the AutoStore system and processed in accordance with parallel processes, which is a huge advantage in large warehouses. This means that higher volumes can be made available in a shorter time. Picking errors cost time and money, and robots don’t make mistakes since the hardware and software work together perfectly. Bio Partner relies on the modular warehouse management software SynQ from Swisslog to orchestrate the warehouse and picking processes based on data-based insights.

“Our company relies on long-term, sustainable partnerships. With Swisslog, we found a strong local partner and the system installation was quick and easy,” commented Lukas Mettler, head of warehouse logistics at Bio Partner.

As a leading global integrator with over 200 realized projects, this is just one example of many projects which showcase the wide implementation spectrum of AutoStore empowered by Swisslog.

Parcel Logistics Company Appoints new MD

Posted on by David Priestman

The parcel, haulage and freight logistics company, Caribou has appointed a new managing director as its expansion plans pick up pace.

Daryl Dylan, who was previously Head of Carriers & Commercials, will step up to the role. His first order of business is to grow the Caribou depot network to 10 centres over the next 12 months. Dylan will also head up a significant recruitment drive, with 150 new jobs to be created by March 2021. Many of the new roles will be focused in additional service areas, including domestic and international freight forwarding, same day and haulage which will be added to the Caribou service portfolio before the end of the year.

He said, “I’m ecstatic to be named Managing Director. I see a lot of potential in Caribou. We are on course with our expansion plans and on course to achieve them much faster than we initially expected thanks to a fantastic team who have worked very hard.”

Caribou is a multi-modal operation logistics company. It offers parcel consolidation, global fulfilment and carrier management. Its state-of-the-art technology and dedicated customer service has seen the firm winning market share and confirming numerous partnerships.

It has additionally created a host of integrations with platforms such as Amazon, eBay, Woo Commerce and Shopify to streamline logistics for sellers across a range of popular systems. Caribou is the disruptive new name in the logistics industry. It was born out of the merger of a number of mail, parcel and packet specialist companies. It is the new kid on the block but packing a big punch with over 20 years experience in the distribution and delivery industry.

Caribou is designing and building its own game changing domestic and international mail and parcel solutions alongside its network of premium partners. Continuously evolving, its goal is to ensure an optimum delivery experience for the end user. Its customer centric approach is heavily focused on developing tailor-made solutions for clients with cutting-edge technology at the heart of its service offering.

Glocalisation

Posted on by David Priestman

Global integrator Witron had a front and centre role in the first wave of the pandemic. What did it learn and what comes next?

When Christian Dietl reviews the numbers for June 2020, he is proud of his colleagues working in logistic centres all over Europe and North America. “During this time, we only had one major technical defect in the 75 food logistics centres around the globe which operate with our OPM technology,” reports the CEO of Witron Services. “Even though we had to keep the systems running at full capacity and beyond.”

While the inner cities of Europe were emptying and throughput in physical stores was increasing, logistics centres were running at full speed. The importance of automation was growing, as was the importance in warehouses of people. Truck drivers were no longer allowed to enter DCs and staff in logistics centres now had to handle incoming goods. “We had to restructure our teams to prevent infections. So we worked with smaller maintenance teams and really only carried out the most necessary life-sustaining measures on the machines,” explains Dietl. The teams had already caught up on the maintenance backlog in May and June. “We learned a lot about the load limits of the components and this is now being incorporated into our future concepts.”

During this time, Witron technicians developed efficient concepts to keep system performance high at all times, while at the same time having to cut down planned maintenance intervals due to time constraints. “In addition, our cross-trained colleagues on site can change their roles very quickly, from system operator to maintenance technician and back again.” Flexibility pays off. “I have always said that we have the best team because there is only ONE team at the Terrebonne distribution centre, consisting of Sobeys AND Witron colleagues,” praises Fabien Roy, Logistics Manager at Sobeys in Canada.

Even more automation

Due to consistent hygiene rules, Witron had only four sick employees worldwide in the service teams, who were very quickly isolated. “We will continue to work in the Corona mode and will
continue to rely on distance rules and set teams,” says Christian Dietl. But what comes after the crisis? Automation will be the winner of the pandemic, even for SMEs, according to Witron, in accord with many analysts and scientists. In some industries, value added supply chains will shift back to Europe, and security of supply will become increasingly important, it believes. “We are moving towards glocalisation,” explained Wolfram Senger-Weiss, Chairman of logistics service provider Senger-Weiss, in a recent interview.

A Bosch analysis further states: The challenge here will be to prevent logistics costs from rising immeasurably. This can be prevented. It also means that automation and modularisation in
warehouses and logistics centres will benefit greatly from the trend towards greater supply security. Storage capacities must be able to be built up and decreased even faster in the future.
Warehouse management, conveyor technology, forklifts, and autonomous transport systems (FTS/AGVs/AMR) must be able to react flexibly. The same applies to the service and maintenance teams. The production supply from the warehouse must be able to quickly adapt to new products or new manufacturing processes.

Adding to this is the continuing boom in ecommerce, which even in the COVID pandemic has not suffered any slumps; on the contrary, it recorded new growth figures. In this context, intralogistics experts are pursuing different strategies. Flexible omnichannel solutions are the decisive approach. What unites all approaches is the importance of automation. For Christian Dietl and his service and maintenance teams, the pandemic remains the focus. “The disease is still there, it will occupy us for even longer – socially, economically, and technologically. It’s been shown that the Witron crisis management works; our systems run reliably with high availability even under permanent high volume requirements, and the OnSite teams roll up their sleeves – supporting them around the clock with great commitment. Together with our customers, we will continue to successfully master the challenges.”

Glocalisation

Posted on by David Priestman

Global integrator Witron had a front and centre role in the first wave of the pandemic. What did it learn and what comes next?

When Christian Dietl reviews the numbers for June 2020, he is proud of his colleagues working in logistic centres all over Europe and North America. “During this time, we only had one major technical defect in the 75 food logistics centres around the globe which operate with our OPM technology,” reports the CEO of Witron Services. “Even though we had to keep the systems running at full capacity and beyond.”

While the inner cities of Europe were emptying and throughput in physical stores was increasing, logistics centres were running at full speed. The importance of automation was growing, as was the importance in warehouses of people. Truck drivers were no longer allowed to enter DCs and staff in logistics centres now had to handle incoming goods. “We had to restructure our teams to prevent infections. So we worked with smaller maintenance teams and really only carried out the most necessary life-sustaining measures on the machines,” explains Dietl. The teams had already caught up on the maintenance backlog in May and June. “We learned a lot about the load limits of the components and this is now being incorporated into our future concepts.”

During this time, Witron technicians developed efficient concepts to keep system performance high at all times, while at the same time having to cut down planned maintenance intervals due to time constraints. “In addition, our cross-trained colleagues on site can change their roles very quickly, from system operator to maintenance technician and back again.” Flexibility pays off. “I have always said that we have the best team because there is only ONE team at the Terrebonne distribution centre, consisting of Sobeys AND Witron colleagues,” praises Fabien Roy, Logistics Manager at Sobeys in Canada.

Even more automation

Due to consistent hygiene rules, Witron had only four sick employees worldwide in the service teams, who were very quickly isolated. “We will continue to work in the Corona mode and will
continue to rely on distance rules and set teams,” says Christian Dietl. But what comes after the crisis? Automation will be the winner of the pandemic, even for SMEs, according to Witron, in accord with many analysts and scientists. In some industries, value added supply chains will shift back to Europe, and security of supply will become increasingly important, it believes. “We are moving towards glocalisation,” explained Wolfram Senger-Weiss, Chairman of logistics service provider Senger-Weiss, in a recent interview.

A Bosch analysis further states: The challenge here will be to prevent logistics costs from rising immeasurably. This can be prevented. It also means that automation and modularisation in
warehouses and logistics centres will benefit greatly from the trend towards greater supply security. Storage capacities must be able to be built up and decreased even faster in the future.
Warehouse management, conveyor technology, forklifts, and autonomous transport systems (FTS/AGVs/AMR) must be able to react flexibly. The same applies to the service and maintenance teams. The production supply from the warehouse must be able to quickly adapt to new products or new manufacturing processes.

Adding to this is the continuing boom in ecommerce, which even in the COVID pandemic has not suffered any slumps; on the contrary, it recorded new growth figures. In this context, intralogistics experts are pursuing different strategies. Flexible omnichannel solutions are the decisive approach. What unites all approaches is the importance of automation. For Christian Dietl and his service and maintenance teams, the pandemic remains the focus. “The disease is still there, it will occupy us for even longer – socially, economically, and technologically. It’s been shown that the Witron crisis management works; our systems run reliably with high availability even under permanent high volume requirements, and the OnSite teams roll up their sleeves – supporting them around the clock with great commitment. Together with our customers, we will continue to successfully master the challenges.”

More Inventory Reliability, More Customers

Posted on by David Priestman

With the construction of the new 5,000 m² warehouse at its Limburg, Germany site, Spedition Stähler, the biggest and most established shipping company in the Limburg-Weilburg district, has also taken the decision to install a warehouse management system. It selected the EPG | LFS Warehouse Management System from EPG (Ehrhardt + Partner Gruppe). This has enabled the logistics service provider to considerably improve its inventory accuracy and transparency. The company uses LFS to administer incoming and outgoing goods processes and has consigned those paper lists to history. This modernization of the warehouse management system has enabled Stähler to significantly grow its customer base within a very short period.

“The decision to install LFS was primarily due to the innovative capacity of EPG. We wanted a solution that will provide us with long-term support and also with an opportunity to grow our business. In comparison to other companies on the market, LFS is the most cost-effective both in this regard and also for our requirements,” explains Egon Bürger, Managing Director of Spedition Stähler. “The new warehouse is the heart of the company. This is why it is important to deploy state-of-the-art, innovative technologies here so we can provide future-oriented services for our customers.”

LFS ensures the dynamic location segmentation in the new 12-meter high warehouse. Across the 5,000 m² storage area there are 5,000 shelf slots for pallets. The objective is to turn the goods round as quickly as possible. “Before the installation of LFS a maximum of two people in the warehouse knew where each item was located. There was no location differentiation and access times were much too slow. There were also challenges with the assignment of batches,” continues Egon Bürger. Incoming pallets are now dispatched, labelled and assigned to a unique bin location with the assistance of a mobile workplace system – also supplied by EPG. In theory, each employee has an overview at all times of the current inventory situation as well as of all incoming orders. Stähler is also taking advantage of the integrated LFS module designed for the financial settlement of logistics services and therefore from an additional optimization of its customer invoicing process.

Growing customer-base

The investment has already paid off. Since the introduction of LFS Stähler has already considerably expanded its customer-base. And further future growth is the company’s top priority. “Spedition Stähler is a perfect example of the extreme flexibility of our software solutions as they can suit every requirement. And this is regardless of whether they are deployed by a medium-sized company or a large corporation,” says Dennis Schönherr, Project Manager and Logistics Consultant at EPG. “This is because, and often this is the most important aspect, our systems simply grow with the company and can adapt at any time. The standard version of LFS is already so sophisticated that many functions are available without any additional programming expense.” For example, Spedition Stähler simply connected its new clients itself and was able to work productively for them very quickly.

EPG – Smarter Connected Logistics

EPG is one of the leading international providers of comprehensive Supply Chain Execution Systems (SES) and employs 700 people at 17 locations worldwide. The company supplies its more than 1,500 customers with WMS, WCS, WFM, TMS and voice solutions to optimise logistics processes – from manual to fully automated logistics environments. EPG solutions cover the entire supply chain, from warehouse and road to ground and cargo handling solutions at airports. EPG’s comprehensive portfolio of solutions is complemented by logistics consulting, cloud and managed services and logistics training courses at the company’s own academy.

More Inventory Reliability, More Customers

Posted on by David Priestman

With the construction of the new 5,000 m² warehouse at its Limburg, Germany site, Spedition Stähler, the biggest and most established shipping company in the Limburg-Weilburg district, has also taken the decision to install a warehouse management system. It selected the EPG | LFS Warehouse Management System from EPG (Ehrhardt + Partner Gruppe). This has enabled the logistics service provider to considerably improve its inventory accuracy and transparency. The company uses LFS to administer incoming and outgoing goods processes and has consigned those paper lists to history. This modernization of the warehouse management system has enabled Stähler to significantly grow its customer base within a very short period.

“The decision to install LFS was primarily due to the innovative capacity of EPG. We wanted a solution that will provide us with long-term support and also with an opportunity to grow our business. In comparison to other companies on the market, LFS is the most cost-effective both in this regard and also for our requirements,” explains Egon Bürger, Managing Director of Spedition Stähler. “The new warehouse is the heart of the company. This is why it is important to deploy state-of-the-art, innovative technologies here so we can provide future-oriented services for our customers.”

LFS ensures the dynamic location segmentation in the new 12-meter high warehouse. Across the 5,000 m² storage area there are 5,000 shelf slots for pallets. The objective is to turn the goods round as quickly as possible. “Before the installation of LFS a maximum of two people in the warehouse knew where each item was located. There was no location differentiation and access times were much too slow. There were also challenges with the assignment of batches,” continues Egon Bürger. Incoming pallets are now dispatched, labelled and assigned to a unique bin location with the assistance of a mobile workplace system – also supplied by EPG. In theory, each employee has an overview at all times of the current inventory situation as well as of all incoming orders. Stähler is also taking advantage of the integrated LFS module designed for the financial settlement of logistics services and therefore from an additional optimization of its customer invoicing process.

Growing customer-base

The investment has already paid off. Since the introduction of LFS Stähler has already considerably expanded its customer-base. And further future growth is the company’s top priority. “Spedition Stähler is a perfect example of the extreme flexibility of our software solutions as they can suit every requirement. And this is regardless of whether they are deployed by a medium-sized company or a large corporation,” says Dennis Schönherr, Project Manager and Logistics Consultant at EPG. “This is because, and often this is the most important aspect, our systems simply grow with the company and can adapt at any time. The standard version of LFS is already so sophisticated that many functions are available without any additional programming expense.” For example, Spedition Stähler simply connected its new clients itself and was able to work productively for them very quickly.

EPG – Smarter Connected Logistics

EPG is one of the leading international providers of comprehensive Supply Chain Execution Systems (SES) and employs 700 people at 17 locations worldwide. The company supplies its more than 1,500 customers with WMS, WCS, WFM, TMS and voice solutions to optimise logistics processes – from manual to fully automated logistics environments. EPG solutions cover the entire supply chain, from warehouse and road to ground and cargo handling solutions at airports. EPG’s comprehensive portfolio of solutions is complemented by logistics consulting, cloud and managed services and logistics training courses at the company’s own academy.

Subscribe

Get notified about New Episodes of our Podcast, New Magazine Issues and stay updated with our Weekly Newsletter.