New Automated Distribution Centre to Consolidate Supply Chain

RM Educational Resources Limited (RM Resources) has announced it will consolidate its supply chain. It has selected provider of warehouse automation and software company Swisslog to build a new automated distribution centre.

RM Resources is a provider of education resources for early years, primary schools and secondary schools. The business has selected Swisslog’s Tornado miniload cranes to power its new build warehouse in The East Midlands.

Together with Swisslog and the storage density of its system, RM Resources will be able to consolidate its supply chain and warehouse operations in the UK, which is currently spread across four different sites.  As part of the KUKA Group, Swisslog covers the entire automation value chain with robotic and data-driven automated solutions for forward thinking businesses. Swisslog UK’s Head of Sales, Shane Faulkner, says: “This project merges four warehouse operations together, while simultaneously allowing sufficient space for RM Resources to expand in the future.”

Transportation throughout the solution will be facilitated by Swisslog’s QuickMove conveyor. Goods will be conveyed to the Automated Storage & Retrieval System (ASRS), provided by a seven aisle Swisslog Tornado miniload solution. The ASRS will store cartons or totes double deep providing dense but rapidly accessible storage.

Automation that provides single touchpoint fulfilment

 The Tornado solution will feed ergonomic goods-to-person stations, each allowing up to six open orders to be picked at a time – facilitating an increased hit rate, improved order fulfilment time, and reduced throughput requirement in the system. With a single level pick-to layout, each goods-to-person station will benefit from one-touch fulfilment, enabling RM Resources to dramatically shorten lead times.

“Using the one-touch fulfilment concept, only one manual touch is required per order,” says Shane Faulkner. “It is becoming more and more commonplace in the market, particularly for e-commerce due to the speed and efficiency it provides in delivering to the end customer.”

Swisslog SynQ software will provide all the necessary WCS functionality, while also integrating with RM Resources’ WMS & ERP systems. SynQ will deliver greater stock accuracy, as well as increased visibility of order progress. It will also provide RM Resources operators with the ability to pick from available new stock immediately as it enters the warehouse.

Monique Louis, Managing Director at RM Resources says: “We are delighted to be progressing with our plans to consolidate our warehouse portfolio, which will deliver a number of efficiencies across the business as we move to one automated site.  We chose Swisslog because of their proven technology, and the quality of their engagement and look forward to working closely with them in the future.

Swisslog’s work on the site in East Midlands will commence in March 2021 and is due to complete at the start of 2022, to allow RM Resources to work on the curriculum line before the following school year.

Swisslog also recently completed a new distribution centre for a German retail pharmacy chain.