Warehouse Automation Choice

Intralogistics customers partnering with Beumer, a provider of warehouse automation technology, can expect step-change improvement in processes. The wins include space, time and cost efficiencies, with better tracking and security as a bonus. Paul Hamblin meets the team.

For Beumer Group, successful business relationships are about partnership. The company bills itself as the ‘Partner of Choice’, validated by the continuing success of the company’s proven technologies, and delivery on the promises made to its partners.

Gregor Baumeister, Director, Warehousing and Distribution Logistics Systems, tells me he was very happy with the company’s LogiMAT this year, describing “concrete project discussions with budgets and timelines” as part of an overall positive sentiment throughout the halls. This perhaps contrasts with ProMat a week later, where his American colleagues described a more cautious and uncertain atmosphere, no doubt due in no small part to the blizzard of tariff announcements and amendments from the Trump administration in the first part of 2025.

End-to-end Automation Provision

At LogiMAT 2024, Beumer focused on ‘Lights Out’ warehouse technology; this year the company highlighted its capabilities in the delivery of end-to-end automation in DCs.

For Gregor Baumeister (pictured below), the argument that automation represents a damaging replacement of human labour is bogus. “The world talks a lot about automation reducing labour opportunities, but I think it’s more accurate to say that our customers are unable to source that labour any longer simply because it is no longer available. So, in reality, the drive towards higher levels of automation is more accurately an enabler to stay in business. That’s the key difference. And with our systems you can create a fully automatic line of warehouse processes.”

Gregor Baumeister, Beumer

He outlines the Beumer product offering. “If you look at the processes in a DC, typically you’ve got goods receiving, then storage facilities, and retrieval via a shuttle or cube system basically bringing products to people,” he explains. “Beumer starts at the point of bringing those goods to people, then we go downstream from there, either in a pouch system or via a loop or line sortation system, including packaging and shipping to customers.”

The company demonstrated full automation of this process in Stuttgart. A significant advance is the automatic unloadable pouch, with which Beumer provides customers – should they choose to do so – with the facility to remove another layer of human interaction on a product’s journey to the end consumer. “Customer partners have the option of feeding a pouch system either via an operator placed at an ergonomic workstation or by using a robot. We will collaborate with customers to provide them with the most appropriate choice for their needs,” he reports. “The pouch system does its magic and the product can then be directly packaged by machine. If it needs special packaging – stretch-wrapping for high-value goods perhaps – this too is possible. All preferences are at the behest of the customer partner.”

Typically, pouch technology is tailored to smaller items in the 550mm x 420mm x 280mm dimensional category. “You can handle these items very effectively in a pouch,” he continues. “Our system handles items up to 7kg each, which is 40% more than other systems can do, and is particularly popular in fashion and general e-commerce settings. In those categories, 70-80% of parcels or bags are that size. Pouch technology is also developing a growing reputation in what we call ‘e-pharma’ handling.”

He points out further space-exploitation benefits of pouch technology. “By hanging the pouch system from the roof, we can use the third dimension in the warehouse. It is super space-efficient, with very high dynamic pick rates and order fulfilment rates. It’s very efficient overall in terms of space, labour, time, and also in tracking and traceability, because every pouch has a ‘licence plate’, making the whole process fully transparent.”

Stretch Hood Security Technology

Another eye-catching security innovation from the company this year is the Beumer stretch hood, which helps to secure pallets. Gregor Baumeister illustrates: “Consider a pallet delivery to shops and stores containing small, high-value goods: a good example might be razor blades. This is what the stretch hood is for – an enclosed hood made of film which can be pulled down and over the goods snugly. Anyone looking to pilfer goods from the pallet would need to tamper with the film to extract anything and this would be very evident in the breakage of the film. While it’s possible to reach inside an unprotected rack pallet to take out a product, it can’t be done with a stretch hood attached. A rack pallet you can always reach in, but with a stretch hood you cannot. In addition, it also provides protection from the elements.”

Learning from Data

Beumer’s advanced data analytics capabilities enable customers to further exploit the full capability of automation technology.

“Data analytics enables the recognition of patterns, thus facilitating predictive maintenance,” he explains. “But it also performs valuable service in steering operational processes, so that we can proactively advise customers of upcoming situations. In modern business, it’s important to see as far and as early as possible. Our customer diagnostic centres help monitor and manage facilities, offering operational advice if the customer wishes us to do so.”

Beumer’s tools enable the flexibility so essential to today’s logistics needs. “You don’t know what’s coming round the corner,” Baumeister cautions. “You need to avoid roadblocks if you want to stay in business.”

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Enhancing Goods-To-Person with Pouch Technology

The explosion of e-commerce has fundamentally changed the operations within warehousing and distribution, and fulfillment centres, writes Rupesh Narkar, VP Sales & Systems, Logistics Systems, Beumer Group. Previously, these facilities handled large, bulk orders destined for retail stores, a process that was predictable and could be planned. However, the rise of online shopping has introduced a more complex sortation scenario. Goods to Person (GtP) involves the distribution and fulfillment of orders to numerous individual consumers who may order just one or two items at a time.

The shift to GtP has created significant challenges, including the need for sortation facilities to perform tasks traditionally managed by retailers, such as distinguishing between item sizes and colors for B2C orders. Another area that has become more challenging is the management of returns. Return rates can reach as high as 60% in the e-commerce sector. Handling these returns (reverse logistics) involves multiple steps, including quality checks, relabeling, and repacking, all of which add to the complexity and cost of operations.

A basic GtP system can be configured as an inventory buffer, or a pick system, or both. No matter what the setup, most of the system’s capacity will still be allocated for basic warehousing needs like receiving, storing and picking. Post picking processes like ship order consolidation, sortation, sequencing and shipping require advanced configuration of the GtP or an additional high-capacity subsystem that can interface with the GtP. This is where a pouch system comes into play. It acts as a consolidation buffer system that will be complimentary to the existing GtP setup without any need for complicated reconfiguration.

Pouch system solutions

Essentially, a pouch sorter comprises a conveyance system of hanging pouches that carry products along a rail. Pouch systems are designed to transport a wide range of items, including garments, shoes, books, and other merchandise, offering high flexibility. Pouch technology is very scalable, modular and can be installed in unused overhead space offering the ability to buffer, sort, and sequence; automating the order handling and returns processes.

Pouch sortation systems facilitate processes such as post picking sortation, order batching & sortation, and intermediate storage handling of returned items. A typical application of pouch systems would be to efficiently handle throughput, temporary inventory buffer and order consolidation regardless of whether an order consists of two items or ten. Various sequencing challenges can be easily tackled by a pouch system. For example, ensuring that the most fragile or delicate items are sorted last, so that they are packed last in order to avoid damage. Thus, a pouch system can play a pivotal role in simplifying the returns process by reducing costly touchpoints and streamlining the overall process by establishing traceability and control to improve overall process efficiency.

Reducing touch points

Pouch system technology is constantly evolving. Beumer Group has recently added an innovative AutoDrop feature to its BG Pouch System to enable flexible and reliable automatic packing lines. In this system, pouches are unloaded from the bottom using a pioneering nickel-titanium alloy first used in the medical industry. This metal alloy has shape memory and will contract substantially when electric power is applied. When the power is withdrawn, the alloy returns to its original shape. Each mechanism has the capability for one million opening cycles without any deviation.

AutoDrop uses these characteristics to open the pouch automatically at the unloading point, enabling GtP operations to eliminate manual handling during unloading. This saves time at the unloading stations and reduces order lead time. The BEUMER Group Pouch System with AutoDrop can process approximately 10,000 pieces per line per hour. Combining multiple, adjustable drop point positions in one single drop line enhances flexibility to accommodate different unloading needs, while significantly reducing the physical footprint within the distribution facility.

This AutoDrop feature enables reduced touch operation for the entire pouch handling process, as well as offering customers substantial benefits in terms of reducing order lead time and saving valuable floor space.

Delivering digitization

As the GtP industry continues to innovate, the adoption of data-driven and software-based solutions will be key to creating the warehouse of the future.

Acting as the cornerstone of the Pouch System is the warehouse management software (WMS). The Pouch WMS supports digitization of the warehousing process from inventory management to ship order consolidation. This digital footprint provides the user with enhanced tracking, traceability and control at each step of the process. Digitization options such as this create the possibility of process optimization for efficiency and thus, enhancement of the entire fulfillment experience.

Pouch as an enhancement to GtP

Making a business case for deploying a new materials handling system will be different for each GtP operation, depending on your priorities and business needs. Factors include the type of building and available footprint, the type of products or items and their sizes, and the level of returns to be managed, along with your labor requirements and CAPEX and OPEX considerations.

However, the reasons to deploy a pouch system are compelling. Pouch systems are easily retrofitted into existing base GtP operations. They provide mid- to short-term storage, acting as a ship buffer with automated sortation and sequencing capabilities. Pouch systems can also help optimize the reverse logistics process. Scalable and modular pouch systems can grow as the e-commerce market expands. Their ability to integrate with other systems facilitates digitization, giving GtP businesses greater data insights that will further enhance productivity.

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