Subscribe

Tag: Swisslog

Greggs invests in manufacturing and logistics site

Posted on by David Priestman

UK food-on-the-go retailer, Greggs, have announced it’s entering into a lease agreement for a new state-of-the-art frozen production and logistics facility in Derby, Derbyshire.

Greggs’ strategic growth plan, announced in 2021, set out ambitious expansion targets requiring investment in significant supply chain capacity. At 12 May 2024, Greggs had 2,500 shops trading and it expects to open between 140-160 net new shops during 2024. The longer-term target is to have significantly more than 3,000 shops trading in the UK.

The new facility is being developed at SmartParc SEGRO Derby on a high-tech food manufacturing site in Spondon, Derby. Greggs will occupy a 23-acre plot on the campus. Following the construction of the building by the landlord, Greggs will develop the facility and install state-of-the-art manufacturing and logistics equipment to optimise the efficiency of operations on site. The site is expected to open in late 2026 and create up to 600 jobs.

The new purpose-built facility will provide additional manufacturing capacity for products – including new savoury and sweet production lines – as well as logistics for frozen storage and fully automated robotic shop order picking and distribution solutions from Swisslog, one of the world’s leading logistics automation companies. The facility will also have additional capacity to enable further investments to meet future category growth, innovation and development, including the capacity for at least five manufacturing platforms and the potential for new production lines to be commissioned to meet volume demand.

The site has been designed with a focus on sustainability including the use of an onsite shared Energy Centre (a centralised heating and cooling system that recycles heat from refrigeration plants across the estate), a rainwater harvesting system, PV panels, EV charging points and a secure bike storage to help reduce local emissions.

Roisin Currie, Chief Executive at Greggs commented: “We are delighted to announce our new state-of-the-art facility at SmartParc SEGRO Derby. This purpose-built site offers significant flexibility to add new capabilities and lines as our business evolves. This is a significant step in our supply chain investment and will provide much-needed manufacturing and logistics support to power our ambitious growth plans.”

Jackie Wild, CEO at SmartParc said: “It is our ultimate vision that SmartParc SEGRO Derby becomes a hub for forward-thinking food businesses seeking sustainable and efficient operations, a collaborative work space and a first-class location with excellent connectivity, whilst also putting their people first. Greggs embodies this approach and we are immensely proud to welcome such a cherished food business to the site.”

Similar Content:

Next phase of St. Modwen Park Burton Commenced

ASRS and Software Enhance Milk Delivery

Posted on by David Priestman

Swisslog, a leading provider of best-in-class intralogistics warehouse automation and software, has announced that Walmart will install a Swisslog automation solution within its Valdosta, Georgia, USA facility to enable seamless material flow and increase uptime. Walmart is planning to break ground on the milk processing facility later this year and the project is scheduled to be completed in 2025.

According to Walmart, the automated storage and retrieval solution (ASRS) will bolster the company’s capacity to meet consumer demand for milk. It continues the company’s commitment to building a more resilient and transparent supply chain to deliver high-quality products. This is Walmart’s second milk processing facility. The company worked with Swisslog to open its first milk processing facility in Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA in 2018.

Designed by Swisslog’s automation experts, the ASRS brings together five Vectura pallet stacker cranes with KUKA palletizing and de-palletizing robots, a ProMove pallet conveyor system, as well as a conveyor system for small loads. The automation solution operates on synchronized intelligence from Swisslog’s SynQ software, which provides warehouse management, material flow and automation control system functionality in a single, modular platform.

“We are excited to partner with Walmart once again to open its second milk processing facility. From the initial discussion through design completion, it has been a very hands-on, collaborative and proactive approach,” said Sean Wallingford, president, and CEO of Swisslog Americas. “Our automation experts worked closely with Walmart’s group to incorporate lessons learned and best practices from the first processing facility, as well as improvement concepts designed to enable Walmart and its farmers to bring fresh, transparently sourced dairy to market.”

The project also includes Swisslog’s IT Managed Services, which puts in place experts to proactively manage the IT systems and software required to keep the equipment running at peak performance. The higher-level 24/7 support allows Walmart to free up internal resources from routine IT system administration, while also enabling data-driven proactive maintenance that helps reduce unplanned downtime.

SynQ management software not only optimizes the flow of the equipment to increase efficiency and accuracy of the operation, it also orchestrates the operation of multiple sub-systems. It equips warehouse automation and IT systems with synchronized intelligence of people, processes and machines to boost the efficiency and productivity of warehouse processes and adapt to changing market requirements. SynQ provides sophisticated inventory management and material flow capabilities that enable real-time inventory tracking and management of items to ensure freshness, quality and transparency of the food supply chain.

Swisslog to show Robotic Automation at LogiMAT

Posted on by David Priestman

Swisslog is set to make a big impression at LogiMAT 2023 in Stuttgart from April 25 to 27, with its latest innovations in robotic automation taking centre stage. Intralogistics specialist Swisslog will be showcasing flexible robotics and intelligent automation in action and demonstrating the power of its SynQ software platform and SAP EWM solutions.

Discover ACPaQ fully automated mixed case palletizing solution

LogiMAT visitors will have the opportunity to discover the fully automated robotic mixed case palletizing solution, ACPaQ, which is at the heart of drugstore chain dm-drogerie markt’s award winning distribution center in Wustermark, near Berlin. The solution uses high-end robotics to relieve people from heavy workload, make material flows more ergonomic and more economical and optimize shop replenishment. It can be scaled for small, mid-size and large distribution centers with a throughput of up to 500,000 packages per day.

See ItemPiQ robotized small item picking at work

Visitors to the Swisslog booth also will have the chance to experience the latest evolution of Swisslog’s ItemPiQ fully automated robot order picking system. Using Artificial Intelligence, ItemPiQ robots are capable of picking a wide variety of small unspecified items, they then use machine learning to adapt their gripping techniques for increased efficiency. ItemPiQ robots are easily integrated with other systems and feature a new gripper which has significantly increased the range of products they can handle.

e-grocery leader shares logistics automation knowhow

Swisslog’s flexible, data-driven and robotic solutions enable businesses to meet rapidly changing customer demands while allowing them to leverage new technologies as they emerge. As online ordering continues to grow across retail, Swisslog will share its latest automated warehouse solutions for e-grocery fulfillment. These solutions help enterprises to move beyond manual picking, whether by using Micro Fulfilment Centres, a hub-and-spoke arrangement, a bolt-on store automation approach or regional-fulfilment centres.

Rebranding at LogiMAT

In addition to its latest innovations, Swisslog’s stand will also present the company’s rebranding, launched in March of this year to reflect its leading position in the digital and dynamic world of intralogistics automation. Visitors will be the first to see the new branding and are invited to join the Swisslog team for a celebratory party on April 26 from 5pm.

“We are very much looking forward to participating in the most important trade show in Europe for the intralogistics industry, where we can introduce visitors to our latest innovations, especially in robotized automation,” says Swisslog CEO EMEA Jens Schmale. “It’s also the perfect opportunity to showcase our revised digital branding that truly reflects us as a provider of innovative, highly digitalized and data-driven robotic solutions.

Swisslog at LogiMAT 2023: hall 1, stand B41

New Automated Distribution Centre to Consolidate Supply Chain

Posted on by David Priestman

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.

Subscribe

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