Pick robot for buffer storage of finished shipping orders
The electrical wholesaler Adalbert Zajadacz GmbH & Co. KG is expanding its headquarters in Neu Wulmstorf with a new warehouse. In the new building, general contractor AM Logistic Solutions will set up an AutoStore system with a pre-zone and picking robots for automatic picking and buffering of finished shipping orders as well as the entire conveyor system by June 2022.
Electrical items from switches to cable ducts to drums for underground wiring delivered directly to the construction site by 6 a.m. at night – in the touring area if ordered by 8 p.m.: With this offer, the electrical wholesaler Zajadacz convinces its customers from small craft businesses to large industrial companies. The retailer uses its own fleet to deliver to recipients in the greater Hamburg area before they start work the next day, even if the order is received by 11 p.m. In order to ensure this fast shipping in the long term with growing order volumes, the wholesaler is investing again in its logistics. He has ordered an AutoStore system from AM Logistic Solutions for his central warehouse at the headquarters in Neu Wulmstorf, which will go into operation in the new building by June 2022. In addition to the AutoStore itself, the general contractor for warehouse automation is also installing a pre-zone with conveyor technology and picking robots for fully automatic storage and retrieval and buffer storage of ready-picked shipping orders.
Order-related picking
With the commissioning of the new system, Zajadacz is converting shipping processing to order-related picking via AutoStore. In the automated small parts warehouse (AKL) currently in use, the electrical wholesaler is still picking based on the item in order to achieve the required picking speed. In the future, Zajadacz will be able to prepare the items for dispatch directly at one of the AutoStore ports using the Pick & Pack method. For this purpose, the pickers receive already erected cartons of exactly the right size for the shipping order via the conveyor system. When all order items have been picked, the packages continue on the conveyor system to a carton sealer and a labeling system for shipping labeling. The boxes are then branded using a special logo printer. After the packaging process, the picking robot stores the finished packages back in the AutoStore via particularly powerful relay ports until they are picked up. For shipping, the process is reversed: the robots remove the shipments and palletize them for transport on a tour basis.
Future-proof logistics
With the AutoStore system, Zajadacz is pursuing several goals that serve to ensure the long-term quality of its own service: The system enables all shipping orders to be picked on the same day. The Zajadacz employees find attractive jobs at the modern AutoStore facility. Order-related picking not only increases shipping speed, but also precision because picking errors are almost impossible. The pick robots also offer the electrical wholesaler the necessary scope to be able to plan his personnel deployment in a stable manner even in the year-end business with heavy orders, without reaching his performance limits in the event of extreme order peaks.
AutoStore creates potential
“With the AutoStore system and the associated pre-zone, we are also opening up new business models,” explains Zajadacz Managing Director Ralf Moormann. “We can condense our warehouse so enormously that we gain the capacity for fulfillment orders – even with optimally branded packages thanks to the logo printer.” Before deciding in favor of the system, the managing director obtained comprehensive information: “AutoStore is extremely reliable, individually configurable, flexibly expandable and proven in practice – these are the best prerequisites for a secure long-term investment.” As a first-class AutoStore integrator in DACH region, AM Logistic Solutions convinced him: “You can feel the great experience and the chemistry between two medium-sized companies is just right.”
The Zajadacz plant in facts and figures:
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1,900 square meters of floor space
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64,000 containers
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52 robots
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1,300 container deliveries per hour
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10 carousel ports of the latest 4.0 type
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2 relay ports
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2 pick robots
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1 package erector
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1 package sealer
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1 logo printer
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Pre-zone with conveyor technology
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Buffer zone for ready-picked packets
