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AM-Automation implements the first AutoStore system in Germany with the new B1 BlackLine product range – TCL Consulting

November 2019

BlackLine robots get shoe boxes moving
TCL Consulting optimizes fulfillment offering with new AutoStore product range

(Offenau, November 2019) A new era is dawning for the handling of shoe boxes: Larger containers and powerful robots enable fully automated AutoStore solutions that also simplify and significantly speed up intralogistics for other stored goods. In Germany, AM-Automation is now implementing the first AutoStore system with the new B1 BlackLine product range for the e-commerce service provider TCL Consulting GmbH.

Storage and retrieval or order picking: in most cases, shoe boxes are still handled manually. For product ranges with several thousand different items, processing individual orders requires a great deal of time and personnel. As if that wasn’t enough, storing the boxes in conventional shelving racks takes up a lot of space – and makes it difficult to deliver goods promptly, especially in fulfillment for e-commerce applications. AutoStore is now opening up a new perspective for this market segment. With the market launch of B1 BlackLine robots and new containers with an external height of 425 mm, shoe boxes can now be delivered to customers faster than ever before.

Larger containers allow upright storage
In principle, standard shoe boxes also fit into existing AutoStore standard containers with external heights of 220 or 330 mm. However, with internal dimensions of 403 x 603 mm, only a few smaller boxes of this type can be accommodated in each container. Increasing demand from potential users has now prompted AutoStore to expand its product portfolio to include a 425 mm bin and the B1 BlackLine robot. The new containers not only allow larger shoe boxes to be stored on edge, wine cartons can now also be optimally stored in the AutoStore system. A positive side effect: as shoe boxes are always labeled on the narrow side, the items retrieved from the warehouse can be scanned at the work stations before they are removed, which makes picking easier overall.

Fully automatic handling, high speed
Presented at LogiMAT 2019 in Stuttgart, the new AutoStore products are now being used in Germany for the first time. TCL Consulting GmbH from Umkirch in Baden-Württemberg commissioned AM-Automation to implement an AutoStore solution that improves the handling of shoe boxes, but also allows other items in packaging of different sizes to be stored much more efficiently. As a full-service provider, TCL Consulting handles fulfillment for a large number of well-known customers, from warehousing, picking and shipping to returns management. In addition to shoes, the stock also includes bags, clothing, accessories and more.

An AutoStore facility is now being built in a newly constructed hall complex, which can accommodate up to 10,000 containers, each with an external height of 425 mm and internal dimensions of 406 x 403 x 603 mm (H/W/D). With a footprint of 24 x 17 m, the plant comprises a total of 14 levels and thus reaches a total height of a good eight meters. On the top of the system – the so-called grid – eight B1 BlackLine series robots handle the fully automatic storage and retrieval of the totes. Compared to robots from the R5 RedLine series, B1 systems achieve a higher speed of 4 m/s (R5: 3.1 m/s) as well as a higher acceleration (1.4 m/s compared to 0.8 m/s). In the AutoStore system from TCL Consulting, the individual items are picked via three workstations, which are specially designed as carousel ports for high throughput rates. The new AutoStore system is set to go into operation in January 2020 and will enable an average of around 300 bin deliveries per hour.

The system’s potential is far from exhausted: if required, the system can be expanded to include additional workstations, and further automation (e.g. via the direct connection of conveyor technology) opens up further possibilities for increasing the performance and capacity of automated warehousing in the future. In addition to installing the AutoStore system, AM-Automation, as a partner of TCL Consulting, also provides support in integrating AutoStore into the customer’s existing IT system.