Satisfied customers around the world
Logistics managers worldwide, from different industries use WITRON solutions to optimize their processes, increase the flexibility of their material flows, save costs, relieve the environment and create ergonomic workplaces. Our customers buy a promise: WITRON delivers an optimal material flow, a guaranteed delivery performance and thus added value in logistics. We realize projects in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Well-known companies from trade, industry, and services - corporations and medium-sized companies - entrust us with their logistics processes.
Migros Verteilbetrieb AG Neuendorf: “Flexibility is the match-winner”
According to MVB project manager Alexander Schweizer, the omni-channel distribution center of Migros Verteilbetrieb AG (MVB) in Neuendorf (near Basel) belongs to the “unmitigated Champions League” and is one of the most dynamic logistics centers in the world.
COOP Norway: 30 percent more throughput during ongoing operations
Expanding a highly dynamic multi-temperature logistics center for roughly 1,200 stores during ongoing operations with an increase in pick performance by more than 30 percent daily is a tremendous challenge as such. But when, in addition, store and online orders continue to soar due to various lockdowns and the teams are only allowed to work with severe limitations because of Covid 19 restrictions, then a lot more than just technical and organizational knowledge is needed on both sides for the project to succeed. WITRON and the food retailer COOP from Norway have demonstrated this impressively.
Asko builds new fresh food warehouse
Three material flows, three shipping areas, three load carriers, and three different target customer groups - ASKO’s new fresh food warehouse (+2 degrees Celsius) in Norway was not too much of a volume challenge for WITRON’s technical systems, rather the logic and dynamics in the processes, the integration of the technology, and the design were decisive for a successful ramp-up.
Overview of all reference projects from various industries
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Electronics / Devices
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Automotive Industry
Electronics / Devices
Food & Beverage
Pharmaceutical / Chemical / Cosmetics
Production with distribution
Retail / Distribution
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Albertsons (USA)
Arla (Netherlands)
Asko builds new fresh food warehouse
ASWO
ATP expands e-commerce logistics
ATRIA OY relies on E-DPS
Audi
AWG invests in supply chain for over 3,100 stores
Axfood implements omni-channel logistics center with WITRON
Baxter (Belgium)
Berner relies on DPS
Bertelsmann Distribution (D, F)
BMW
Boots UK and WITRON are logistics partners
Bosch
Bosch
BSH
Buderus
Budnikowsky
Cardinal Health relies on WMS solution
Coles builds automated dry goods logistics centers
Computacenter (United Kingdom)
Condis’ decision for OPM and DPS
COOP Norway: 30 percent more throughput during ongoing operations
CVS (USA)
Danone
DATEV
DAW
DBK Bogdistribution (Denmark)
Delhaize expands ultra-fresh system
Diapar (F)
EDEKA Group trusts in WITRON’s OPM again
EDNA uses OPM in its frozen goods warehouse
Eltric
Engel (Austria)
Ernsting’s family builds high bay warehouse
Ferdinand Bilstein expands logistics center
Festo expands US logistics center
Ford
Frico Cheese (Netherlands)
Friesche Flag (NL)
Future Electronics
GARDENA uses WITRON’s picking system
Goldsteig expands warehouse operations
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen
Helios
Hema doubles output
Hofmeister & Meincke
Hohmann
Hoogvliet relies on omni-channel logistics
IDS Logistics (Singapore)
INEX optimizes merchandise logistics
Intermarche (F)
Jumbo builds dry goods distribution center
Jumbo relies on automation for fresh products
Keuco
Kroger
Krones
Kruidvat multiplies logistics capacities
Lancaster
Lapp
LECLERC builds new distribution center
Libri
Loblaw (CAN)
LR Health & Beauty
Maco Mayer & Co (A, PL)
Medline (D, F)
Mercadona realizes seventh frozen food distribution center with WITRON
METRO builds new logistics center
migrolino modernizes small-volume logistics
Migros pioneering logistics processes
Migros Verteilbetrieb AG Neuendorf: “Flexibility is the match-winner”
Nedac (Netherlands)
Nedis (Netherlands)
Nestle Schöller
Netto
Nycomed / Altana / Byk Gulden
Opel
Paulmann
Pearl
Pepperl+Fuchs automates with WITRON
Pierre Lang (A)
Plus Retail automates warehouse logistics
Porsche centralizes spare parts supply
Privatmolkerei Bechtel receives more space
REMA 1000 builds new distribution center
REWE expands logistics center
Rohde & Schwarz
Sainsbury's (GB)
Salutas Pharma
Schenker
Schrader
Schuitema (Netherlands)
Schwarzkopf
Sigma-Aldrich
ŠKODAs logistics for spare parts business
Sobeys relies on fully automated order picking
SPAR trusts WITRON
STAEDTLER centralizes its distribution logistics
SuperValus logistics advantage
Swarowski (A)
Target (USA)
Technische Unie increases output by 30%
TetraPak (S)
TJ Morris is expanding
Viessmann
Vinnolit
Volkswagen
Walmart (USA, CAN)
Weishaupt expands spare parts logistics
Wesergold
Wofi
Xerox
Yamaha modernizes spare parts warehouse
ZF
Albertsons (USA)
Arla (Netherlands)
Asko builds new fresh food warehouse
ASWO
ATP expands e-commerce logistics
ATRIA OY relies on E-DPS
Audi
AWG invests in supply chain for over 3,100 stores
Axfood implements omni-channel logistics center with WITRON
Baxter (Belgium)
Berner relies on DPS
Bertelsmann Distribution (D, F)
BMW
Boots UK and WITRON are logistics partners
Bosch
Bosch
BSH
Buderus
Budnikowsky
Cardinal Health relies on WMS solution
Coles builds automated dry goods logistics centers
Computacenter (United Kingdom)
Condis’ decision for OPM and DPS
COOP Norway: 30 percent more throughput during ongoing operations
CVS (USA)
Danone
DATEV
DAW
DBK Bogdistribution (Denmark)
Delhaize expands ultra-fresh system
Diapar (F)
EDEKA Group trusts in WITRON’s OPM again
EDNA uses OPM in its frozen goods warehouse
Eltric
Engel (Austria)
Ernsting’s family builds high bay warehouse
Ferdinand Bilstein expands logistics center
Festo expands US logistics center
Ford
Frico Cheese (Netherlands)
Friesche Flag (NL)
Future Electronics
GARDENA uses WITRON’s picking system
Goldsteig expands warehouse operations
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen
Helios
Hema doubles output
Hofmeister & Meincke
Hohmann
Hoogvliet relies on omni-channel logistics
IDS Logistics (Singapore)
INEX optimizes merchandise logistics
Intermarche (F)
Jumbo builds dry goods distribution center
Jumbo relies on automation for fresh products
Keuco
Kroger
Krones
Kruidvat multiplies logistics capacities
Lancaster
Lapp
LECLERC builds new distribution center
Libri
Loblaw (CAN)
LR Health & Beauty
Maco Mayer & Co (A, PL)
Medline (D, F)
Mercadona realizes seventh frozen food distribution center with WITRON
METRO builds new logistics center
migrolino modernizes small-volume logistics
Migros pioneering logistics processes
Migros Verteilbetrieb AG Neuendorf: “Flexibility is the match-winner”
Nedac (Netherlands)
Nedis (Netherlands)
Nestle Schöller
Netto
Nycomed / Altana / Byk Gulden
Opel
Paulmann
Pearl
Pepperl+Fuchs automates with WITRON
Pierre Lang (A)
Plus Retail automates warehouse logistics
Porsche centralizes spare parts supply
Privatmolkerei Bechtel receives more space
REMA 1000 builds new distribution center
REWE expands logistics center
Rohde & Schwarz
Sainsbury's (GB)
Salutas Pharma
Schenker
Schrader
Schuitema (Netherlands)
Schwarzkopf
Sigma-Aldrich
ŠKODAs logistics for spare parts business
Sobeys relies on fully automated order picking
SPAR trusts WITRON
STAEDTLER centralizes its distribution logistics
SuperValus logistics advantage
Swarowski (A)
Target (USA)
Technische Unie increases output by 30%
TetraPak (S)
TJ Morris is expanding
Viessmann
Vinnolit
Volkswagen
Walmart (USA, CAN)
Weishaupt expands spare parts logistics
Wesergold
Wofi
Xerox
Yamaha modernizes spare parts warehouse
ZF
Albertsons (USA)
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Arla (Netherlands)
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Asko builds new fresh food warehouse
Three material flows, three shipping areas, three load carriers, and three different target customer groups - ASKO’s new fresh food warehouse (+2 degrees Celsius) in Norway was not too much of a volume challenge for WITRON’s technical systems, rather the logic and dynamics in the processes, the integration of the technology, and the design were decisive for a successful ramp-up.
Period
2016
-
2019
Location
Vestby, Norway
Three processes, three material flows, three load carriers, three shipping areas, three different distribution channels, and three years were needed to realize the new fresh food warehouse project - from the first mechanical installations to the complete takeover in Spring 2018 - a logistical masterpiece, according to the ASKO employees.
ASWO
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
ATP expands e-commerce logistics
ATP, Auto-Teile-Poellath Handels GmbH, an online retailer for automotive parts, has implemented an innovative and modular e-commerce solution together with general contractor WITRON. The logistics center with a size of 12,200 square meters ships more than 10,000 packages per day.
Location
Pressath
The automated picking system OPS includes an automated small parts warehouse (AS/RS), a distribution loop via conveyor system lines, and upstream picking workstations. In the OPS, the products handled at the stationary and multi-functional picking workstations are provided for picking according to the goods-to-person principle - on an order-related basis and in the right sequence. The employees at ATP pick at eight workstations directly into the shipping carton based on the dialog-supported “pick & pack” principle (an expansion to twelve workstations is currently being realized). Eight different carton sizes are available for this purpose. A system specifies the optimal carton size for every order. The consequence: The elimination of transporting air” saves transportation costs. The delivery documents and the invoice will be attached to the carton at these workstations. The pick performance amounts to 100 orderlines per workstation per hour. The ergonomic picking of heavy and bulky items in EPS is done according to the “person-to-goods” principle, via the pick mobile directly into the pallet high bay warehouse, equipped with 12,200 storage locations. The EPS also has a modular design and can be easily expanded if required. Pick mobiles are transported IT-controlled to the correct pick location and the pick container is always aligned to the correct storage shelf. The employee is guided by a screen dialog. At the same time, the pick volume is shown in a display on the railing of the vehicle. Picking errors are thus practically eliminated. Three EPS picking mobiles and four fully automated replenishment mobiles are currently being used in the seven-aisle pallet warehouse - they are able to process up to 100 orderlines per vehicle and hour. In the process, all items of the assortment are provided in each aisle. All module aisles work independently from each other and orders are completed in one aisle. Order picking into flexible pick containers with up to six levels allows parallel picking of several orders according to the multi-order picking principle. The items picked in the EPS are packed into shipping cartons at twelve packing stations, which are directly connected to the pallet conveyor system, and equipped with an automatic carton transportation system. Employees at these workstations are always given the right carton size for the respective order.
ATRIA OY relies on E-DPS
About a year ago, the Finnish meat producer ATRIA OY expanded its distribution center at the company’s headquarters in Nurmo with the modular storage and picking system “Ergonomic Dynamic Picking System” (E-DPS) from WITRON, the general contractor for warehouse logistics based in Parkstein. As a result, the already very high efficiency in order picking has increased by a factor of 1.6 with the same number of employees.
Location
Nurmo (FIN)
The distribution center in Nurmo uses the highly dynamic stacker cranes known as “Picking Mini Loads” (PMLs). Up to three PMLs are combined per E-DPS module to form a unit and serve the picking stations assigned. Due to approx. 400 tote movements per PML per hour, an extremely impressive picking performance of roughly 1,000 orderlines per basic module per hour is possible! ATRIA OY currently uses a total of 30 PMLs and 20 state-of-the-art, highly ergonomic, and customized picking workstations.
Audi
Location
AWG invests in supply chain for over 3,100 stores
Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc. (AWG), headquartered in Kansas City, is the largest cooperative grocery wholesaler in the United States. The company, with sales of more than 10 billion US Dollars, is planning and building a leading-edge, highly automated full-range logistics center in Hernando, Mississippi (USA) together with WITRON. Starting in August 2023, the facility will supply more than 3,100 grocery stores, owned by independent retailers. AWG is known in the U.S. for its Always Save, Clearly by Best Choice, Best Choice, and Superior Selections brands.
Location
Hernando (USA)
The new facility will have 18 fully automated COM machines installed in temperature areas of +20 to -26 degrees Celsius to stack cases onto pallets in a store-friendly manner. Large-volume items are also picked in various temperature zones with route optimization using pick-by-voice support from the semi-automated logistics module CPS. An intelligent WITRON WMS platform controls the internal and external supply chain processes “end-to-end”. A WITRON OnSite team will be responsible for service, maintenance, and system operation, and will keep all mechanical elements, components, and material flows at high availability around the clock, 365 days a year. Due to a wide range of small-volume items, AWG decided to use WITRON AIO system for the dry assortment - a further development of the DPS (Dynamic Picking System) tote picking system, which has been successfully used for many years in food retailing logistics. With AIO, both fast-movers and slow-movers can be stored and picked compactly in the same logistics module. Order consolidation is automated and system-controlled in AIO. The WITRON WMS permanently controls the classification of the items depending on the order structure. Classification changes (e.g. promotion or seasonal items) are recognized by the AIO and automatically adapted in real-time. The use of the same infrastructure (inventories, manpower, mechanics, IT, master data, etc.) is reflected for AWG in maximum flexibility and high cost-efficiency.
Axfood implements omni-channel logistics center with WITRON
WITRON is realizing the largest single project in its company history to date near Stockholm. By the end of 2023, the Parkstein-based systems integrator will put into operation a highly automated logistics center of more than 100,000 m² for the food retailer Axfood. The warehouse will handle picking and deliveries to Axfood’s stores as well as to online customers and will coordinate large parts of the logistics operations for the Stockholm area as well as areas northward, which today account for approximately 60% of Axfood’s volumes. The temperature zones range from +25° C to --26°C. The system is designed for a daily picking capacity of approximately 1.6 million pick units. The order value amounts to 240 million Euros.
Location
Balsta, Sweden
Due to the complexity of the task - supply of all distribution channels from one logistics center, extremely dynamic business processes, very high throughput both in the store and digital business - an end-to-end supply chain intelligence is required that optimally integrates the DC into Axfood's entire logistics network - internally and externally – as well as vertically and horizontally. From the supplier, over the logistics center and the transport to the stores or home delivery. This requires an exact understanding of the customer's processes - both the store and online business. Based on this foundation, Axfood's project goals - high cost-efficiency, high delivery reliability, best delivery quality and assortment expansion - can actually be implemented as "end-to-end".
Baxter (Belgium)
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Berner relies on DPS
The new logistics center of Albert Berner Deutschland GmbH in Künzelsau, Germany, enabled a significant expansion of the warehousing and picking capacities in the central warehouse of the German distribution company of the Berner Group. The DPS tote picking system optimizes logistics processes and contributes to a sustainable increase in performance in a highly competitive market environment.
Location
Künzelsau
Berner has invested around eleven million euros in upgrading its logistics processes. Some 8.5 million euros of this amount were allocated to WITRON’s scope of services. Almost all of the 25,000 Berner products are stored in the logistics centerin Künzelsau, around 1,000 suppliers are linked to the logistics system. All the A items and some of the B items, i. e. roughly 6,500 different products in total, are picked from the DPS directly into shipping cartons and replenishment is completely automated. This solution has enabled an 80% increase in throughput compared to the previous solution in the Berner logistics center, the error rate related to all deliveries has dropped to a rate of 0.04 percent, and shift operation has been reduced from 1.5 shifts previously to 1 shift a day currently. As a result, logistics costs also decreased significantly. Moreover, the picking output at Berner has increased to around 3,000 orderlines per hour. At the DPS picking stations, employees can pick from totes and pallet staging areas directly into the shipping cartons. This gives Berner the flexibility needed to exploit the advantages of the DPS system even in the event of major changes within the product range, which currently lists 25,000 items.
Bertelsmann Distribution (D, F)
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
BMW
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Boots UK and WITRON are logistics partners
The Stores Service Centre (SSC) of the UK’s leading pharmacy, healthcare, and beauty retailer, Boots UK, is one of the largest and most successful automated logistics facilities in the world. Headquartered in Nottingham (United Kingdom), the SSC serves over 2,500 Boots stores across the UK and handles 8,500 shipments per week. It is a highly integrated and efficient system, run by 2,200 employees operating 24 hours a day, six days a week.
Location
Nottingham
At Boots, WITRON has implemented a total of 252 picking workstations and thus the largest DPS system (Dynamic Picking System) to date. In addition, over the past ten years, there have been constant changes in the way Boots does business in order to continuously improve its work processes. One of the most important optimizations was the integration of some 10,000 premium cosmetic items into the existing product range over a period of five years (2011 - 2016).
Bosch
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Bosch
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
BSH
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Buderus
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Budnikowsky
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Cardinal Health relies on WMS solution
Cardinal Health examined its entire warehouse structure at the company’s more than 40 North American medical distribution centers and made the decision to deploy WITRON’s latest generation of the warehouse management system to further improve performance of its supply chain.
Location
Dublin, Ohio (USA)
Other key benefits of the WMS software are the flexibility of the software design, the stability of the software during project realization, and its ability to adapt to future logistical challenges and legal requirements. With the new WMS software, WITRON provides a customized service layer that acts as a standard interface to the new SAP ECC that Cardinal Health has implemented.
Coles builds automated dry goods logistics centers
The Australian retailer Coles has decided to entrust WITRON with the construction of two new ambient distribution centers. Cole’s goal is to improve merchandise availability in its stores while reducing costs as part of a supply chain modernization program. Coles and WITRON have now finalized the contract documents. The two automated plants will be realized in the states of Queensland and New South Wales.
Location
Queensland and New South Wales (Australia)
The two distribution centers with a size of approx. 70,000 square meters will supply a full range of ambient grocery lines to more than 240 Coles supermarkets in New South Wales and more than 170 supermarkets in Queensland. The logistics experts from Parkstein will implement their proven standard solutions OPM (Order Picking Machinery), CPS (Car Picking System), ALP (Automated Layer Picking), as well as a fully automated shipping buffer and a module of the All-in-One Order Fulfillment System (AIO), which was especially developed for food retailers and omni-channel DCs.
Computacenter (United Kingdom)
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Condis’ decision for OPM and DPS
In order to be prepared for future challenges, the Spanish supermarket chain Condis is currently taking an important step away from conventional warehouse logistics towards a highly dynamic and automated logistics and order picking system. The existing distribution center near Barcelona will receive an OPM and DPS system. Since autumn 2013, the distribution center supplies more than 350 stores in the Catalonia regions with more than 4,500 dry goods.
Location
Barcelona
A key challenge was to install the new automated WITRON logistics system that is mainly used for picking medium and slow moving items into an existing building without interfering with ongoing operations and to combine it with the software of the fast-moving area, which for the time being continues to be operated manually. Secondly, the already existing high bay warehouse was to be further used and integrated into the new logistics processes. The DPS system used at Condis consists of a single-aisle AS/RS with 5,100 tote locations. At three picking workstations, guided by a pick-by-light system, employees pick the items directly from the storage tote into the customer order tote. Cases are picked using the patented WITRON OPM / COM system, enabling a fully automated product handling from receiving through to dispatch, with almost no human intervention. This is because the COM technology produces the order pallets / order roll containers fully automatically.
COOP Norway: 30 percent more throughput during ongoing operations
Expanding a highly dynamic multi-temperature logistics center for roughly 1,200 stores during ongoing operations with an increase in pick performance by more than 30 percent daily is a tremendous challenge as such. But when, in addition, store and online orders continue to soar due to various lockdowns and the teams are only allowed to work with severe limitations because of Covid 19 restrictions, then a lot more than just technical and organizational knowledge is needed on both sides for the project to succeed. WITRON and the food retailer COOP from Norway have demonstrated this impressively.
Location
Jessheim (near Oslo airport), Norway
All components had to be integrated into the existing material flow during ongoing operations. Of course, without any loss of performance - considering all Covid 19 safety measures. The expansion is probably the most challenging brownfield project in WITRON’s company history to date, in which existing technology was modernized, and new modules were integrated - both in the existing building and in a new extension facility.
COOP is a showcase project for WITRON. Many international customers visit the facility. WITRON was able to impressively prove how an expansion can be carried out on budget and on time during ongoing operations despite challenging frame conditions.
CVS (USA)
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Danone
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
DATEV
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
DAW
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
DBK Bogdistribution (Denmark)
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Delhaize expands ultra-fresh system
Delhaize Le Lion / De Leeuw, a leading food retailer in Belgium, is expanding its automated flow-through fresh food logistics center in Zellik (Distribution Centre B3) together with the general contractor WITRON. Since the end of 2013, the facility has been supplying more than 800 stores with a range of 900+ different fresh and ultra-fresh products from temperature zones of +2 and +4 degrees Celsius. Once the expansion is ready for operation, scheduled for mid-2022, the output on peak days will increase by more than 40 percent. The additionally awarded expansion shows that Delhaize is convinced of the cost-efficiency, flexibility, ergonomics, and availability of the solution.
Location
Zellik (Belgium)
The current expansion was already foreseen in the original logistics concept. For this purpose, three additional modules will be implemented into the existing WITRON ATS solution (Automated Tote System) during ongoing operation. These modules include 100,000 additional tote locations (in total 271,000), 12 stacker cranes (in total 32), and 24 tote stackers / destackers (in total 71), as well as 12 sequence buffers, 8 vertical lifting devices, 4 transfer cars, 2 dolly loading stations, and stretch-wrapping and labeling machines.
Diapar (F)
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
EDEKA Group trusts in WITRON’s OPM again
It is truly a lighthouse project! The new logistics center of EDEKA Handelsgesellschaft Nordbayern-Sachsen-Thüringen mbH located in Marktredwitz (Germany), is currently under construction and will start operations in mid-2024 - both technologically and economically. It will supply some 900 stores in parts of Franconia, the Upper Palatinate, Saxony, and Thuringia with almost 28,000 different items from the dry goods range, fruits, vegetables, gourmet foods, frozen products, and flowers. The facility with a size of approx. 100,000 square meters is designed for a peak picking capacity of 583,000 pick units per day. Spread across all logistics areas, 66,000 pallet storage locations, 730,000 tote, and tray storage locations, as well as 139 stacker cranes are connected by an efficient material flow - intelligently controlled by advanced logistics and IT systems.
Location
Marktredwitz (Germany)
“WITRON’s task was to develop a solution with holistic consistency both technologically and economically”, says the EDEKA Director Rainer Kämpgen. “End-to-end within the internal supply chain - from receiving to shipping. End-to-end within the external supply chain - from the supplier to the distribution center, transportation, and to the stores. End-to-end in terms of temperature zones and product groups: Dry, fresh, gourmet food, fruits, vegetables, frozen products. End-to-end in terms of cases and load carriers to be picked: Piece picking, case picking, totes, half pallets, full pallets, roll containers, and insulated containers. WITRON has convincingly succeeded in meeting these requirements”, says the responsible EDEKA Director.
EDNA uses OPM in its frozen goods warehouse
EDNA's new 7,000 square meter distribution center in Sandersdorf-Brehna (Saxony-Anhalt) supplies its customers throughout Europe with frozen bakery products within 24 hours after order placement. It started productive use in October 2012 after a construction period of 1.5 years.
Location
Sandersdorf-Brehna
With a total of three COM machines (expandable to four), EDNA currently picks up to 13,000 cases a day at -24° C onto pallets without the need for personnel (final expansion 32,000 cases with 3 COMs running 16 hours per day). An automated six-aisle tray warehouse with 35,280 storage locations (expandable to 47,040) and a mechanized four-aisle pallet high bay warehouse (HBW) with 9,600 storage locations (expandable to 14,500) is located in front of the picking area. In addition, another 800 single-item full pallets (final expansion 2,000) that come directly from production and were buffered in the HBW before shipping, leave the facility every day. The system is designed for further growth and modular expansion options in all warehouse areas were already part of WITRON's logistics design.
Eltric
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Engel (Austria)
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Ernsting’s family builds high bay warehouse
After Ernsting’s family had already designed and implemented a twelve-aisle automated pallet warehouse together with WITRON at the Klieken site in 2005, the clothing company chain is also relying on the know-how of the Upper Palatinate logistics expert for the new high bay warehouse in Coesfeld-Lette.
Location
Coesfeld-Lette
The new 11-aisle pallet warehouse with 22,000 storage locations is connected to the existing pricing, repacking, and picking zones by means of conveyor technology and efficiently supplies them with goods. To ensure a permanent and proper alignment of all system areas, the functionalities of the responsible IT systems of Ernsting’s family and WITRON are exactly synchronized with each other. This enables high flexibility and dynamics, making it possible to store or remove up to 2,500 pallets or roll containers on a peak day. Particular importance is attached to a sustainable and holistic architecture. The warehouse, for example, is completely self-supporting in terms of energy thanks to the use of facade-integrated photovoltaic systems. As proof of the special ecological, economical, and technical efforts, building certification by the German Sustainability Building Council (DGNB) is being sought.
Ferdinand Bilstein expands logistics center
Due to excellent growth figures and the acquisition of the British enterprise Automotive Distributors Ltd (ADL), market-leading supplier in the spare parts segment for Japanese, Korean, and US vehicles, Ferdinand Bilstein GmbH + Co. KG, multiplies the storage capacities of its logistics center in Ennepetal. WITRON was also responsible for the realization of this logistics center. At that time, delivery reliability rose to more than 99 percent.
Location
In order to maintain high service levels for all national and international customers, the system in Ennepetal will be expanded from its current 36,000 items to a future target of up to 105,000 items.. The tote picking system OPS will be expanded by 16 pick workstations (26 in total), by 9 additional storage aisles (19 in total), and 90,000 storage locations (190,000 in total). The MPS system for the automated storage and picking of heavy and bulky parts will receive 8 additional pick workstations (20 in total), 4 new storage aisles (11 in total), and 22,200 pallet storage locations (61,500 in total). The "automated product packing department" will also be expanded by 6 workstations (21 in total). Another new component is a 28-meter high 4-aisle automated shipping high bay warehouse with 10,250 pallet storage locations, which significantly optimizes the timely and tour-based provision of order pallets in the shipping area. Since pallets were previously buffered conventionally in a manual storage area, automation has also created space for additional logistics areas. In addition, the shipping buffer is also used for storage and the supply of the product packaging department with packaging material, thus generating further optimization potential in material provision. This measure frees up capacity in the MPS pallet high bay warehouse and increases the performance of the MPS zones.
Festo expands US logistics center
Innovative products, innovative customer service, and an innovative logistics concept: these are the success factors of Festo, one of the global market leaders for automation technology. The fact that these factors are proving effective shows itself by the expansion of the Regional Service Center (RSC) in Mason, Ohio, awarded in mid-September 2018. The RSC in Mason supplies all customers in the USA, Canada, and Mexico rapidly with components from a range of more than 20,000 items. All items ordered today have to be received by the customers on the next day.
Location
Mason, Ohio (USA)
The existing building, which will integrate the expansion of the logistics system, will grow by approx. 11,800 square meters in 2019. WITRON will then start with the installation. The basic module is the automated OPS (Order Picking System). Once installations are completed, Festo Mason will be able to store 200 percent more items and pick 30 percent more orders than before - which means a total of 520 packages per hour. This is made possible by two additional multi-functional picking workstations (in total 10), four additional ergonomic packing stations (in total 18), and additional 15,000 AS/RS storage locations (in total 223,500) split over five aisles (in total 15). Productive use is scheduled for the beginning of 2021.
Ford
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Frico Cheese (Netherlands)
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Friesche Flag (NL)
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Future Electronics
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
GARDENA uses WITRON’s picking system
GARDENA, the manufacturer of gardening tools, optimizes its logistics and picking processes with the help of WITRON’s DPS. The compact but highly dynamic system for toteable small items was integrated into the existing intra-logistics concept within a very short time and is considered the highlight of GARDENA’s order picking logistics.
Location
Ulm
For the manufacturer of gardening tools it is crucial that goods can always be picked in the optimum picking areas - small-volume items such as hose couplings in the DPS, large items such as lawnmowers in the conventional picking areas. In addition to the overall design, WITRON’s scope of services included the project management as the general contractor with complete responsibility, the implementation of the warehouse management and material flow control, as well as the delivery and installation of the automated tote warehouse, the conveyor connections, and stacker cranes. In detail, the DPS consists of three repacking stations, one order picking aisle with five pick locations and 640 pick channels, of which a significant part is dynamic, as well as an automated tote warehouse with two aisles, one stacker crane each, and a total of 8,700 double-deep storage locations. Since February 2006, GARDENA has benefited from maximum standardization combined with high variability and modularity with the DPS.
Goldsteig expands warehouse operations
WITRON’s scope of supply and services includes the realization of a 5-aisle high bay warehouse with approx. 15,000 pallet storage locations and is divided into three temperature zones. In the warm storage area, the chees products mature at +20 degrees Celsius. Once ready for dispatch, the finished products are stored in two cold areas, at +0 - 6°C or 3 - 6°C. The stacker cranes used in the plant can determine the maturity of the cheese by means of integrated measuring devices, which is very important for safeguarding their quality and ensuring further processing.
Location
Cham
The HBW is being erected using a silo construction with conveyors connecting it to both floors of the cheese processing center, the different production lines, the packaging lines, the palletizing robots, and the shipping area. The conveyor system will also incorporate something known as a maturing continer turning station. This will turn the cheese loaves automatically so they can develop in the best possible way. Goldsteig has been a WITRON customer since 1997. Projects handled by the logistics experts from Parkstein in the past include the commissioning of two 6-aisle automated pallet high bay warehouses. The extensive modernization measures now being implemented involve fitting the stacker cranes and conveyor components that are used there with state-of-the-art drives and controls. As a forward-thinking step, some of the stacker cranes will also be equipped with energy recovery units. In addition, the existing warehouse management systems are being replaced by a WITRON warehouse management system that will be standardized for all warehouse areas at the site in Cham and will include a material flow computer. This means that the new WITRON WMS will also be replacing a third-party system currently still in use in another Goldsteig high bay warehouse.
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Helios
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Hema doubles output
HEMA B.V. headquartered in Amsterdam (Netherlands), will almost double the capacity of its existing distribution center in Utrecht. Since 2003, Hema has been operating an automated facility in Utrecht (“Lage Weide”) with more than 210,000 tote locations and 26,000 pallet locations. The DC currently supplies some 600 HEMA Stores. The wide product range includes more than 30,000 different items covering fashion, household products, and food.
Location
Amsterdam (Netherlands)
The central element of the system that was designed and realized by WITRON as the general contractor, is the Dynamic Picking System. DPS is based on a modular design allowing the system to be expanded by 12 ergonomic picking workstations, 16 ergonomic repacking stations, and 7,500 tote locations during ongoing operation. In addition, new innovative software functionalities are integrated for the implementation of future market requirements. The project is being implemented in two stages with precisely coordinated deadlines.
Hofmeister & Meincke
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Hohmann
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Hoogvliet relies on omni-channel logistics
The logistics service provider from Parkstein will realize a state-of-the-art, automated distribution center in Bleiswijk (south of the Netherlands) for all distribution channels of the Dutch food retailer Hoogvliet. The strategic goal of the company is to become the “most attractive omni-channel retailer on the market.
Location
Bleiswijk/Venray (Netherlands)
The Order Picking Machinery (OPM) with a total of 13 Case Order Machines (COMs) for the fully automated picking of cases onto roll containers will be used in the dry goods and fresh produce environment, and the Car Picking System (CPS), a semi-automated picking system, will be used for the route-optimized picking of cases. An automated tray warehouse is located in front of the OPM. “Hazardous goods” such as aerosol cans are picked in the CPS within a separate area. The Dynamic Picking System (DPS) is used for highly dynamic and semi-automatic picking of small items in the dry goods assortment. Replenishment for the picking areas is handled from a six-aisle high bay warehouse for dry goods and fresh items. WITRON will install manual order picking systems for frozen goods, fruits, and vegetables, as well as meat products. After picking and consolidation in the various picking areas, the goods are automatically provided for dispatch by means of transfer cars and gravity conveyors.
IDS Logistics (Singapore)
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
INEX optimizes merchandise logistics
Since April 2012, the Finnish logistics service provider INEX Partners, subsidiary of the trade company SOK, has been storing and picking all of its general merchandise products automatically at its site in Sipoo. It is considered one of the largest and most capable systems in Scandinavia. The “Dynamic Picking System (DPS)” solution is used for tote picking and the “Car Picking System (CPS)” is used for pallet picking. More than one million picking units can be picked on a peak day.
Location
Sipoo (FIN)
The DPS (Dynamic Picking System) tote picking system is the core logistics element of the distribution center. Here, items are picked directly from storage totes or storage pallets into the order / store tote in a highly dynamic process at 120 picking workstations. The employees are guided by a pick-by-light system. DPS works in combination according to the “goods-to-person” / “person-to-goods” principle and enables direct storage and picking in one automated small parts warehouse (AS/RS). Depending on the order structure, the items are provided in static and dynamic pick slots, thus enabling constant optimization of the pick front. The classification of the product structure is continuously reviewed and adjusted by DPS. Replenishment from the AS/RS to the picking zones directly integrated in the tote warehouse is exclusively system-controlled through stacker cranes. The same applies to the return of items not currently required for picking. Based on the automated static and dynamic staging of stored goods, the employees’ walking distances are reduced by up to 75 percent. The CPS logistics system is a picking system for route-optimized picking of cases onto pallets or roll containers - supported by pick-by-voice or radio frequency. Order-related replenishment of the pick front is automated by stacker cranes. The staging of an item is also system-controlled and aligned with the store-friendly picking process. According to the "person-to-goods" principle, up to three orders are picked at the same time by one picker in the CPS at INEX. Ergonomic layer trays developed by WITRON ensure that many other items can be stored in the pick front in an extremely space-saving manner. The use of layer trays reduces travel distances by 60 percent.
Intermarche (F)
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Jumbo builds dry goods distribution center
WITRON was awarded the order to design and realize the new “National Logistics Center” for Jumbo Supermarkten B.V. in Nieuwegein - the second largest food retailer in the Netherlands. During the course of an international design competition, WITRON convinced with its leading-edge, cost-efficient, and flexible overall concept.
Location
Nieuwegein (Netherlands)
The 45,000 square meter site near Utrecht will supply all Jumbo stores and distribution channels with 12,000 different dry goods. The distribution center is designed for a peak picking capacity of two million cases per week. To achieve this goal, Jumbo relies on the WITRON OPM solution (Order Picking Machinery) with a total of 20 Case Order Machines (COMs), expandable to 32 COMs - for fully automated case picking onto roll containers. The semi-automated Dynamic Picking System (DPS) is used to pick small-volume items highly dynamically into totes at 30 multi-functional picking workstations. Replenishment and pick front profiling are fully automated in the DPS using stacker cranes. A high bay warehouse with 22,000 pallet storage locations and an integrated Car Picking System (CPS), used to pick bulky goods from flow channels in a route-optimized manner, is located in front of the picking areas. Replenishment is also automated fro this product range.
Jumbo relies on automation for fresh products
The Dutch food retailer Jumbo Supermarkten, is realizing one of the most modern automated fresh food logistics centers in Europe with WITRON Logistik + Informatik GmbH. From the beginning of 2024, the 40,000 square meter facility in Nieuwegein will supply all stores in the Netherlands and Belgium with almost 2,900 different fresh items with a minimum shelf life of eight days - dairy products, a wide variety of cheese, meat products, tapas, salads, chilled beverages, and much more.
Location
Nieuwegein (Netherlands)
The existing installation in the dry goods distribution center will be expanded by 12 additional COM robotics lines during ongoing operations (in total 32 COM robotics lines), enabling 2.6 million cases per week to be picked onto roll containers in a store-friendly manner as early as mid-2022. With reference to the OPM area, this corresponds to almost 60 percent more throughput. The automated high bay warehouse, which is located in front of the COM machines will be expanded by 6,000 locations and the automated tray warehouse by 176,000 locations including the corresponding conveyor system. The technology will be integrated into the existing building with a size of approx. 45,000 square meters.
Keuco
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Kroger
Location
Krones
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Kruidvat multiplies logistics capacities
Kruidvat, the leading Dutch Health & Beauty Chain and subsidiary of the global A.S. Watson Group, further expands logistics capacities at its central distribution center in Heteren (NL). The central logistics module at Kruidvat is the automated tote picking system DPS (Dynamic Picking System). The project covers the integration of a new, extensive DPS system with a tote AS/RS, and ergonomic picking and repack stations. A new automatic pallet warehouse is installed upstream. The extension is directly connected to an existing logistics center, which already uses a DPS system from WITRON. The existing installation will be extended by additional picking workstations and more stacker cranes. Storage and picking is carried out for a wide range of food and non-food, pharmaceutical, and health and beauty products.
Location
Heteren (Netherlands)
DPS operates highly economically according to the goods-to-person and person-to-goods principle. Depending on the order structure, the items are arranged in the pick front either permanently or on demand, which means that it is always optimized. Replenishment of the picking zones is system-controlled by stacker cranes. The classification of the product structure is consistently verified and adapted by DPS. Picking is supported by a pick-by-light system. Through the static and dynamic provision of stock items in the pick front, the walking distances of employees are shortened up to 75 percent, resulting in very high pick performances compared to a conventional solution. The sophisticated DPS technology guarantees an extremely high service level and goods availability taking into account individual store and customer requirements as well as its high picking reliability.
Lancaster
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Lapp
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
LECLERC builds new distribution center
The E.LECLERC regional company SCAPEST entrusts WITRON with the design and implementation of the new distribution center in Chalons-en-Champagne. Thus, the market-leading French food retailer relies on WITRON's modules OPM for fully-automated picking of cases, DPP for fully-automated picking of quarter and half pallets, LPS a fully-automated layer picker system, and CPS, a semi-automated logistics system with pick-by-voice support. The complete design integrates automatic pallet and tray warehouses that can be modularly extended. The entire dispatch management is optimized through an automated shipping buffer.
Location
Chalons-en-Champagne (France)
In the future, the site will supply 135 stores with more than 15,000 different dry goods. The logistics center will start productive use in 2015 and is designed to handle a peak picking performance of more than 450,000 cases per day. The majority of cases will be stacked onto order pallets with 22 COM machines, taking into account all store-specific specifications. A WITRON on-site maintenance team will be responsible for insuring high system availability.
Libri
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Loblaw (CAN)
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
LR Health & Beauty
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Maco Mayer & Co (A, PL)
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Medline (D, F)
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Mercadona realizes seventh frozen food distribution center with WITRON
Mercadona is the leading Spanish food retailer, supplying its customers in Spain and Portugal with goods through both stores and online retailing. Now, Mercadona and WITRON are continuing their long-standing successful cooperation. At the end of December 2022, the contract was signed for the design and implementation of a new frozen food logistics center in Parc Sagunt (Valencia, Spain). Productive use is planned for 2025.
Location
Parc Sagunt (Valencia)
The highly automated facility will supply almost 200 Mercadona stores in the future. The fully automated and store-friendly order picking onto pallets is carried out by six COM machines.
A four-aisle automated pallet high bay warehouse with 5,980 storage locations and a twelve-aisle tray warehouse with 63,000 storage locations are located in front of the OPM area
METRO builds new logistics center
METRO and WITRON are building another automated distribution center. Having already completed two projects in the Greater Toronto Area, the two companies are now turning their attention to the province of Quebec and are starting to build a logistics center in Terrebonne, in the northern suburbs of Montreal. The 55,742 square meter high-tech distribution center is scheduled to open in 2023.
Location
Terrebonne (Canada)
The special feature of this high level of mechanization (a fully automated logistics center including storage, picking, and palletizing) is that the technology works in sub-zero temperatures just as well as as it does in an ambient environment. The centerpiece of WITRON’s OPM automation technology is the COM (Case Order Machine). A palletizing machine that builds mixed, very densely, and well-packed pallets. This type of palletizing saves on transportation costs and optimizes store operations - a true end-to-end supply chain solution. In the new Terrebonne facility, 12 COMs in the fresh zone and 9 COMs in the frozen area will pick up to 285,000 cases every day. The entire system can handle approx. 6,800 items in the frozen and fresh area.
migrolino modernizes small-volume logistics
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Migros pioneering logistics processes
The Swiss retailer Migros has been operating one of the most advanced and largest high performance logistics systems in Europe since 2011. A sophisticated process chain ensures that all products from a range of more than 3,500 different groceries (dry goods) reach the stores on time and in the best quality. The patented OPM / COM technology is used for this purpose.
Location
Suhr, Switzerland
Since Migros picks a large number of order pallets with beverages and PET bottles, with a volume share of between 20 and 30 percent, efficient processing in the beverage area was an important decision criterion for the use of OPM. Simple and practical processes comply with the high quality demands of Migros. The automatic insertion of an additional carton layer as a layer stabilizer - directly through the COMs - considerably increases the stability of beverage pallets that are built fully automatically.
Migros Verteilbetrieb AG Neuendorf: “Flexibility is the match-winner”
According to MVB project manager Alexander Schweizer, the omni-channel distribution center of Migros Verteilbetrieb AG (MVB) in Neuendorf (near Basel) belongs to the “unmitigated Champions League” and is one of the most dynamic logistics centers in the world.
Location
Neuendorf, Switzerland
To ensure that everything can be handled cost-efficiently, in line with consumer needs, and ergonomically, Migros and WITRON integrated end-to-end automated and semi-automated logistics solutions, both as a brownfield solution into the existing buildings and in newly constructed logistics areas.
Nedac (Netherlands)
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Nedis (Netherlands)
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Nestle Schöller
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Netto
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Nycomed / Altana / Byk Gulden
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Opel
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Paulmann
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Pearl
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Pepperl+Fuchs automates with WITRON
Due to a constant company growth, the development of new market segments, as well as the consistent implementation of individual customer demands, the existing logistics capacities of Pepperl+Fuchs at their headquarters in Mannheim, reached their limits. A new central warehouse had to be built. With the construction of the new European Distribution Center (EDC) in Mannheim, the automation specialist in warehousing and order picking now opts for a state-of-the-art automated logistics solution from WITRON, which significantly increases efficiency and cost-effectiveness in all workflows and processes and also generates space for additional growth in the future.
Location
Mannheim
The EDC with a size of 4,200 square meters includes a 5-aisle tray AS/RS with 32,000 storage locations as well as a conventional area with 1,000 pallet storage locations. All items that can be placed in trays are stored in the AS/RS, except slow movers. The pallet warehouse also handles the replenishment for the AS/RS. In order to store the large amount of more than 56,000 different items efficiently and with minimal space, the trays used for storage are divided up to eight times. The content of the trays is automatically scanned in the receiving area. OPS allows storage and order picking in one system. The modular solution is an integration of automated small parts warehouse (AS/RS) and upstream picking workstations, which are largely separated from the stacker cranes through the use of sequence buffers - or as is the case at Pepperl+Fuchs - through a transfer car solution. This allows maximum individuality for all work processes. The products at the pick and pack workstations in the OPS are provided according to the goods-to-person principle and on demand. Due to the flexibility of the system it is possible to use totes, cartons, or small load carriers with different sizes, heights, and compartments on the trays. The picking workstations are flexibly staffed depending on the workload. The picking of up to 4,800 orderlines per day is done according to the pick and pack principle at five pick workstations and nine packing workstations directly into the shipping carton or into the order carton for production supply. This corresponds to a pick performance of 500 picks per hour. Every picking workstation is able to process up to eight customer orders at the same time. A multi-check system consisting of pick-by-light system, place-to-light, and surface scanning guarantees maximum picking accuracy. Customer orders with products from the AS/RS and the pallet or long-goods warehouse are consolidated to one delivery unit at a separate workstation. The operators in the pallet warehouse / long-goods warehouse are supported by a radio-frequency system from WITRON.
Pierre Lang (A)
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Plus Retail automates warehouse logistics
The retail company Plus Retail, one of the most successful Dutch food retailers, is optimizing its dry goods supply chain. The heart of the project is the construction of the new “National Distributioncenter” in the city of Oss, located in the center of the Netherlands. In the future, all store orders will be processed centrally from there using sustainable and leading-edge logistics systems that are precisely networked with one another. The warehouse logistics processes, which have been operated conventionally up to now, will be completely automated.
Location
Oss (Netherlands)
Starting in November 2022, the facility with a size of 44,000 square meters will supply 270 Plus stores nationwide from a dry goods range of almost 12,000 different items. On a peak day, the fully and semi-automatic WITRON systems OPM (Order Picking Machinery) with 20 COM machines, DPS (Dynamic Picking System) at 12 workstations, and CPS (Car Picking System) will pick and consolidate more than 410,000 cases onto roll containers and into totes in a store-friendly manner and without making any errors. A mechanized pallet warehouse with 26,800 storage locations, a tray warehouse with 357,000 storage locations, as well as a tote warehouse with 27,500 tote locations are also integrated into the facility. Highly dynamic conveyor system elements from WITRON’s subsidiary FAS as well as the intelligent WITRON software portal 4.0 ensure a material flow that is perfectly connected in a physical and data-related manner.
Porsche centralizes spare parts supply
The Zuffenhausen-based sports car manufacturer Porsche has centralized its worldwide spare parts logistics service at the Sachsenheim site. Currently, 3.2 million order lines are shipped from there each year.
Location
Sachsenheim
Two halls with a total storage are of almost 113,000 square meters were built in two construction phases within three years. “Our main concern at the spare parts center in Sachsenheim is to achieve excellence in physical logistics based on the flow principle”, explains Jürgen Wels. “To achieve this, we want to establish an optimal cost-benefit ratio in all processes.” Time is a very important factor here. Today, when a retailer orders a spare part from Porsche, it is usually received within 24 hours in Europe and within 48 hours in other regions of the world. The portfolio not only includes all spare parts for the current Porsche models - an increasing challenge in itself due to the increased diversity of models in recent years. The range of stored parts also includes stocks for classic vehicles, special products for the aftermarket (e. g. additives), and, more recently, also parts for prototype production in development.
Privatmolkerei Bechtel receives more space
The Privatmolkerei Bechtel company awarded the Parkstein-based general contractor, WITRON Logistik + Informatik GmbH, with the realization of a new fresh food warehouse including a connection to the production and storage facilities at the site in Schwarzenfeld (Germany). A particular challenge here is to integrate the compact logistics system within the defined site areas in a very limited space during ongoing operations. Implementation will be carried out in several stages.
Location
Schwarzenfeld
Construction stage 1 comprises the erection of a front-zone building for the new fresh food warehouse including space for inbound and outbound. The front-zone building will be connected to the existing facilities (logistics and production) via two transport bridges. The longest transport bridge is 90 meters long with a transport height of almost 5 meters. The second realization stage includes the implementation of a high bay warehouse in silo design behind the front-zone building and the connection to the logistics network via IT and conveyor technology. The five-aisle automated high bay warehouse is designed for a double-deep storage of 8,064 Euro pallets. The supply and disposal are handled by five stacker cranes. Fresh products are stored at an ambient temperature of 4° C. An inbound area for third-party products, empties, and packaging material is located in front of the storage area, whereas the packaging material is stored in a separate area in the front-zone building. The outbound area is divided into six loading bays and is supplied by a transfer car.
REMA 1000 builds new distribution center
WITRON was able to prevail against numerous competitors with its concept in the course of an international design competition and received the order for the design, implementation, and service of the new REMA distribution center in Vinterbro. The facility with a size of 50,000 square meters will supply 574 stores.
Location
Vinterbro, Norway
The fully automated and semi-automated WITRON picking systems OPM (Order Picking Machinery), DPS (Dynamic Picking System), and CPS (Car Picking System) will be operated in the dry goods, perishable, and frozen goods areas of the distribution center. The products and totes are picked in a store-friendly manner and stacked onto pallets, taking into account all store layouts and thus considerably simplifying shelf replenishment in the store. Just as it was for the project in Stavanger, the decisive award criteria for the project in Vinterbro were high cost-efficiency, flexibility, ergonomics, densely packed store pallets, and maximum order consolidation. The WITRON solutions that are based on an innovative warehouse management system optimally meet these requirements.
REWE expands logistics center
In order to remain capable of reacting flexible to the dynamic purchasing behavior, the food retailer REWE optimizes the complete supply chain process of large-volume items with low sales frequency during ongoing operations at the logistics center in Neu-Isenburg together with WITRON. Productive use is scheduled for mid2021.
Location
Neu Isenburg
In the future, more than 5,000 different slow-moving items such as canned vegetables or wine packages will be picked ergonomically and in line with store requirements from the storage tote onto store pallets or roll containers - this happens in a 5-aisle AS/RS with a total of 25,000 storage locations at four workstations. A process that generates not only cost-efficient and logistical advantages, but also ecological benefits since REWE will have to transport 30+% fewer totes to the store and back to the logistics center. In this respect, the “goods-to-person” solution OPS (Order Picking System) will be precisely connected to the existing tote picking system DPS (Dynamic Picking System). In close coordination with the customer and the architect, the picking system selected by WITRON was designed in such way that no structural changes had to be made to the existing building. Both modules interact intelligently with each other in inventory management and picking so that all items can be picked in both OPS and DPS. A WITRON warehouse management system dynamically determines the most suitable picking system in each case according to priority and depending on the “most cost-efficient” pick”, “fastest pick”, daily volume, season, or the respective product group. In addition, the existing DPS repack is also used for repacking into the OPS totes. Storage into the OPS system can then be either single-stage and directly from the repack area into the OPS or two-stage with interim buffering in the DPS.
Rohde & Schwarz
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Sainsbury's (GB)
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Salutas Pharma
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Schenker
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Schrader
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Schuitema (Netherlands)
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Schwarzkopf
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Sigma-Aldrich
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
ŠKODAs logistics for spare parts business
The Czech car manufacturer ŠKODA supplies business partners in 106 countries worldwide from its European Spare Parts Center in Mladá Boleslav. More than 26,000 orders are processed there every day. The product range includes 185,000 different items. The automated small parts warehouse (AS/RS) plays a central role in this network.
Location
Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic
Due to the increasing variety of products, the existing facility has now been expanded to meet the high expectations regarding the flexibility of the logistics processes and to permanently improve all operations. The existing forklift guiding system was also updated to the latest state-of-the-art with a modern ITM application. Partner for the design and realization of both projects is the general contractor, WITRON Logistik + Informatik GmbH, from Parkstein (Germany). The high degree of flexibility in logistics is also very important, because the spare parts center in Mladá Boleslav operates in three shifts and has two very different basic logistics processes: On the one hand, all spare parts for the VW, Audi, and Seat Group brands are shipped from here to all 460 service partners and authorized repair shops in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and the Baltic States. The following applies: Orders received by 6 p.m. will be delivered the following morning. On the other hand, the facility in Mladá Boleslav supplies ŠKODA wholesalers in 106 countries across the globe with the entire ŠKODA spare parts range. In terms of figures this means that retailers receive an average of 65 percent of all picked parts, while wholesalers receive some 65 percent of the picked volume.
Sobeys relies on fully automated order picking
WITRON and the Canadian food retailer Sobeys have had a close partnership since 2006. The general contractor from Parkstein has already implemented highly dynamic dry goods logistics centers for Sobeys in Vaughan and Terrebonne. Both companies are about to add another chapter to this success story: With the design and implementation of a new highly automated distribution center for perishable and frozen goods, also at the Vaughan site. The logistics facility has a size of almost 23,000 square meters.
Location
Vaughan (Canada)
3,800 different products are stored and picked in the temperature zones -26 degrees C and +1 degree C. WITRON’s fully automated Order Picking System (OPM) is used in both areas. A total of ten COM machines ensure error-free and store-friendly picking of cases onto order pallets. Tray AS/RS with 55,500 storage locations for frozen goods and 59,800 storage locations for perishable items are located in front of the COMs. The route-optimized picking of large and bulky items in the perishable and frozen goods area is done by pick-by-voice operator guidance - controlled by WITRON’s Car Picking System (CPS). Replenishment to the pick front is automated by stacker cranes. The five-aisle frozen goods high bay warehouse is designed for 14,280 pallet locations, while the two-aisle high bay warehouse for perishable goods provides space for 4,800 pallet locations. The shipping area is also mechanized. Here, a two-aisle automatic shipping buffer with 1,830 storage locations optimizes the entire shipping process by using stacker cranes to provide the completely picked customer orders just-in-time for shipment on heavy-duty lanes, in a tour-optimized manner for loading.
SPAR trusts WITRON
Twenty years ago, SPAR Austria invested in an automated logistics center for the first time in the company’s history. The Austrians were pilot customers for WITRON technologies and new service models, and after three expansion stages, longstanding and new technology continue to work together efficiently - the components fit together, and the processes interact perfectly. The growth is forcing the logistics experts to decide on further expansion and Smart Data plays an important role. SPAR continues to focus on adapting logistics processes to the requirements of the SPAR stores.
Location
Wels, Austria
Was or is the facility in Wels a warehouse for slow movers? Those responsible no longer want to hear anything about the “slow-moving” warehouse. Twenty years ago, during the first project meetings, the central warehouse was designed or named as such, but the reality soon turned out to be different. The assortment is not typically divided into A, B, C, but into volumes based on the total delivery quantities. This means: In addition to slow moving products, the experts from Upper Austria also supply fast moving items such as chewing gums or cosmetics - and they are getting more and more of those.
STAEDTLER centralizes its distribution logistics
The pen and pencil manufacturer STAEDTLER is centralizing its distribution logistics and begun supplying its European customers directly from the newly established Eurologistics Center in Nuremberg in mid-2007. Detours via national interim warehouses will be a thing of the past in the future, when all twelve European national companies are gradually integrated into the newly developed Eurologistics structure. From Nuremberg, STAEDTLER will manage the entire fine distribution of all products in the sense of classic direct delivery set-up for the future - and this throughout Europe.
Location
Nuremberg
On the one hand STAEDTLER serves the specialist retailers and thus also supplies in small quantities, for which the OPS module (Order Picking System) is used. On the other hand, complete cartons are picked for high-volume buyers such as consumer chains. This is why we combine the OPS with the WITRON MPS solution (Module Picking System) for storing and picking large-volume dispatch units. Both system modules receive the goods either when they come directly from production – connected via an electronic overhead rail transport system on the first upper floor – or via the eight loading gates on the ground floor of the Eurologistics Center. The SAP system introduced by STAEDTLER recently this year, notifies the WITRON warehouse management system (WMS) of incoming goods on a pallet-by-pallet or summary basis. In both cases, delivery from production or via the docks is mainly on Euro pallets. However, to stay flexible with an eye on potential future requirements, there is also the possibility of directly recording and storing totes.
SuperValus logistics advantage
With sales of nearly 41 billion euros and 160,000 employees, SuperValu is one of the largest retail companies in North America. The company has been storing and picking cases at its Hopkins, Minnesota, facility using OPM technology since 2006. Since 2008, a WITRON DPS system for picking small-volume items has been an integral part of SupervValu’s logistics strategy in Brea, California. At the Lancaster (Pennsylvania) site, another distribution center with OPM technology went into operation in 2009.
Location
Lancaster, USA
The OPM system in Lancaster was integrated into an existing 21-meter-high building covering a footprint of 16,300 square meters. The site services 400 stores daily from a dry goods range of 18,000 different items. On a peak day, 22 COMs (Case Order Machines) pick 256,000 cases onto order pallets in a store-friendly manner. The facility includes a 10-aisles automated pallet warehouse with 54,000 storage locations as well as a tray AS/RS with 44 stacker cranes and 400,000 storage locations. More than 95% of all items can be handled with the fully automated system. At the Hopkins distribution center, the OPM system uses 18 COM machines to pick 177,000 cases daily from a dry goods range of 13,000 different items. The automated 17-aisle pallet warehouse contains 56,000 storage locations. The 36-aisle tray AS/RS is designed to accommodate 339,000 storage locations.
Swarowski (A)
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Target (USA)
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Technische Unie increases output by 30%
Technische Unie, the largest wholesaler for electrical, sanitary, and installation supplies in the Netherlands, has been placing its trust in WITRON’s Dynamic Picking System (DPS) for many years in order to meet its order picking needs and to supply its customers. Due to permanently increasing throughput and a further growing range of products, the company decided to align the logistics center with current and expected future growth. The expansion - designed and implemented by WITRON as a general contractor - will be realized in three stages by February 2019.
Location
Alphen (Netherlands)
The expansion will include 20 multi-functional order picking workstations (in total 80) and a new outbound lane (in total 3). This increases the throughput capacity of the logistics center by more than 30%, so that after productive use, nearly 100,000 orderlines can be picked on a peak day. The system will also be amended by automated DPS and OCB (Order Consolidation Buffer) aisles with 60,000 tote storage locations (in total 257,000) and 8 stacker cranes (in total 33). The totes are divided into three sections, which saves space when storing the wide range of more than 89,000 different products. The “empty tote infeed” is also doubled in terms of size and throughput. In this area, empty totes returning from the Technische Unie customers are automatically destacked and returned to the DPS AS/RS.
TetraPak (S)
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
TJ Morris is expanding
TJ Morris, headquartered in Liverpool, is one of the Uk’s fastest growing and highest rated retailers in Europe. TJ Morris distributes a wide range of food, household goods, and general merchandise products. TJ Morris expansion strategy includes the realization of a 79,000 square meter, highly dynamic distribution center in Warrington (North West England). It will store 12,000 different items from the dry goods assortment. Productive use is scheduled for mid-2023.
Location
Warrington, UK
The mechanized system is designed for a daily picking capacity of 646,000 cases, which are sorted into roll containers and totes in a store-friendly and error-free manner. WITRON’s highly dynamic logistics systems OPM (Order Picking Machinery) with 32 COM machines, DPS (Dynamic Picking System), and the semi-automated CPS (Car Picking System) are handling this volume. A fully automatic shipping buffer decouples and at the same time intelligently links order picking with the shipping area so that all shipping units are made available for loading in the dispatch area by means of stacker cranes and heavy-duty lanes - “just in time” sorted by routes and stores, in the optimal trailer loading sequence, and taking into account storage space utilization.
Viessmann
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Vinnolit
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Volkswagen
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Walmart (USA, CAN)
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Weishaupt expands spare parts logistics
In December 2015, Max Weishaupt GmbH decided to refurbish its central spare parts logistics center located at their headquarters in Schwendi (Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany) that was implemented by WITRON in 1994. The goal is to secure the best service level for all authorized dealers worldwide also in the future - which means - to supply a large number of customers with goods from a range of more than 62,000 different items on the next day after placing an order. The order for the overall realization of the expansion and modernization was again awarded to the general contractor, WITRON Logistik + Informatik GmbH from Parkstein.
Location
Schwendi
The project focus is the construction of a new automated small parts warehouse with a size of 1,600 square meters that will be used for parts distribution and production supply. It comprises twelve aisles with a total of 80,000 tote locations. The central logistics element is WITRON's Order Picking System (OPS). The cost-efficient picking of more than 10,000 orderlines per day is done at five multi-functional and seven packing locations according to the goods-to-person principle and in line with Weishaupt’s high ergonomic requirements. Every workstation allows picking of several orders at the same time. Weishaupt saves transportation costs through the consolidation of multiple orders from the same customer or a shipment tour using an one-aisle automated Order Consolidation Buffer (OCB).
Wesergold
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Wofi
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Xerox
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Yamaha modernizes spare parts warehouse
Motorcycle and engine manufacturer Yamaha Motor Europe N.V. operates its central distribution center in Amsterdam (Netherlands) and supplies customers throughout Europe with brand spare parts, accessories and promotional items from there.
Location
Amsterdam (NL)
In order to continue customer service and parts supply at the known high level in the future, Yamaha awarded WITRON the order for the refurbishment of two pallet stacker cranes and three tote stacker cranes at the end of June 2009. In the process, the drives, sensors, controls, and the corresponding switch cabinets for the cranes will be completely replaced by, sustainable components. All mechanical elements of the stacker cranes continue to be used.
ZF
Period
2021
-
2021
Location
Podcast: Flexibility is the match-winner
Switzerland is known throughout the world: For its stable economic system, for the quality, design, and precision of the watches manufactured there, the impressive mountain scenery, and the success of its winter sports athletes. Switzerland also stands for innovation. This innovative strength is also evident in the omni-channel distribution center of Migros Verteilbetrieb AG (MVB) in Neuendorf (near Basel), which, according to MVB Project Manager Alexander Schweizer, belongs to the “unmitigated Champions League” and is one of the most dynamic logistics centers in the world.
It was designed and implemented by the logistics lifetime partner WITRON. The main building, which houses the near- and non-food area, supplies more than 700 stores and many thousands of home shopping customers from a range of 100,000+ items per year. On a peak day, WITRON’s OPM, AIO, CPS systems pick more than 470,000 cases.