Ergonomic and dynamic picking systems have been installed at two cutting edge distribution centres in the UK in order to achieve significant supply chain cost savings.The installation of Witron's Dynamic Picking System (DPS) and the Ergonomic Shuttle Picking System (E-SPS) at Sainsbury's two K-line centres will allow the retailer to centralise the slow-moving articles within its inventory and automate much of the process.
This is no small job. Each centre serves 300 stores and holds 16,000 stock keeping units (SKUs). The daily output can reach 340,000 cases, which translates to over 2 million cases a week.
Manufacturers and retailers are increasingly looking at the supply chain to see where cost savings can be made. Sainsbury for example has rationalised its distribution network from over 20 centres to less than ten, four of which are brand new and cutting edge.
The aim of these is to achieve optimal production efficiency in what is a highly competitive sector.
"Food retail is our biggest sector," Witron UK branch manager David James told FoodProductionDaily.com. "We've just taken an order from Edeka in Germany, and have worked with Delhaise in Belgium and an Ahold division in Holland."
The two Sainsbury units that Witron dealt with in the UK, at Stoke on Trent and Hoddesdon, have been designed to deal with slow-moving groceries as opposed to fast-moving ambient or chilled goods. The installation of DPS and E-SPS systems reflects this.
The DPS is specially designed for logistics processes requiring efficient picking from a wide range of products. It helps integrate the storage and picking of goods in one system.
"What these machines are essentially doing is not replacing people as such, but removing the need for them to travel around the distribution centre and think," said James. "It makes this aspect of supply chain management paperless."
When goods arrive from suppliers, an automatic stacker is responsible for the replenishment of goods and the dynamic exchange of products in the pick face. This DPS functionality reduces the pick path and enables profitable handling of a wide product range. Picking is directed by electronic 'Pick-by-Light' displays, installed at the pick channels.
Witron's Ergonomic Shuttle Picking System (E-SPS) for case picking applications is designed to handle heavy and bulky products continuously under ergonomic conditions. The E-SPS shuttle, which is equipped with a picking cabin and a goods cabin for roll cages, automatically moves the picker and order cage along the pick face within the aisle.
The warehouse control system provides the ergonomic position for the picker with regards to the order cage and the storage pallets. Both the storage and replenishment of pallets are carried out by automatic cranes.
The installation also includes more than 100 AS/RS machines combined with extensive conveyor technology, controlled by Witron's IT and PLC systems.
Sainsbury is a leading UK food retailer with over 145,000 people employed in its chain of over 500 supermarkets, of which 157 have over 40,000 sq. ft. of sales area. Another Witron installation is being carried out at Sainsbury's distribution centre in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, which should be completed by the end of 2004.