Feature Warehousing & storage
Warehouse rationalisation project goes swimmingly
Swimming pool distributor SCP UK has found a way to maintain previous stock levels in a smaller warehouse footprint at one of its UK operations in Crawley, thanks to an Aisle-Master articulated forklift
The Aisle-Master, recommended by John Kelley of local handling supplier Mexmast, fitted the bill perfectly. “The limited manoeuvrability of our old reach truck would have meant having aisle widths of around 6m for some of our larger loads which are 8ft square,” says Taylor. “This was obvi- ously not going to be viable in the space available, but by replacing it with the Aisle-Master we were able to put racking much closer together. We have achieved an impressive total of 760 pallet spaces plus 120 bays for storing hot tubs.”
Swimming pool distributor SCP UK has been able to keep up its stock levels despite having a smaller warehouse footprint available thanks to Aisle-Master’s articulated forklift
T
he company is part of SCP Distributors LLC (Poolcorp) based in Louisiana said to be one of the world’s largest wholesale distributors swimming pool supplies, equipment, spas, and related leisure products which has around 80,000 global customers, 290 locations and 3,200 employees.
Following a strategic rationalisation of the premises near Gatwick Airport,
warehouse manager Joe Taylor had 26,700 square foot at his disposal rather than 41,000 square foot for the storage of large items such as hot tubs, spas and pallets of auxiliary equip- ment such as gas heaters, pumps and filters. The only way to create the required capacity in the new area was to find a truck that would work in narrow aisles indoors, and which was also capable of offloading in the yard.
ungheinrich now offers a complete warehouse manage- ment system software suite to complement its compre- hensive range of materials handling solutions. In its standard form, the Jungheinrich WMS supports a variety of inventory options and offers extensive warehouse modelling functions as well as centralised master data management. The WMS controls and optimises a range of processes such as incoming and outgoing goods manage- ment and order picking. The software supports the complete transparency of all
Software suite complements handling solutions J
hazardous substance storage, multi-client capability and material flow modules can be simply added as required. The software is backed up by process consultation, system integration, staff training and after-sales service during ongoing operations. Steve Richmond, director of Jungheinrich UK’s systems
processes through its extensive reporting features and indi- vidually configurable analysis options. It can be linked to numerous system environments using standard interfaces and can be adapted to fit with existing systems. The system also offers a series of special functions and extensions for complex logistics processes or automated warehouse facilities. For instance, route management,
& projects division, comments: “Software solutions such as warehouse management and materials flow systems are a crucial component of any materials handling solution and critical to any project’s success – regardless of whether the operation is manual, semi-automated or fully-automated. Our WMS capability will bring substantial benefits for the user by enabling warehouse processes to be streamlined for greater efficiency.” Jungheinrich UK T: 01908 363100
www.jungheinrich.co.uk Enter 363
Materials Handling & Logistics SEPTEMBER 2012
Deliveries arrive on site in rigid trailers or containers so any handling equipment needs to negotiate the fairly steep rear ramp for offloading and loading. The Aisle-Master’s pow- erful AC drive motor easily copes with this, for seamless and quick movement of products from the vehicle directly into the warehouse and into racks and bays. Access into the trailers is no problem due to the four stage mast with a low closed height, which can then extend to 5,600mm to deposit pallets into the highest racking inside. Features such as telescopic forks and hydraulic fork positioners make light work of handling SCP’s diverse sized loads, and the positioners are of great benefit to operators as driver Aaron Green explains: “Adjusting the forks from within the cab reduces manual effort and enables a quicker turnaround as we don’t need to jump in and out of the truck every time we switch from handling pallets to hot tubs for example.”
SCP had not used an articulated truck before but chose the Aisle- Master brand as Taylor and his team were impressed by its robust build and testimony from existing customers as to its extreme reliability.
SCP is pleased with the results espe- cially when it comes to squeezing the maximum volume into the space avail- able. Payback on investment is expected to be quickly achieved when the lower operational costs of the smaller warehouse are factored in. Aisle-Masters have capacities of up to 2.5 tonnes, and now offer lift heights of up to 15 metres, with a choice of AC electric or LPG power. The range is designed and built at the dedicated production facility of its parent company Combilift in Monaghan, Ireland, and can be cus- tomised for individual requirements. Aisle-Master design engineers also offer a site visit and warehouse layout service and supply free layout propos- als illustrating how to maximise the use of available storage space. Aisle-Master T: 07870 976 758
www.aisle-master.com
Enter 362 S15
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