Feature Materials Handling & Conveying Quick sorting keeps up with fashion
SDI Group has helped TNT Fashion Logistics double its current sortation capacity at its facility at Bergen op Zoom in West-Brabant, the Netherlands, by installing an exact copy of its existing FSU (Flexible Sortation Unit) sorter right above it, on a 5.5m high mezzanine
the existing unit.”
This installation future-proofs TNT’s operation, allowing peaks to be met for years to come. When desired in the future, TNT can activate the sorter’s split chutes, which will double the amount of available chutes and drop locations available currently. “This means that we are flexible enough to respond quickly to any change in the
on-site tweaking the sorter to get even more than was originally specified.” During the installation, which overcame the challenge of installing a sorter and a mezzanine over an existing operation, TNT maintained full service levels and hit every KPI including cost. SDI was also able to engineer out any oscillation movement due to locating a sorter on a 5.5m high mezzanine, preventing any risk of motion sickness for staff.
Success in partnership
Gordon Smith, CEO of SDI Group added, “We are proud to be continuing our
close partnership with TNT T
NT now has the flexibility to release any type of carton from any lane into either sorter 1 or sorter 2. The productivity improvements from this space saving solution will pro- duce a payback in less than 18 months. Just as with the original system in SDI
2011, Group designed and
installed a 220 drop point FSU sorter, running at 28,000 carriers per hour for the automated sorting of the single and/or pre-packed single garments. This now gives TNT 56,000 carriers per hour and 440 drops in total. The TNT facility is operated for a US
apparel brand. The pan-European oper- ation serves 14 countries for retail stores and 29 countries for the direct channel. All merchandise - which now totals 180,000 SKUs - goes through the build- ing in a unichannel operation.
Doubling up Terry Norman of TNT Fashion Group, said that SDI’s latest sorter installation has doubled the company’s outbound capacity. He commented, “This means we have been able to reduce costs by operating both machines on just one shift rather than one machine across two shifts, which produces a substantial saving on staff costs.
“Although we do not need this capac-
ity for three years, TNT is investing heavily and early because it is vital to have capacity on hand for when the volatile retail market needs it. We also wanted to minimise costs. This meant optimising the cube of rather than just its 320,000ft2
Above: SDI Group is providing quick sorting to TNT Fashion Logistics via the installation of another FSU (Flexible Sortation Unit)
demand pattern from retail stores or the direct channel,” said Norman. Another benefit from the new sorter is the contingency factor. Norman added, “Now, by having two sorters, we can flick between the two in the event of a prob- lem. The immense flexibility provided by the sorter has been a huge move for- ward for our operation and helps us to meet the challenges posed by the very demanding retail environment.” The system has been live since July. Norman continued, “We still have SDI
Fashion Logistics. The existing FSU sorter has worked perfectly since it was installed in 2011, so no modifica- tions were required for the new sorter and because it is a duplicate, TNT can house the same set of spares on-site.” Norman concluded, “SDI Group is one of our key strategic suppliers. They have never let us down on any of our installations and we have a very good rapport when it comes to design criteria. During the planning, SDI and TNT oper- ational teams worked together to pro- duce bespoke solutions to produce positive results for our customers. “During installation - daily confer- ence calls and get togethers drove the project to a successful conclusion, ensuring that our customer’s KPIs were not affected during the process. In sum- mary, it is a true partnership - we have the same goal in mind - our customer’s needs. I am very pleased to say that every time we embark on a project of this size and scope with SDI Group it always works out to be a great success.”
SDI Group
www.sdigroup.com T: 01763 244 299
Enter 223
and electronics, toys, electrical appliances, media and beauty products. The company has invested in a new distribution centre in Zwolle and, with 1.7 million registered customers, a predict-
KNAPP wins large order from online store K
ed portfolio of 200,000 items and 20 million shipments per year, the requirements of the new distribution centre will be challenging. Apart from enormous volumes being shipped and a constantly changing product range, the main concern for
wehkamp.nl is to ensure high levels of customer service. These factors convinced
wehkamp.nl to choose KNAPP’s e-commerce solution, with OSR Shuttle technology at its
the building footprint.
So we decided on the innovative, space saving approach of housing the new sorter on a mezzanine floor 5.5m above
32
core. The OSR Shuttle system will feature half a million storage locations and process 98% of the entire order volume. Ergonomically designed Pick-it-Easy workstations will be used for goods to person picking in a workflow that minimises errors. With one touch picking, it will be possible to make a customer order ready for dispatch within 30 minutes of the order being received. Dispatch tasks, such as dispatch sorting and finishing, including document insertion and closing of dispatch cartons or bags - will be carried out automatically and the KiSoft warehouse logistics software will guarantee effi- cient processing and permanent control of all operations. KNAPP
www.knapp.com T: 01844 202 149
NAPP AG is set to provide the automated handling systems in a new distribution centre for the e-commerce specialist,
wehkamp.nl, in the Netherlands.
wehkamp.nl sells a huge range of goods including fashion, homewares, computing
Enter 224 JANUARY 2014 Automation
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