FEATURE WAREHOUSING & STORAGE
Fresh produce totes picked and ready in less than six hours A
utomated warehouse solutions provider TGW has provided
Mercadona with a full crate order picking system which enables fresh produce totes to be picked and ready for dispatch in less than six hours. With over 1,450 supermarkets across
Spain and revenue of more than 19,000 million Euros, Mercadona is the country’s leading supermarket chain. The company has an extensive network of distribution centres (DCs) serving its supermarkets throughout the country. Continued growth created the need for a new DC in Guadix, Granada to assist with the replenishment of around 80 stores in the south. Having provided Mercadona with successful logistics installations in the past TGW was selected to equip the new facility. TGW’s system incorporates an efficient order picking solution for fresh fruit and vegetables which utilises picking robots in the form of overhead gantry ASR machines. To manage over 300 varieties
de-palletised by TGW equipment and divided into four stacks per pallet. The goods are then transported by conveyor to a picking area. As soon as they arrive at the picking area the overhead gantry ASR machines collect the stacks and place them on the floor - each stack containing only one SKU. Individual orders from Mercadona stores are placed at the logistics centre and the overhead gantry ASR machines automatically start to pick tote per tote. These are stacked on top of each other again until the entire order is completed in one or more stacks; each can be up to 2.2m high. Completed stacks are buffered for a later dispatch procedure or immediately loaded onto a pallet for transportation to the designated supermarket.
of fresh goods TGW installed eight overhead gantry ASR machines capable of handling up to 30,000 totes per day. The process begins with fresh goods arriving on pallets at the DC then being
TGW Northern Europe T: 01858 468 855
www.tgw-group.com Enter 314
WMS supports inventory control and bespoke finishing process
Hand-made furniture and accessories retailer Neptune has developed and enhanced customer services by implementing the Empirica WMS from Chess to support complete control over inventory at its consolidated facility. In addition to managing conventional warehouse operations Empirica is fully integrated with other applications to support processes such as bespoke product and refinish and functions including an onsite retail outlet and growing e-commerce operation. “When we moved to the site we looked
at what we needed to improve the service performance that leads to an even better experience for our customers,” says head of operations Matthew Talbot. “By integrating our systems around Empirica we have exactly what we needed and been able to introduce unique innovations.” All on site stock movements are now
managed by Empirica in conjunction with RF devices and barcodes. Information is passed seamlessly and automatically between the various applications to provide Neptune with complete visibility of an item, its status and location. Items arriving from the company’s factories or manufacturing partners are scanned to verify information previously received. Neptune checks over 10% of incoming stock as part of its demanding quality control process. Any issues are logged onto the system and all items
S16 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 | MATERIALS HANDLING & LOGISTICS
transferred to a dedicated refinish workshop for appropriate remedy such as repainting. This has effectively reduced the number of quality-related customer issues to less than 2% of sales. Items are available for sale once they
have passed the initial inspection or completed any refinishing. Neptune offers a high degree of customisation on its products. Customers can specify precisely what they want when they place an order and the system allocates workloads and tracks items as they are prepared for delivery in the site’s rework and refinish workshops. Information about products is updated as they progress from one area to another. Conventional warehouse operations are
All on site stock movements are now managed by Empirica in conjunction with RF devices and barcodes
managed by Empirica. The system generates and prints all requisite labels for handling media and delivery packaging. Each box despatched is given a unique reference number to assist tracking. Order picking sequences are aligned with drop schedules for efficiency and optimum vehicle loading. Scanning on departure from Swindon and arrival at customers’ locations supports complete traceability. The changes have allowed Neptune to introduce some innovative services. For example, the home delivery teams who assemble items for customers are equipped with mobile devices. In addition to confirming completion of onsite checks and assembly tasks the team can report and log issues in real- time. Actions such as redeliveries can be agreed and confirmed immediately with customers before the team leaves. There is no need to rekey information or call in by telephone. The customer sees an immediate response which enhances their perception of the service. Among the many benefits identified by
Neptune is a significant advance in customer service and experience due to improvements in areas such as stock accuracy and quality control. Electronic delivery notes and invoices are always accurate and delivered quickly to support improved commercial relationships.
Chess Logistics Technology T: 0161 888 2580
www.chess.uk.com
Enter 315 / MATERIALSHANDLINGLOGISTICS
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