Ultra-fresh thanks to dynamic calculation

Witron presented the first OPM solution (Order Picking Machinery) almost twenty years ago. Now the Parkstein-based company is presenting the fully automated Flow Picking Machinery (FPM) and continuing the success story: FPM uses OPM technology, but works without stock and builds store-specific pallets "just in time" for customers. The system was awarded the prestigious "Roi de la Supply Chain" logistics prize in France and described as a quantum leap in the supply chain of automated fresh produce logistics. FPM delivers high customer benefits - the solution counteracts the shortage of skilled workers, supports ergonomic processes, maintains product quality, reduces surplus goods and waste, optimizes truck capacity utilization and helps to reduce_{CO2 emissions} thanks to densely packed store pallets.

Throughput logistics in stockless distribution centers

"With the FPM, we have developed a high-performance system for fully automated picking in stockless distribution centers, based on a real 'business case' of a food retailer - fully integrated from goods receipt to goods issue. The FPM concept is the perfect solution for 'flow-through' fresh food logistics when this is handled almost exclusively via stockless distribution warehouses and at the same time places very high demands on article variety, product quality and time-to-store," explains Claus Holm, responsible for the South West Europe sales region at Witron.

"With the FPM, we have developed a high-performance system for fully automated picking in stockless fresh food distribution centers," explains Claus Holm, responsible for the Southwest Europe sales region at Witron. © Witron

"A 'flow-through warehouse' turns over completely several times a day," explains the Witron authorized signatory. "The products from the various product groups are delivered throughout the day and received in the FPM system at goods-in. After depalletizing, they are transferred to a highly dynamic sequence buffer. The FPM system's intelligent production control system dynamically calculates the pallets for ongoing production, taking into account the optimization of production capacity utilization, sizing criteria and transport volumes. Palletizing is carried out by the COM machines according to the individual requirements of each store. Finally, a fully automatic outgoing goods buffer makes all store pallets available in the outgoing goods area in the correct route and shipping order - at exactly the right loading time and in the correct loading sequence."

Pilot project in France verifies benefits

Holm and his team have implemented the first FPM system in France - in the fresh produce logistics of the retailer E. Leclerc Socamil. The solution has been highly praised in the French trade media for its flexibility, cost-effectiveness and sustainability. In the classic OPM system, the customer has a high-bay warehouse with several days' stock. From here, the goods are replenished in the picking warehouse with a further one to two days' stock. The palletizing is supplied from there and is therefore decoupled from the incoming goods process and the delivery by the suppliers. This means that the OPM can essentially calculate and optimize production and pallets in advance.

FPM has a different strategy here. Due to the just-in-time situation in freshness, there is no stock at FPM in addition to the buffer capacity of around three to six hours in the incoming goods area and the sequence buffer in front of the COM machines. The decisive factor is that the goods are delivered by the suppliers in the incoming goods department in accordance with the production plan - which is organized in waves according to product groups - and received in the system. The FPM calculates the store pallets dynamically during operation.

"We know what has been ordered, what is already there and what is still to come. The system then decides independently when to start picking," explains Holm. In the reference project, 2,000 pallets are built every day. Almost 100 percent of the entire fresh produce volume, with more than 12,000 items, is picked fully automatically. An FPM module can consist of twelve to 16 COM machines - for higher volumes, it can be supplemented with additional modules, as the product families can be produced in parallel in different FPM modules. Incoming goods and, above all, outgoing goods are still the same for all FPM modules in a system, so that the store pallets from the various production modules are brought together for one truck route.

Close attention to the time of goods receipt

When high dynamics, a variety of articles and many mixed pallets come together in the incoming goods department, the FPM shows its capabilities. First, the pallet is unloaded and recorded when the truck arrives at the logistics center - from this point on, the FPM system takes over control. It requests the necessary pallets according to the production plan. The technology feeds the pallets from the incoming goods buffer, they are ideally depalletized automatically, then the individual collies are married to trays. A scanner identifies each item so that the system knows which item is on the tray, even in the case of mixed pallets. This is followed by pallet production - a highly dynamic picking process. The aisles are dynamically assigned to the stores, from which the FPM collects the collies for production.

The arrival time of the goods is crucial for the overall process - the truck must arrive at its defined time slot. If it is stuck in a traffic jam, the FPM system uses fluid logistics processes to decide what happens next. It analyzes the stock, the outstanding quantity of goods and informs the operator. And it makes suggestions - such as building a remaining pallet or producing a different product family for the time being.