Sometimes they come back

The new returns processing facility, the heart of which was planned, installed and commissioned by Beumer, covers 28,200 square meters over three floors. In one working day, around 90,000 items can be inspected, processed and returned to the shipping department. At the incoming goods area, telescopic belt conveyors that can be moved sideways with an unloading capacity of 1,500 parcels per hour ensure the loose unloading of returns. A belt conveyor system covering around 2,000 meters enables the goods to be transported smoothly within the building to the goods preparation area. There, the returns are automatically distributed to the chutes of the individual unpacking stations at the modular sorters. The total of four modular sorters form the core of the returns system and are used twice.

Sustainability is very important

In order to work economically, sustainability aspects such as energy efficiency or ergonomic working on the system are playing an increasingly important role for operators. To ensure low energy consumption, Beumer relies on suitable drive systems, the properties of which play a decisive role in determining the efficiency of the overall system. For example, the Beumer Group equips its loop sorters with linear synchronous motors or the OptiDrive drive system. This works according to the principle of the friction wheel drive. The friction wheel is constantly operating at an optimum working point. This increases efficiency enormously, minimizes wear and reduces energy consumption by around 75 percent.

They run fully electronically and transport the returns via chutes to the individual workstations. The employees unpack the returns and check whether there are any customer notes in the parcels. At the same time, they dispose of the packaging material and send the individual items to the goods assessment stations via the module sorter. At a speed of 0.8 meters per second, the system has an hourly output of around 2,800 items.

Layout of the module sorter

The returns mainly consist of small-volume items such as cell phones and digital cameras, textiles, shoes and jewelry. Employees use the item data to check whether the goods match the scanned data, whether they are as good as new and whether parts such as cables, accessories and instructions for use have been returned. The customer is credited immediately if the goods are in perfect condition and therefore meet all quality standards. These items are carefully packed and provided with new barcode labels. Returns that cannot be returned to stock are forwarded to the technical customer service department for reworking and repair requests. The finished goods are sorted by the outgoing goods sorter into 480 chutes according to storage aisles and then repacked from the chute into transport containers, which are then stored in the picking area. The employees at the goods assessment stations place both the newly packed goods and the items that require reworking on the modular sorter. A camera identifies the label and directs the goods to the appropriate outfeeds. Newly packaged goods that are intended for sale again are discharged from the modular sorter onto flat belt conveyors, which form the connection to the outgoing goods sorter.

Fast, safe and accurate

Beumer's flexible sorting and distribution technology is precisely tailored to the individual needs of the user. Infeed units and end points, for example, are adapted to the different goods. The sorters consist of a series of moving flat belt conveyors. These are mounted at a 90-degree angle to the direction of travel of the sorter. This allows them to feed the goods in and out in either the right or left direction. For this purpose, the products are transferred to the belt tray at a speed matched to the sorter speed and the infeed angle. The reverse process takes place during discharge: The belt moves in the direction of discharge and the conveyed goods are gently guided to the end point.

Thomas Wiesmann

Contact:

Beumer Group GmbH & Co KG D-59269 Beckum Tel.: 0 25 21 / 2 40 E-Mail: