New building with connection to existing processes
This was realized in a first step with the new construction of an automated carton warehouse with storage and retrieval machines (SRM) and a new goods issue solution. Gabor took over adjacent land to accommodate office space and an outlet center in the new building in addition to a larger automated small parts warehouse. The challenges in the planning were both the conveyor technology and IT connection to the existing processes as well as the connection and testing of the new system components in the new building without disrupting the ongoing delivery. The general contractor Vanderlande supplied the conveyor systems, the Quickstore 3.2 storage and retrieval machines, the racking and steel construction and the material flow control system for the project. "The good cooperation on the previous project was very cooperative, and we have been extremely satisfied with Vanderlande's products for years. With the new solutions from Vanderlande and our experience from the past, it made sense to work with Vanderlande again," explains Logistics Manager Johann Haas.

Precise material flow of the shipping units
Once the pallets with the finished shoes have been delivered, the customer for whom the goods are intended is determined. If they are not destined for direct dispatch, they are sent to the high-bay warehouse. From the incoming goods area or the high-bay pallet warehouse, the clean pallets with the stored shoe boxes are taken to the crossbelt sorter. It ejects the shoe boxes into (customer) retrieval chutes until the shipping order is complete. The sorter can process several thousand pairs of shoes per hour. Shipping employees put together a shipping unit from the ejected shoe boxes. The shoe boxes are packed with cardboard trays and provided with shipping documents. The units are then wrapped fully automatically and transported from the existing facility to the new building - the new shipping unit hall. Here, the units pass through an automatic contour measuring station: the actual dimensions are determined and checked against the previously transmitted data. This is necessary in order to record the absolute values of the dimensions of the shipping units for shelf compartment allocation. Depending on the size of the unit, a suitable compartment with possible additional storage space is searched for and the shipping unit is moved there. Possible overhangs and deviations are also recorded so that there are no disruptions during storage with the storage and retrieval machines. If the check is positive, the actual data is then used to search for space in the new miniload. If there are major deviations, the shipping units are moved to the central no-read work station via the subsequent transfer and the new sorting cycle. Otherwise, the units are transported to the miniload building and delivered to one of the twelve storage slots in the miniload.

Warehouse with 18-meter-high shoe cabinet
Twelve 18-metre-high Quickstore 3.2 storage and retrieval machines with Barracuda load handling devices are used here to store and retrieve goods in the racking system, which can hold up to 120,000 shipping units. These Vanderlande SRMs store the units in the appropriate compartment. They are equipped with a camera system to detect any errors. In the storage compartments, the pre-packed shoe boxes await the delivery date set by the customer. The storage and retrieval machine retrieves the units as required and transfers them to the outfeed conveyor, from where they are transported to the shipping unit sorter via the collecting conveyor. The target specification comes from the higher-level warehouse management system. The target lanes are equipped in such a way that five mobile telescopic belt conveyors can be moved in front of the corresponding gate in the dispatch area so that the units are transported via the correct target lane and finally via a telescopic belt conveyor into the truck.