Delivery quality at a new level

For more than 40 years, Gebr. Ostendorf Kunststoffe GmbH has been one of the leading suppliers of non-pressurized wastewater pipe systems "Made-in-Germany". As a partner to the sanitary and building materials trade, the family-owned company not only sells its own brand world, but also produces for other suppliers. The full-range supplier is represented by further branches in Emstek, Lower Saxony and Rain am Lech in Bavaria.

Until the beginning of 2017, most of the outdoor storage areas were used to stock the range of around 4,000 items, supplemented by warehouses for cardboard goods and staging areas in the order picking halls. There are also truck loading bays. The latter could only be used to a limited extent, meaning that full pallets were usually loaded directly from the block storage areas by forklift truck during direct loading. The company premises in Vechta are also characterized by heavy factory traffic. Two production facilities with connected storage areas are located there. Pallets or pallet cages, which are assigned to individual or stacked floor spaces, are picked across all sites.

Focus on robust processes

Picking of pallet cages.

Established structures and a card-based way of working meant that there were increasing deficits in terms of transparency, stock reliability and delivery quality. "In view of the high error rate combined with many empty runs, we had to take action," reports Stephan Osterhues, Head of IT at Ostendorf. The aim was therefore to optimize logistics processes, eliminate media disruptions and switch to full digitalization in order to ultimately implement robust processes within and between the plants. In the search for a suitable implementation partner, the Dortmund-based intralogistics system house proLogistik was the obvious choice. Stephan Osterhues comments: "The great advantage of proLogistik is that the company can offer both the warehouse management software and the necessary hardware from a single source."

High demands on individual design

The go-ahead for the implementation of pL-Store Techline at the Vechta site was given in 2013. The go-live took place in October 2014. "pL-Store Techline is a warehouse management software that is tailored to the specific requirements of the sanitary and building materials sector and technical wholesale," explains Sascha Gutherz, the responsible project manager at proLogistik. This standard solution offers familiar applications from the basic software, supplemented by industry-specific functions. In the case of Ostendorf, however, each process had undergone one or more individual adaptations, including

• ERP connection as central control between the connected WMS
• Incoming goods with notified pallets
• Direct loading from the block yard
• Picking on the basis of pallets that are pre-planned by the ERP
• Order compilation from several locations with support for stock transfer
• Deposit recording
• Connection to an automated high-bay warehouse

"The main difficulty was finding a coherent concept for the efficient handling of inter-company logistics between our two northern locations and turning it into reality," says Stephan Osterhues. In order to reduce throughput times and increase adherence to delivery dates, the partners ultimately established a cross-docking process between the plants and across the three systems in use. Both plants act both as a supplier and as a transshipment point. Another advantage is that stocks can be reduced and storage costs saved. At the same time, storage and retrieval processes are eliminated, which also reduces the time and money required.

Mobile data collection in everyday logistics

An automated high-bay warehouse was put into operation in May 2017.

The rollout to Emstek and Rain am Lech followed in September and October 2015. Since then, hardware from proLogistik has been used here as well as in Vechta alongside the warehouse management software. These are handheld devices equipped with the latest scanning technology for mobile data capture. In addition, industrial terminals with touch technology from the pro-V-pad series are used. In total, 65 devices for mobile data capture are currently in use at Ostendorf across all locations. In the block storage areas, this is done using floor markings and check numbers applied at ground level. Other storage locations are identified by barcodes directly at the storage location and by hanging signs. All information is transmitted to the WMS via WLAN.

Fit for new challenges

Further adjustments to the warehouse management software were necessary when Ostendorf switched to a new ERP system at the turn of the year 2016/17. At the same time, preparations were made for the commissioning of an automated high-bay warehouse. This system has a separate material flow computer, for which proLogistik developed an interface to the pL-Store warehouse management system. This covers the storage and retrieval orders as well as error handling.

As the high-bay warehouse is the last system in a project phase lasting several years to go into operation, the company is currently still in the optimization phase. Nevertheless, Ostendorf IT Manager Stephan Osterhues draws an initial conclusion: "Positive effects are directly noticeable in inter-company logistics. We are already seeing an increase in processing speed, a lower error rate and a significant increase in inventory security."

www.ostendorf-kunststoffe.comwww.prologistik.com