Georg Fischer is an international industrial company headquartered in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Around 14,000 employees in 34 countries work in three divisions: GF Piping Systems for piping systems, GF Casting Solutions for cast components in the automotive industry and GF Machining Solutions for machine tools. GF Piping Systems stores around 25,000 items at three locations in Schaffhausen - from small O-rings to welding machines. The distribution center accounts for 80 percent of the main business. The MF5 serves as an overflow warehouse and for special product ranges, especially slow-moving items. Long and bulky goods are stored in the Herblinger Tal logistics center (LZH). All warehouses are divided into different sub-warehouses depending on the product type.

Complex logistics processes in Schaffhausen

The handling of different products at several locations ensures complex logistics processes. New goods are constantly arriving from other plants in Switzerland and from external suppliers. Orders are dispatched worldwide, taking into account country and customer-specific requirements. The picking of primary materials for in-house production also takes place there, as does replenishment for externally operated distribution centers in other countries. As there are often parts of different dimensions in one shipment, many warehouse areas from different locations may be involved. The truck then has to collect goods for the same consignment from several loading points. There are also special requirements due to the best-before date management of dangerous goods and the handling of bulky goods in manual areas.

Due to the warehouse structure, warehouse management was also highly structured from an IT perspective. A warehouse management system (WMS) was used as the leading system in the Schaffhausen distribution center; the external warehouses MF5 and LZH were managed by a separate system. In addition, a so-called wrapper was used to convert the IDoc-based SAP interface into the interface format of the old WMS.

Over time, the old main LVS posed a risk, as the upstream supplier was no longer able to provide adequate support. In addition, only one employee was still proficient in the system. GF was therefore looking for a new WMS to replace all three systems and cover the processes in the distribution center and its secondary warehouses. The challenge: Since 1990, GF has continuously optimized its processes and also made further developments to the WMS itself. A new provider therefore had to replace a highly optimized system, which had to be available again immediately after the go-live.

GF chose the provider Unitechnik with its UniWare WMS from five applicants. "Several reasons were decisive for us," says Tobias Auer, Head of Global Logistics Projects at GF Piping Systems. "UniWare is the technologically leading solution and could be tailored precisely to our needs. It is also the most cost-effective in the long term. However, we were particularly impressed by the use of emulation for tests with a virtual replica of the system."

This meant that the processes could already be largely tested without disrupting ongoing operations. For this purpose, Unitechnik exports data, for example on pallet and container stocks, from the old system. A complete database image is created. A daily batch of orders is then transferred from SAP to the WMS based on the inventory data. The system simulates order processing in the plant, including all operator actions. The result: observing an entire production day in the plant and the throughput performance provides the basis for optimization in advance.

From commissioning to go-live

Once the order had been placed, the first step was the specification phase. "We first had to clarify: Which function is no longer needed, which must not be forgotten? Is the system really so stable that we can carry out a changeover with a clear conscience and without the possibility of a return?" says Harri Wehrli, WMS system manager at GF Piping Systems. "After all, we were replacing a system that had grown over 30 years with thousands of special settings spread across several tools. However, Unitechnik quickly presented a good solution to every foreseeable problem."

Due to travel restrictions between Germany and Switzerland as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the tests with the system on site could only take place from June 2020. The shortened test period resulted in an increased risk for the go-live in December 2020, but a new date would not have been possible until December 2021. The risk was therefore accepted and the Unitechnik team was set up accordingly with seven people on site. "Fortunately, the workload between Christmas and New Year was very light," says Auer. "The go-live went off without any downtime or delivery bottlenecks." In detail, work continued with the old WMS until Friday evening, when the data was transferred to UniWare. Individual tests were carried out on Saturday and live operation slowly started on Sunday. Regular productive operation began on Monday. Unitechnik then accompanied the productive operation on site until February 2021.

LVS integrates all storage areas

In total, UniWare comprises around 150 connected terminals and 110 printers, which are used by around 170 active users. The solution is connected to the automated pallet warehouse (HRL) and the automated container warehouse (KTL), each with conveyor technology, as well as to the carton conveyor system in the distribution center. The automated pallet warehouse (LMA) with conveyor technology at the MF5 site is also included. The software manages the manual areas in the bulky goods, hazardous goods, pallet and block storage areas. It organizes the dispatch zones and truck gates at a total of five loading points, including the registration of trucks, assignment of tours and execution of loading. UniWare is also responsible for recording incoming goods at the external production sites in Subingen and Seewis, which deliver to Schaffhausen. The shipping service providers are also directly connected. This enables special labels to be printed and parcels to be tracked.

This article appeared in issue 3/23