Increase in order processing: from 600 to 6,000

Maprom's 11,000 square meter main warehouse in Steinheim-Bergheim stocks a wide range of textiles, from T-shirts to hoodies, softshell jackets, caps, aprons, towels and cotton bags. Finishing, i.e. printing or embroidery with company logos or individual slogans, is then carried out at the headquarters in Höxter, East Westphalia. After purchasing the warehouses in Steinheim-Bergheim in 2012, Maprom had already made the decision to invest in a modern warehouse management system that could also connect to AutoStore. The previous warehouse management software could not provide such a connection.

In collaboration with TKS Unternehmensberatung und Industrieplanung, the choice fell on the WMS ProStore from Team in Paderborn. This is because ProStore can be connected directly to AutoStore without middleware. But other factors were also decisive: "Team's company size suited us, the geographical proximity is ideal and, above all, the technical expertise and the friendly project team were absolutely convincing," recalls Andreas Kempf, assistant to the management.

Special requirements for three locations

The range of goods - from cotton bags to promotional clothing - is diverse at Maprom. "We were looking for a solution to make even better use of our warehouse space and to automate the processes even more," says Kempf. "Maprom also processes orders on a daily basis, which means that orders have to be processed on time." Another important point was to connect all three of the company's locations to the WMS in order to ensure continuous traceability of the flow of goods - both the headquarters with administration and further processing in Höxter and the central warehouse in Steinheim-Bergheim as well as the external warehouse in Lüchtringen, around 30 kilometers away. "We have two warehouse locations with different incoming goods recording and storage systems," explains Sebastian Mach, Head of Outgoing Goods. "Single-variety pallets are recorded in Lüchtringen and mixed pallets in Bergheim. One challenge was the system connection and merging of these locations. Another important requirement was the automated replenishment control between the two locations." Every year, around 120 import containers arrive in East Westphalia from Asia, mainly containing cotton bags, which have to be stored.

From shopping carts and clipboards to automation

At Maprom, with its almost 40-year company history, one thinks back with a smile to the days when shopping carts, clipboards and pens were still used for order picking. Today, nothing at all reminds us of that. In the modern warehouse in Steinheim-Bergheim, everything is fully automated thanks to the ProStore software.

The air is getting thin in the new AutoStore warehouse. In order to comply with the strict fire protection regulations, Maprom opted for an oxygen reduction system instead of a sprinkler system. As a result, the hall is sealed with a low oxygen content and cannot be entered by anyone. The hall was previously used as a veneer warehouse and has a relatively low ceiling height. However, the AutoStore grid, the shelving system and heart of the facility, has been adapted to this and now covers around 2,800 square meters.

58 robots travel across the grid. They lift the individual bins, rearrange them and transport them to the transfer points. If the battery charge level is low, they move independently to one of the charging stations at the edge of the grid. The functions of the WMS and the automatic small parts warehouse are coordinated with each other: the AutoStore system receives the information from ProStore as to which item is required. AutoStore organizes the bin locations, ProStore manages the stock within the bins. There are currently 40,000 gray bins in use. The bins can be used for both single-variety and mixed storage with separating inserts. Outside the spatially separated grid, there are two ports for storing textiles. In addition, 13 ports are available for retrieval and picking. AutoStore now enables 150 to 180 picks per hour. "We can now process up to 6,000 orders per day, up from 600 in the past. That's an enormous increase," says Sebastian Mach enthusiastically.

Accelerated ordering process and error reduction

Returns processing has also been greatly simplified and automated. ProStore makes it easier to record returns and store them again using AutoStore. A positive side effect: almost no returns have to be thrown away, unless they are heavily soiled or damaged. There is also a link to automated post-processing, i.e. closing and labeling the boxes and sorting them for dispatch. Volker Hiller, Head of Incoming Goods: "The great thing about ProStore is that we can seamlessly track all stock movements in the system. The connection to AutoStore eliminates physically demanding work for our employees. They work directly at the ports with the ProStore dialogs. This enables seamless and problem-free operation."

Overall, the existing storage space at Maprom is now better utilized. "The automation speeds up the entire ordering process, as the robots now compile the orders precisely," summarizes Andreas Kempf with satisfaction. "Errors are reduced and the quality of our shipments has increased. It's also great that the system can be flexibly expanded. This is the only way we can keep up with the growing volume of orders and save costs in the long term."