Modellbau Härtle wants to keep up with the constantly growing volume of orders during the Christmas period. The company is one of the largest specialist mail order companies in Europe for model railroads and model building products. The specialist range includes model railroads and accessories, RC model making, RC cars, truck model making, plastic model making, car racing tracks, high-quality construction kit systems such as Fischer-technik and over 1,000 miniatures.

High speed and easily scalable

Over 3,000 m² of fully automated net storage space is being created on a floor area of just under 700 m². When it goes into operation, over 100 robots will ensure that Härtle employees no longer have to walk through the aisles, but instead receive the goods directly to the picking stations.

Six high-speed lifts connect a total of twelve levels of the automated small parts warehouse and enable the robots to change levels quickly. The almost 8,000 goods carriers of different sizes are transported by the robots to the storage and retrieval stations via continuously optimized routes. There will be a total of four of these stations in Härtle's new warehouse. With a daily operating time of eleven hours, this means up to 8,000 goods carrier presentations per day.

The goods carriers are already stocked with goods that are often ordered together during putaway in order to drastically increase the efficiency of the individual picks. In addition, all workstations are equipped with pick-by-light systems in order to always illuminate the correct position during storage and retrieval processes and thus relieve the strain on employees. Härtle continues to rely on the ERP system v.Soft from Vepos, which has been in use since 2013, and

is also switching to the latest software version 3.0 Cirrina. Thanks to the control connection, the employees retain their familiar working environment. v.Soft supports Härtle in areas such as purchasing, sales, warehouse management and financial accounting. The automated small parts warehouse can also be expanded cost-effectively at a later date during operation. This applies to both the storage locations and the number of picking stations, including the required picking performance. All of this not only makes day-to-day work easier, but also leads to increased efficiency while reducing potential sources of error and thus to new growth potential for the company.

Holistic concept

Storojet is not the only company to focus on the sustainability of the resources used. In combination with Packsize's packaging system, which automatically produces resource-saving and customized outer packaging, a holistic concept is implemented. For every 100,000 m² of corrugated board, users of Packsize technology save a whole 25 tons of_CO2. The Packsize station is located directly next to the Storojet workstations, and immediately after picking, the cardboard boxes are ready in the right size to be transferred directly to the shipping department. The solar system on the roof generates enough electricity to supply a large proportion of the warehouse's daily requirements. In addition, ICO Innovative Computer will have the amount of wood used for the Storojet system planted in the form of new trees in order to set an example for environmental protection and_{CO2 reduction}. This will create one of the most modern and sustainable online retail locations in Germany in Marktoberdorf.

"We are delighted to be taking another step towards the future and are convinced that we have found the right system for us with Storojet. We are always interested in optimizing our processes and offering our customers an even better shopping experience. The combination of Storojet and Packsize will make our warehouse staff's daily work easier, allow us to deliver goods even faster and reduce waste at the same time."

Julian Trillken, Sales Consultant at ICO, comments: "As a newcomer to this challenging field of automation technology, we are proud to have been trusted by Härtle to prove that our Storojet system can meet the modern requirements of an automated small parts warehouse. Our aim is, of course, to enable all warehouse operators to respond cost-effectively to space problems in the warehouse, increased order volumes and rising personnel costs and to make it easier to get started with warehouse automation."

An article from materialfluss 8-9/21.