SKF Lubrication Systems Germany, based in Walldorf and Berlin, is a business unit of the Swedish SKF Group and the global market leader in centralized lubrication systems for industrial machinery and equipment, commercial and rail vehicles and minimum quantity lubrication in metalworking. The plant in Walldorf is one of several international locations of the group of companies. In the associated logistics area, materials for in-house production and for other SKF plants as well as end products of the lubrication systems are stored for delivery to customers. Incoming goods are subjected to a quality check and, once approved, are stored in the various storage areas. Around 250 different storage positions are handled per working day.

Against the backdrop of an impending merger of two plants at the Walldorf site, SKF began to focus on process automation in logistics in 2018. "Due to the necessary reduction in space by around 40 percent in logistics alone associated with the merger, the continuation of manual warehouse processes was no longer possible," explains Matthias Volz, Manager Logistics SKF Plant Walldorf. "With a view to the future viability and performance of the plant in Walldorf, there was no way around warehouse automation, with maximum warehouse density being the goal."

Challenging implementation phase

On the one hand, the decision-makers identified the implementation phase, during which ongoing operations had to be maintained without significant restrictions, as a major challenge for automation. In addition, the processes had to be adapted to an automated environment, particularly in the area of cross-departmental interfaces. And finally, the employees had to be involved in the restructuring from manual to automated warehouse management. "Under these premises, after two years with the new technology and the new processes, we at SKF can look back on a highly successful implementation," summarizes Volz. "In order to successfully take the step into warehouse automation, sufficient time must be available for the selection, calculation, project planning and allocation of the individually suitable system. In addition to internal commitment and the involvement of internal experts, the right partner for concept development, implementation and subsequent system support is even more important."

When choosing a suitable storage system to automate the processes in the small parts storage area, SKF opted for an AutoStore system. "As part of an external study and internal validation, various automated storage systems were compared with each other," says Volz, describing the selection process. "For SKF, no other system could offer a better combination of flexibility, compactness, performance, scalability, total system costs, implementation time and security than an AutoStore system."

Up to 70 percent improved space utilization

In fact, AutoStore systems achieve the highest storage density compared to conventional miniload solutions with minimal space requirements and up to 70 percent better space utilization. The system layout can be adapted precisely to any structural conditions - and it is easily scalable with additional robots, integrated work stations, containers or container shafts as performance or capacity requirements increase. SKF selected system supplier Element Logic, the world's first official AutoStore integrator, as its partner for the detailed planning, project planning and implementation of the system. "The decisive factor in awarding the contract to Element Logic was the overall package of technical expertise, customer-oriented and partnership-based cooperation, appearance, flexibility and economic framework conditions," explains Volz. "No other provider than Element Logic was able to establish a comparable level of trust with SKF as a customer."

Storage capacity for 39,000 different items

Adapted to the framework conditions of the existing property with a ceiling height of 4.6 meters, Element Logic designed an AutoStore system on 1,100 square meters of floor space including an upstream consolidation area, which offers more than 26,800 container storage locations despite an integrated, 4.5-meter-wide drive-through tunnel for automated industrial truck transports. In addition, around 15 percent of the containers are divided into four sections, so that the system offers storage space for around 39,000 different items. Up to 14 of the 220-millimeter-high containers are stacked in the shafts of the system's aluminium grid. Twelve compact robots from the R5 series, known as robots, work on the grid surface.

They handle the storage, transfer and retrieval of the containers. For order picking, they transfer the system containers with the required items to the integrated work stations, the so-called ports. Five ports are installed at the SKF plant in Walldorf - two of which are so-called carousel ports for higher warehouse throughputs. They are mainly used for order picking.

The three other ports, known as conveyor ports for lower throughputs, are largely used to load the system containers with incoming goods. "Highly compacted storage, minimal space requirements and fast, error-free picking without walking distances," says Joachim Kieninger, Director Strategic Business Development Element Logic Germany, summarizing some of the advantages of the system and pointing out the additional sustainability effects in addition to the system efficiency.

Low energy consumption

"With an average energy requirement of 100 watts per robot per hour, AutoStore systems have the lowest energy consumption of any miniload solution on the market." The AutoStore system was set up at SKF within just a few weeks. Just a short time after commissioning in September 2020, warehouse automation had firmly established itself as a new work tool in everyday life and among the staff deployed. "Thanks to the ergonomic possibilities of the system, we can deploy the majority of our employees on the AutoStore system," emphasizes Volz.

"In addition, the system has increased output in order picking by 50 percent, while the complaint rate has been reduced by 60 percent." The logistics manager also points to strategic advantages. In addition to a wide range of synergy options with adjacent logistics processes, the needs-based scalability of the system offers flexible expansion of product variety and stock levels as well as options for further growth for the company as a whole. "The AutoStore system enables fast response times to short-term changes in market requirements and the demand for higher throughputs," summarizes Volz. "This increases the competitiveness of the entire SKF plant in Walldorf. The short implementation phase represents a clear advantage over alternative systems. Installation and implementation went smoothly during ongoing operations and went completely unnoticed by the market, our customers."

Cycle-based, production program-oriented production supply

For process coordination, the AutoStore system is directly connected to the SAP WM warehouse management system managed by SKF. The system manages and controls the storage locations, stocks and orders without any additional middleware being installed. The call-offs from production and other internal warehouse and plant areas, other SKF plants and end customer shipments are transmitted directly from SAP WM to the AutoStore system control via the interfaces set up by Element Logic. The robots deliver the source containers to the picking ports in sequential order.

Shipping orders for deliveries to customers are carried out in the pick & pack process directly at the AutoStore system. The order items for production, like the stock transfers for other SKF plants, are consolidated on the upstream consolidation area at the AutoStore system with materials from other storage or plant areas and prepared for transportation to the points of demand or to the shipping area. "In this way, the AutoStore system enables us to have a cycle-based, production program-oriented manufacturing supply," says Volz, explaining another operational advantage.

Expectations more than fulfilled

The employees at the SKF plant pick an average of 1,000 line items per day. As a result, the system has significantly increased the efficiency of order production while significantly improving quality. "The results so far have more than met our expectations," summarizes Logistics Manager Volz. "Following the successful joint implementation, there is still very good contact between Element Logic and SKF. The possibilities of good personal contacts at all levels are fully utilized and the SKF plant in Walldorf is happy to act as a reference customer for other potentially interested customers."