Storage capacity doubled by high-bay warehouse

Whether in stainless steel, granite or ceramic, purist, modern country house style or classic timeless - with its wide range of sinks and taps as well as waste separation and organization systems for kitchens, Blanco GmbH + Co KG offers something for every taste. Its success is reflected in the increasing turnover and sales figures at home and abroad. In 2008, the company set up its own central logistics center in Bruchsal, close to the two main production sites in Sulzfeld and Sinsheim. However, the warehouse reached its capacity limits just five years after commissioning and Blanco had to rent additional external storage space for up to 10,000 pallets at times. "We load between 1,800 and 2,000 tons of goods here every month - most of them packed in boxes, but also pallets that are shipped as general cargo or as full loads. Then there are our overseas containers," explains Mathias Rüdele, Managing Director of Blanco Logistik GmbH.

Far more than just a warehouse

To avoid obstructing forklift traffic, the pallets are transported to the high-bay warehouse via a 5.50 meter high platform with an automatic conveyor line.

During planning, it was important to consider the various aspects of functional construction, as the logistics center is much more than just a warehouse. In addition to packaging management and quality checks, customer-specific sink variants are also produced in Bruchsal. The spare parts warehouse is also located in the logistics center. While Blanco had deliberately opted for purely manual processes with IT support in 2008, replenishment for order picking was now to be automated. The functional areas for incoming goods, order picking and outgoing goods were to be extended by a conventional warehouse with 4,300 square meters. This means that the entire extension extends to a building area of 8,760 square meters.

Ambitious schedule

At the end of 2013, SSI Schaefer received the order for a four-aisle, automated high-bay warehouse (HBW) with a conveyor connection for incoming goods and picking, including integration into the existing SAP IT system. Blanco had only planned twelve months for the construction work and the assembly, testing and commissioning of the systems - a very ambitious schedule that started with the ground-breaking ceremony in April 2014. "The biggest challenge was definitely the schedule and coordinating the building trades with the installation of the shelving and storage technology. It was nice to have just one contact person for the logistics facility. Despite construction delays, we were able to go into operation on time at the beginning of May 2015," recalls Rüdele.

HRL with energy-efficient technology

The HBW storage level on the upper floor is directly connected to the incoming goods area via an automatic conveyor line.

The expansion has enabled Blanco to more than double its storage capacity. The high-bay warehouse alone offers space for around 18,000 Euro pallets in four aisles. The double-deep racks are operated by Exyz pallet stacker cranes from SSI Schaefer. The "E" stands for efficiency due to the low energy consumption and high performance. Highly efficient three-phase asynchronous motors with energy recovery and the use of a counterweight in the mast save up to 25 percent energy compared to conventional devices. The HRL achieves a maximum output of 120 double cycles per hour across all four lanes.

Storage at the top, retrieval at the bottom

The transfer station for the pallets is located in the HBW pre-zone. However, while retrieval takes place at ground level, storage takes place on the upper floor. The reason: in order not to obstruct the forklift traffic, the pallets are first transported to a 5.5-metre-high platform in the incoming goods area via a lifting device and then transported from there via an automatic conveyor line at this height through the picking warehouse to the high-bay warehouse. "The collaboration and preparatory work for the project were excellent. Blanco has already planned capacities and material flows for the forecast growth until 2022," says Ingo Wunder, Project Manager for Automated Complete Systems at SSI Schaefer.

System technology integrated into existing SAP solution

"The commissioning during ongoing operations was a challenge that SSI Schaefer mastered brilliantly," emphasizes Rüdele. This also included the complete integration of the automated system technology into the existing SAP solution. In order to be able to map the complete material flow control in SAP without interfaces, SSI Schaefer extended the SAP standard with an add-on developed in-house. This enables SAP to control all processes up to the PLC. This has the advantage that operational processes, such as the transfer of a pallet from the forklift to the conveyor system, merge directly into one another.

...so that express pallets have right of way

Customer-specific special processes were also implemented in SAP. "One example of this is the so-called express logic, in which retrievals are prevented and even double cycles are interrupted in order to retrieve express pallets quickly. These pallets also have priority on the conveyor system," explains Jürgen Hergenröther, IT project manager at SSI Schaefer for the SAP implementation.

Contact:Blanco GmbH + Co KG 75038 Oberderdingen Tel.: 0 70 45 / 44-8 11 00 E-Mail:[email protected] www.blanco-germany.com/de

SSI Schäfer - Fritz Schäfer GmbH 57290 Neunkirchen Tel.: 0 27 35 / 70-1 E-Mail:[email protected] www.ssi-schaefer.com