Intelligent automation increases warehouse performance

Weiling, headquartered in Coesfeld, is one of the leading organic wholesalers in Germany. The family business, founded in 1975, now employs around 700 people and generates an annual turnover of 261 million euros. The range includes over 12,000 organic products - from dry goods and dairy products to drinks and natural cosmetics.

With steady growth and the desire to further expand the product range and capacities, logistics were increasingly reaching their limits. New structures were needed to ensure shorter delivery times and efficient processing. More than ten years ago, the decision was therefore made to expand the logistics site. In two expansion stages, space was created for 7,000 instead of the previous 5,000 dry products, including pasta, rice, drinks and spices. After analyzing various automation solutions, Weiling finally decided to work with Swisslog. The result: an automated high-bay warehouse and a modern AutoStore system, which today ensure greater efficiency and flexibility in the warehouse.

The AutoStore automated bin storage and picking system is used at Weiling to store around 6,000 slow-moving articles - so-called B and C articles - in a space-saving and efficient manner. The special feature of AutoStore is its compact design: an aluminum grid enables containers to be stacked close together and on top of each other - without any aisles. The containers are stored and retrieved by the AutoStore robots: autonomous vehicles that move on the surface of the grids to pick up or set down containers. The goods are stored and retrieved via connected workstations - known as ports.

AutoStore can be modularly adapted and even integrated into existing buildings with difficult layouts, different floor levels or low ceilings. "Swisslog was actually very important for us in implementing this solution for the future. The expansion of our product range has resulted in a lower turnover rate for C-items. AutoStore is ideal for us not only for this, but also for the efficient use of space," explains Gordon Offermann, Head of Logistics at Weiling.

The AutoStore system was installed in a newly built warehouse in Coesfeld. Covering an area of 1,050 square meters, it offers space for a total of 47,089 bin storage locations. In the first expansion stage, 28,800 containers were initially installed, each with internal dimensions of 601 × 401 × 310 millimetres. The number of robots was increased from 37 to 61. Picking takes place at twelve so-called carousel port stations, while two conveyor ports are responsible for storing the bins. The new solution now enables up to 1,200 container movements per hour, improving throughput and picking performance with up to 160 picks per port and hour. This increase in performance has directly contributed to doubling turnover in the dry goods sector.

The compact warehouse is operated and monitored by the AutoStore Control system, a specialized software with corresponding technical equipment. AutoStore Control includes a standardized application programming interface (API) for connection to the Swisslog warehouse management system (WMS).

Automated high-bay warehouse and warehouse management system

Swisslog also built a two-aisle high-bay warehouse with two storage and retrieval machines (Vectura) on an undeveloped part of the site with a floor area of 160 m² and a height of 34 meters. It offers 6,341 storage locations for pallets of bulk products such as wine or mineral water. The two Vectura storage and retrieval machines handle storage and retrieval fully automatically and also supply the manual picking area. Up to 50 movements per hour are possible. Temperature-sensitive zones are protected by high-speed doors, which ensure a controlled temperature at the interfaces to the conveyor system and the picking stations if required.

Both new Weiling warehouses are controlled and managed via Swisslog's in-house warehouse management system SynQ. The version implemented at Weiling offers functions for the AutoStore system, intelligent storage location allocation in the high-bay warehouse and end-to-end transport management throughout the entire facility. The user-friendly SPOC (Single Point of Control) interface enables central and clear control of all warehouse processes and offers complete transparency of all warehouse processes. Bernd Weiling, founder, owner and Managing Director of Weiling, is delighted: "Our new logistics system provides us with the best possible tools to achieve our growth targets more efficiently and with fewer errors, both in terms of expanding our product range and the associated increase in turnover."