03 27 repacking stations
03 27 repacking stations and nine pick to tote work stations are positioned in the pre-zone of the shuttle system WAREHOUSING taken place in the new distribution center. It houses about 100,000 different articles; over 1.8 million individual items in total. “All types of articles – from large products to cosmetics and decorative items to hanging textile goods – are now bundled together in one location for every distribution channel,” explains Elina Laine. “The distribution center is the central component of our omni-channel strategy.” The supply of over-the-counter and e-commerce retail customers with flat and hanging goods (Image 01), as well as large and small accessories, from one single logistics facility presents a challenge for an efficient flow of materials and information. SSI Schaefer developed a solution that organizes the complex order handling processes into clear structures. By considering how to make the most efficient use of the 29,000 m² of warehouse space available, the automation components and IT installed guarantee the necessary performance. Furthermore, a five-strong team of technicians ensure for the continual maintenance and constant availability of the installation. The centerpiece of the concept is a shuttle system with 130,500 bin storage locations for double-deep storage. The warehouse was designed according to SSI Schaefer’s 3D-Matrix Solution. Forty-five shuttle lifts and 72 multi-level Navette shuttles (Image 02) guarantee the maximum availability and efficiency of the processes. “We were already looking for a shuttle solution when we issued the call for tenders,” adds Logistics Manager Laine. “The modular and scalable solution concept from SSI Schaefer impressed us immediately, as it provides our business with that all-important flexibility.” Furthermore, a pallet rack warehouse with 7,800 storage locations to replenish picking locations and a three-level hanging goods warehouse for more than 350,000 garments characterize the installation’s design. Efficient space utilization concept As a further structuring criterion, SSI Schaefer implemented an optimal space utilization concept in Tuusula. The whole warehouse complex is thus divided into two halls. One hall houses the shuttle system as well as the repacking and picking stations for flat goods. The pallet rack warehouse and the hanging goods warehouse are in the other hall. Between the two halls there is a sequencing buffer on a platform construction with two fully automated packing stations. The space utilization concept saw the work stations positioned in a way that the most compact conveying system units possible could be installed. This means 27 repacking and nine picking stations are located directly in front of the shuttle system (Image 03). A second level was created on a platform above the goods-in and out area that covers roughly one quarter of the picking area. On this platform, 22 workstations (Image 04) were installed for the dispatch of e-commerce orders. In the second hall in front of the hanging goods warehouse are the consolidation areas for goods-out. “The material flows for store and e-commerce orders had been consistently separated due to the different shipment packaging and transport service providers,” says Rami Syrjä, Sales Manager for SSI Schaefer in Finland. “Coordinating this, structuring it according to staging times and different priorities and maintaining this all in perfect balance across a single installation presents a considerable challenge for the design of the warehouse management system.” Stockmann opted for SSI Schaefer’s Wamas-logistics-software. This is responsible for stock management, process control for a coordinated order completion and also offers complete transparency via its visualization components. Inbound delivery of the goods take place both in the hanging goods and flat goods areas. At the repacking stations in the hanging goods area employees unpack the items of clothing delivered in cartons and hang them individually on coat hangers. After passing quality control, the goods are fed into a tunnel finisher as necessary, where they are steamed to remove any creases before they are transported to the warehouse area for hanging goods. The goods that are delivered to the goods-in area for flat goods are transported 04 At the e-commerce workstations, hanging and flat goods are consolidated and packed into shipping cartons WORLD OF INDUSTRIES – INTRALOGISTICS & DISTRIBUTION 3/2017
y forklifts either to replenish the pallet racks or directly to the repacking stations where they are deposited on pallet lift tables. This facilitates an ergonomically optimized repacking of the articles into the storage bin for the shuttle system. Optimal solution for omni-channel suppliers A conveying section transports the storage bins from the repacking stations to the transfer locations in the shuttle system. “The design according to the 3D-Matrix Solution with storage, buffering and sequencing in a single system, offers Stockmann maximum warehousing flexibility and efficiency,” explains Syrjä. A key construction characteristic is the consistent, parallel coordination of product movements along the X, Y and Z axes in the warehouse. The bins transported from the repacking stations are handed over to one of the shuttle lifts in the shuttle system. These transport the bins to one of the Navette’s eight travel levels and place them on transfer stations. There, the multi-level shuttle with load handling devices take up to four bins as necessary and transport them to the allocated storage locations. Per story, the Navettes serve up to six storage levels on top of each other. A further special feature is that in one load cycle, a Navette moves a total of four loading units simultaneously, serving storage locations on two storage levels in a single operating sequence. This allows storage and retrieval to occur simultaneously, resulting in minimized travel times and a doubling of process efficiency. Retrieval takes place in the reverse sequence. The bins are taken to one of the nine Pick to Tote work stations by the conveying system, where they are picked according to the goods to person principle. After picking, the bins that are to be delivered to stores return to the Navette and are consolidated there until the order is processed. For shipping e-commerce orders, the bins are transported directly to the packing locations in the e-commerce area, where they are repacked into shipping cartons. Parallel to this, a conveying section for hanging goods transports any order items from the hanging goods warehouse directly to the relevant packing location on the platform. Finally, the sealed and labeled shipping packages are taken to ground level by a conveying system, where they are sorted according to freight carrier and routed to the relevant shipping lane. Once the order is processed, the shipping bins that are to be delivered to department stores are retrieved from the shuttle system by the sequencing buffer. Finally, the shipping documents are printed and attached at the integrated printing stations and they are diverted to buffer lanes. On each of two levels, one on top of the other, nine lanes are available as a buffer for ten (dolly capacity) or 20 (pallet capacity) bins. When all the order bins are merged, the load carriers are transported under the platform by a conveying section and sent to an automated dolly stacker or palletizing robot. Finally, forklifts take the loaded pallets and dollies to the goods-out area, where they are consolidated with the order items of the manually picked hanging goods and prepared for loading. The system as a whole is currently designed to have a performance of 55,000 order lines with 180,000 articles per day. The innovative concept has already proven itself: “In the new distribution center we are now able to complete orders for department stores and online orders much more quickly and transparently than before,” summarizes Stockmann Logistics Manager Laine. Photographs: SSI Schaefer www.ssi-schaefer.com About SSI Schaefer Group The SSI Schaefer Group is the world’s leading provider of modular warehousing and logistics solutions. It employs over 8,500 people at its group headquarters in Neunkirchen, Germany, at its domestic and international production sites, and at its 60 foreign subsidiaries. Across six continents, SSI Schaefer develops and implements innovative industry-specific answers to its customers’ unique challenges. As a result, it plays a key role in shaping the future of intralogistics. WORLD OF INDUSTRIES – INTRALOGISTICS & DISTRIBUTION 3/2017
