I
n theworldof logistics, asimple click
by the customer sets inmotiona
“chain reaction”.Whether it’splacing
anorder for astandardpneumatic
valve from the Festoproduct catalogueor
configuringa tailoredvalve
terminal bya Festo technical consultant,
the customer isblissfullyunawareofwhat
happensbetweenplacing theorder and it
beingdelivered. Like thewheels inawatch
mechanism, theprocess isbasedon
everythingworking together seamlessly.
As the fastbeatingheartof theentire
Festo logisticsoperation, theCustomer
ServiceCentre (CSC) inSt. Ingbert-
Rohrbach in theSaarlandkeeps theflow
of goodsmovingat full speed. Around400
employeesprocessup to40,000order
itemsper day. 41storageand retrieval
vehiclesandnine fullyautomatedorder
pickersmoveorderingquantitiesof any
sizearoundanareaof 31,800m².
100 tonnesaday
Ralf Rosar,Headof CSC, is justifiably
proudof theefficiencyanddynamismof
the logistics centre: “Since itwas created
in1996,we’veexpanded four times to
keep improving theperformanceof the
CSC.”Duringa tourof theenormousspace,
theseasoned logisticsexpert recounts
how“today it isasefficient and innovative
as theproducts themselves”.Hegoeson
toexplainhow thecreationandexpansion
of theCSCalsoenabledamove froma
decentralisedsystem toa centralisedone
for theEuropean inventory.
Europeanend customersaccount for the
majorityof theCSC’s incomingorders. It
alsosuppliesall plants, Regional Service
Centres (RSC) andnational companies
around theworldwithfinishedgoodsand
productionmaterials for international
customers. Todo this it needsspace,
somethingput toveryefficientuse in the
CSC. “Wehave168,000 container storage
locations, soearlyonwearranged them in
two rows, onebehind theother,”explains
Ralf Rosar. Employeeswork round the
clock in threeshifts tomakesure thatall
incominggoodsareprocessedquicklyand
without interruption. Eachday, over100
tonnesofproductspass through the25
loadingbaysof thedistribution centre.
Speedyprocessing, efficient packaging
Toensure faster turnaround times for
customers,Rosarandhisstaff
“turbocharged” the logisticssystemwith
a topmover areaandapartially
automatedpackagingsystem. The top
mover area isdedicated toaround350of
themost frequently requestedmaterial
numbers. Theyaccount for 40per cent of
all delivery itemsacrossall available
articles.Threestorage towers, eachwith
itsown liftingbar conveyor, cut
processing times for “topmovers”by two
thirds.
Partiallyautomatedpackagingof small
parcels reduces thepreviouslyhighly
manual part of thepackagingprocess,
thereforemaking it less time consuming.
It takes four staff just onehour toget
up to1,000packages ready for shipping,
allmadepossible thanks to intelligent
interactionbetweenpeopleand
machines.With thissystem, thesmall
boxesarefirst erected ina fully
automatedprocess, thenstandardised
insert traysaremanuallyfilledwith
productsbeforebeingstretchwrapped
Issue27
trends inautomation
Impulse
24
–
25
