Dansk Supermarked Gruppen (DSG) is Denmark’s largest retail group, owning four general merchandise brands, comprising the hypermarkets Bilka and A-Z, føtex supermarkets, the Tøj & Sko clothing and shoe stores, and the grocery chain Netto.
To consolidate the operations of its expanding general merchandise brands and significantly reduce logistics costs, DSG has placed an order with leading automation logistics systems supplier Dematic for a highly flexible, high productivity Order Assembly system.
The challenge: building store-friendly orders for a diverse range of stores
In a consolidated logistics operation the challenge for DSG is building pallets for a diverse range of order profiles, from multiple pallet orders for the hypermarkets to half-pallets for the smaller stores, especially if the pallets need to be built for specific departments to reduce in-store logistics costs.
The large range of product types, with over 17,000 products, adds to the complexity as one department may require small products consolidated with very large products such as LCD screens on the one store pallet. Up to 100 different products need to be consolidated on one pallet in a store friendly sequence specific to each store’s and department’s requirements. Furthermore, all products need to be handled within the strict ergonomic regulations specified by the Danish Working Environment Authority (AT).
The Dematic Order Assembly solution, one of the most sophisticated and flexible logistics systems to be built in Europe, enables DSG to address these challenges in the one system. The system will integrate the latest generation of technologies, building up to 250 store-friendly pallets per hour for a diverse range of stores, from hypermarkets to small stores.
The “Pull” solution comprises sixteen ErgoPall ergonomic high rate palletising stations fed on demand from a high throughput Multishuttle buffer holding 180 shuttles. The buffer delivers cartons to the ErgoPall stations in the exact sequence required, enabling store-friendly pallets to be built according to the specific requirements of a store department.
High productivity is maintained as the palletising stations pull product from the buffer rather than having to wait for product to trickle down through the system. As each palletising station in the system essentially just builds pallets – albeit highly sequenced ones – the number and types of stores the system delivers to is not limited.
The multishuttle buffer will be replenished from stock stored in a highbay warehouse by way of ergonomic depalletising stations.
Handling orders with a mix of small and large items
Orders consisting of multiple small items will be put together in store totes at High Rate Put Stations capable of handling up to 400 order lines per hour. These store totes will be consolidated with cases in the Multishuttle order buffer before being fed to the ErgoPall stations.
A second high bay warehouse for larger items will store products such as the large LCD screens, which will be supplied on demand to the ErgoPall stations for consolidation with the store totes and smaller cases.
Dematic’s DC Director warehouse management and control system will provide real-time management of the system, ensuring seamless integration of all the subsystems and technologies from gatehouse to gatehouse.
To maximise the productivity of the system, a dedicated team of Dematic engineers will provide an all-inclusive on-site service, which includes a comprehensive maintenance program, all spare parts, and a 24x7x365 service hotline.
Significantly increasing the productivity and flexibility of DSG’s logistics operations
The justification for the high level of automation was based on significantly reduced cost per case, enabled by the significantly lower number of people that deliver the required throughput. The system will deliver up to 5,500 cases per hour to the palletising stations to build 250 store pallets per hour.
This step-change in productivity is on top of the high flexibility of ergonomically built store-friendly pallets, regardless of store format or number of stores handled. Any increases in the number of SKUs are readily managed by the system and the modular, scalable solution utilising standardised technology ensures ease of expandability in line with any future growth in throughput.
According to Alan Jensen, Director for IT and Logistics at DSG, “The Dematic Order Assembly solution will deliver significant advantages for both our retail and logistics operations. The solution’s ability to ergonomically build store-friendly pallets from a diverse range of products, from small cases and shop totes to very large cases on the one store pallet, for our three different retail operations was very important to us. These and a strong Return on Investment were the primary reasons for DSG choosing to work with Dematic.”
The system is planned to go live in the first half of 2010.
Summary of Benefits:
– Throughput up to 5,500 cases/hour,building 250 pallets/hour with 28 operators
– Store-friendly pallets efficiently built for 4 different store brands
– Up to 100 different products, from small cases, totes, and large cases consolidated at on the one store pallet
– Store-friendly orders, with pallets built in sequence specific to each store’s and department’s requirements
– High Rate Put Stations and ErgoPall stations deliver excellent ergonomics and high operator productivity
Dematic Ltd
Philip Makowski
Tel: 01295 274755
E: philip.makowski@dematic.com
www.dematic.co.uk
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