Swisslog, the automated intralogistics solutions provider, has established its brand as a leading global provider of efficient automation solutions, which it designs, develops and delivers for warehouses and distribution centres. Recognised for its outstanding expertise, service and quality, Swisslog offers best-in-class, integrated systems and services from a single source – from consulting to design, implementation and lifetime customer service.
Automated intralogistics is by its very nature fast-moving, and Swisslog has made a name for itself having introduced a stream of innovations, most recently its CarryPick and Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) technologies. Behind the company’s continuing success are 2,300 employees worldwide, supporting customers throughout more than 50 countries. James Sharples, Managing Director of Swisslog (UK) spoke to Warehouse & Logistics News.
Q: First of all James, can you explain in non-technical terms, what you and your colleagues at Swisslog mean by ‘automated intralogistics’ (AI)?
JS: ‘Automated intralogistics’ is a concept used to describe the inclusion of automated materials handling equipment and intelligent software and controls within logistics processes. Using the latest technology, including robots, conveyors, sensors and software, we automate customers’ processes and improve their storage and picking operations.
Q: What does your role as MD of Swisslog UK involve day to day? Do you personally play a part in developing and implementing individual AI solutions for customers?
JS: Much of my work involves liaising with customers and ensuring we are delivering the right level of service to them. It’s important to look at both current customers and potential future ones, as well as maintain an eye on where the market is going. Whilst I enjoy the day-to-day work, I’m more of a facilitator. It’s really up to me to balance the immediate needs of the business and align it with the long term goals of our stakeholders, so that usually means a lot of meetings!
Q: What kinds of items are your automated intralogistics solutions designed to handle – Palletised goods or smaller items, or both?
JS: Our solutions are individually designed for each customer, from a portfolio of proven technology. We can handle, store and pick anything from food items to car body parts, blood samples to computer parts, and everything in between.
Q: We’ll come back to the specific technologies you offer in a moment. Before that, how do you sum up the Swisslog approach? What makes Swisslog’s solutions inspired?
JS: Innovation plays a large part – many of our solutions are innovative and help our customers to stand apart in the crowd; we consider our solutions to be inspired if they create outstanding benefits for our customers.
Q: There have been major changes in warehousing and logistics practice over the last few years, as a result of the growth of e-commerce. How has your market positioning shifted?
JS: We’ve certainly seen a lot of interest in automation, particularly as e-commerce has taken hold. Our positioning has changed from being perceived mainly as a provider of pallet based solutions to now having the widest portfolio of intralogistics automation solutions on the market.
Q: How ‘big’ is the UK for you as a marketplace? / What characterises your UK customer base?
JS: The UK is a rapidly expanding and very important market for Swisslog. Here, there is a mature logistics sector and success carries credibility elsewhere in the world. We’re growing our team locally in the UK to serve the increasing demand we see for our technologies, thanks to the likes of ASDA, Ocado, TJ Morris, Walkers, and other leading brands such as P&G, Jaguar and Unilever. Major UK food and beverage, chilled food, e-retail and pharmaceutical industries turn to us, and there are also a number of specialist industries like major ports, finance, printing houses and the hospital sector where we have traditionally had a strong UK presence.
Q: Coming back to technology, can you summarise your portfolio of intralogistics automation solutions?
JS: In essence, if it requires handling, storing, sorting or picking, our portfolio is designed to accommodate all requirements in the most efficient way possible, either via integration with existing infrastructure or by providing an entirely new one.
Q: We’re hearing a lot at the moment about your recently launched CarryPick and HRI (Human-Robot Interaction) technologies. Can you talk us through these, and some of the customers using them?
JS: Even just a few years ago, the notion of humans and robots working closely side-by-side to achieve better results, was nothing but a futuristic idea. Safety was a key concern, and public acceptance could not be taken for granted. Today there is a groundswell of opinion that the development of HRI technology will help mankind, not overtake it! Our newly developed Automated Item Pick workstation has made the vision a reality. It’s perfectly suited for industrial applications, as it combines automated storage and picking systems from Swisslog, such as CarryPick and AutoStore, with KUKA’s collaborative lightweight robot, LBR iiwa (pronounced “Eva”), to create the first-ever interactive human-robot picking station. iiwa is covered in sensors to react to any kind of human contact, and can safely take care of heavier loads than a manual operator.
![CarryPick-3[4]](https://warehousenews.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/CarryPick-34.jpg)
We’ve also recently worked with DB Schenker to provide an innovative solution based on CarryPick for a leading toy retailer. The solution consists of 65 Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs), 1,500 mobile racking units and seven ergonomic workstations, installed together with Swisslog’s WarehouseManager. The technology behind the fully automated storage and order fulfilment solution has been proven in similar installations across the world, but this is the first time, that the full scale CarryPick solution will be implemented. It will provide the end user, Lekmer.com, with an automated supply chain that guarantees faster order processing and higher quality as well as lower handling costs.
Q: How can a potential end user tell whether their operation would benefit from one of your solutions?
JS: Most of the businesses contacting Swisslog have outgrown their existing operation or are expanding quickly without a set-up which supports their future growth plans. E-Commerce is a huge area, as it brings challenges that even established retailers have difficulty in incorporating into their operations, which may have been set up for palletised deliveries for years before needing to switch to picking and single or mixed item delivery. They may be looking at the best way to invest long term, and are unsure how to move to an automated process, or they may just be tired of the difficulties and costs associated with manual processes.
Of course, it would be wrong of us to jump to conclusions about how we can improve a potential customer’s operations, that’s why our designers work closely with potential customers to work through the options in line with business data and growth ambitions. We run simulations, demonstrations and phased implementations to ensure our solutions deliver in line with expectations.
Q: Can you talk us through the steps in a Swisslog automated intralogistics technology project? How quickly can you implement a solution? Do you offer customer training at the end of it?
JS: It typically takes between 6 and 18 months to install a new solution, although how quickly projects progress is largely determined by the pressures the customer faces as well as the technical scale and complexity. Once solutions are up and running, implementing changes is much quicker. Last year we added additional capacity for a selection of UK retailers within a matter of weeks to support them in preparing for peak seasonal periods.
In terms of specific steps, this would start with planning, designing and managing scalable, reliable solutions that enable our clients to meet their customer needs. We realise turnkey solutions, as well as build them into the fabric of existing buildings, to provide tailor-made facilities that perfectly match each customer’s optimized flow of goods. Once solutions are up and running we continue to work closely with customers to keep their facilities optimized and running smoothly, protecting the investment they have made and ensuring ongoing customer satisfaction.
We consult customers throughout this process and yes, this includes the provision of training; not only in the typical sense but by working collaboratively with customers to ultimately ensure the best solution is provided. We recently produced a trial picking station for a UK Grocery customer which they were able to test, provide feedback on and tweak prior to it becoming part of the final design of their solution. It’s through initiatives like these that we can take our training to the next level; where we can engage our customers’ colleagues and get feedback first-hand which can be built into our solutions.
Q: How flexible are your solutions as customers’ operations change?
JS: Completely. Scalability is a big factor and something we always consider with our customers. It’s why we are continuing to create modular solutions, like AutoStore and CarryPick
Q: Finally, where do you see Swisslog developing from here?
JS: We continue to work on innovation projects; research and technology is incredibly important to us. Our financial and technical performance has been excellent and we have positioned ourselves as leaders in a rapidly developing marketplace. We are excited by the prospects presented by our recent acquisitions, and the technical knowhow that they bring. We have received excellent feedback on our successes to date and there are many more exciting times ahead.
We already have considerable experience from our work across the globe, and you can expect more from us soon. As ever it is in the application of the new technology, bringing it all together, that we find real customer benefits. That’s the exciting bit!
Swisslog (UK) Limited
Tel: 01527 551 600
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