KNAPP is a leading global supplier of logistics automation, with around 2000 active installations. Founded in 1952 and headquartered in Hart bei Graz, Austria, the KNAPP group has a network of 53 locations worldwide and over 5000 employees. Key clients for KNAPP UK include Boots, British Gas, Clarks, John Lewis, M&S, Staples and Well.
Managing Director at KNAPP UK Ltd
Craig Rollason, Managing Director at KNAPP UK, spoke to Warehouse & Logistics News.
What products or services does your company offer?
KNAPP is renowned for delivering logistics solutions featuring rapid, efficient and accurate technologies for storage, order picking and transport, as well as leading-edge software and excellent customer service to ensure maximum system availability.
Our best-known technology is the OSR Shuttle™ Evo automated storage and retrieval system, which forms the heart of many of our solutions. This energy- and space-efficient ASRS can serve ergonomic workstations from our Pick-it-Easy range or fully automated fulfilment cells featuring our Pick-it-Easy Robot solution. The shuttle storage concept can also be integrated with our Open Shuttle automated mobile robots (AMRs) to connect every location in a distribution centre or production plant in a solution that we call OSR Shuttle™ Evo+.
Another key product is our Pocket Sorter, an overhead conveying matrix sortation technology that arranges suspended pockets of picked goods into the precise sequence required for dispatch. The Pocket Sorter is also perfect for handling returns. Other KNAPP solutions include intelligent conveyor systems, the KNAPP-Store robotic ASRS and the Central Belt (A-frame) automatic picking system. New developments include our Project RetailCX automated in-store retail systems, which feature intelligent picking robots combined with features such as interactive screens, self-service checkouts and 24/7 vending devices.
All our logistics solutions feature smart software and seamless integration, which we call KNAPP Intelligence and which enables us to realise our slogan of ‘making complexity simple’.
Which industries do your customers operate in and which sectors offer your business the most potential over the next year?
Our core business units are Retail, Food Retail, E-commerce, Fashion, Healthcare, Wholesale and Industry. Of these, E-commerce and Healthcare are likely to provide the most potential for 2021.
Have you celebrated any milestones this year?
Yes, June 2020 marked 10 years since Dürkopp Fördertechnik joined the KNAPP group. With its overhead-conveying technology for garment handling, Dürkopp brought valuable expertise to enable KNAPP to deliver integrated solutions to handle both hanging garments and flat-packed goods.
Another milestone was reaching a total of 40,000 shuttles installed worldwide since KNAPP pioneered the shuttle storage concept back in 2002. An impressive 10,000 of these shuttles have been delivered as part of 375 of our latest-generation OSR Shuttle™ Evo systems installed globally to date.
How did the Covid-19 outbreak and subsequent lockdown affect your business?
On-site installations are an important part of our business and this activity was initially difficult but we managed to overcome all the issues quickly through innovative ways of working. For example, virtual meetings and remote intervention technology enabled us to press ahead with the go-live for a major UK e-com client on schedule, just days into the lockdown in March.
The pandemic placed considerable stress on warehouse operations for some of our clients, who had to ramp up operations rapidly to meet spikes in demand in the e-com and healthcare sectors. To assist, we managed to redeploy some of our customer service technicians during the lockdown from client sites that were less busy to those facing unexpected peaks.
What trends do you see influencing logistics over the coming years?
Higher levels of e-com volumes will continue to be a feature, as many consumers have been converted by the convenience and security of online retail during the Covid-19 restrictions.
The growth in hyper-local fulfilment through the construction of micro-fulfilment centres (MFCs) is likely to continue too. KNAPP has partnered with Takeoff Technologies to supply grocery chains including Albertsons in the US and Woolworths in Australia with MFCs that can be up-and-running within a few months. The concept equips a small part of an existing supermarket with an automated store that serves a goods-to-person picking area, enabling order collections and deliveries to be made in just a few hours.
How future proof is your business?
Growth in the grocery, healthcare and e-com sectors resulting from the pandemic has accelerated the trend to automate, so the logistics automation market is extremely buoyant right now and we expect sales to reflect this next year and beyond.
KNAPP has always invested heavily in research and development in order to remain a pioneer of logistics technology. The past business year 2019-20 was no exception, with 56 million euros invested in R&D.
In what areas are you making technological advances?
Foremost is our progress in the field of robotics and AI. Our collaboration with Covariant means our Pick-it-Easy Robot automated picking system is powered by leading-edge artificial intelligence. This enables it to be self-teaching, reacting dynamically and learning from robots installed around the world.
Another AI application is our redPILOT software. This cloud-based solution is designed to optimise warehouse operations – creating shift plans, preventing errors and allocating resources – with all experience used for machine learning. Of course, optimising the use of available labour has become vital for business continuity and informed decision-making in the context of the pandemic. The redPILOT teamAPP enables flexible personnel assignment, seamlessly dovetailing worker shift preferences into the planning process.
Secondly, with our KiSoft Analytics tool, clients can transform big data into smart data. Being cloud-based affords worldwide access to the data platform via a mobile app. KiSoft Analytics constantly analyses a client’s data, visualising KPIs on dashboards to give an instant overview of warehouse processes, benchmark performance and identify trends.
The third area of significant progress is vision technology. Through systems developed by KNAPP group member, ivii, we have integrated advanced image-recognition technology into our logistics systems for distribution and manufacturing plants worldwide to enhance accuracy, efficiency and quality. Another ivii solution – ivii.global.assist – has proven especially useful during the Coronavirus period. Using web-based software, this system connects people anywhere in the world using hands-free, mobile image and sound technology through smart glasses. If travel restrictions are in place, ivii.global.assist provides the perfect solution for remote support for system inspections, maintenance or even guided start-up.
What do you offer in terms of customer service?
Through our System Support 360°+ we offer a comprehensive range of services that are tailored to individual client needs. Our service portfolio includes a 24/7 Hotline that provides support around the clock, with customer calls automatically transferred to one of the KNAPP hubs available in different time zones (Graz and Leoben in Austria, USA, Brazil or China). We provide on-site services ranging from repairs to analytics for predictive maintenance and lifecycle management.
Most of the larger systems we deliver are supported by resident teams of KNAPP technicians – there are currently 15 across the UK and Ireland, with over 220 skilled engineers. We also offer field service support, spare parts management and a range of value-added services – such as thermal imaging surveys, leak detection, condition-based monitoring, condition audits and inspections for racking, shelving, and LOLER. KNAPP’s service portal, e-insight, allows customers to view current and historical maintenance data anytime, anywhere.
Will you be exhibiting at any major trade shows over the next year?
We plan to exhibit at IMHX (14-16 Sep) at the NEC in Birmingham, as well as at the IntraLogisteX (27-28 May) and Robotics & Automation (2-3 Nov) shows at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena.
How would you sum up your company in three words?
Pioneering, reliable, collaborative.
KNAPP UK LTD
01865 965000
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