As the global cold chain logistics industry experiences unprecedented growth, driven by increasing demand for temperature-sensitive products, the need for efficient and reliable cold storage solutions has never been greater.
According to the Cold Chain Federation’s 2024 report, the UK cold chain sector is critical to the nation’s economy, contributing £14 billion to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and supporting 184,000 jobs. Growth within the sector is being fuelled by a rise in consumer demand for affordable food products with improved nutritional value and shelf life. Additionally, the globalisation of food supply chains is contributing to this growth.
In response, many cold chain storage and distribution operators are adopting automated facilities. The benefits include reducing energy usage and costs, mitigating labour challenges, and meeting sustainability commitments. Swisslog is leading this charge with its innovative automation solutions, setting new standards for efficiency and reliability in deep-freeze environments.
Maximising storage and efficiency
In the United States, Agile Cold Storage has leveraged Swisslog’s automation to enhance its operations. Agile’s new automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS) increased storage density by nearly three times, allowing them to store significantly more pallets within the same square footage. This automation also enhanced throughput, efficiency, and flexibility in both pallet storage and replenishment operations.
Adam Fox, UK Business Development Manager at Swisslog, says: “Swisslog was selected for this automation project due to the quality of our Vectura cranes, the stability and functionality of our SynQ software, and our strong reputation for installation and lifecycle support.”
A benchmark in automation
Norway’s Unil AS, part of NorgesGruppen, has also seen many opportunities and benefits with Swisslog solutions. Unil’s automation journey began in 2008 in response to rapidly increasing demand combined with high costs for its inventory management. At that time, inventory management was performed by a handful of external manual warehouses. The high-bay warehouse, with 105,000 pallet locations, has enabled Unil to ship around 560,000 pallets per year, with the capacity to ship up to one million pallets.
Adam Fox adds: “With the latest expansion of Unil’s high-bay warehouse starting in 2019, the company has gained the capacity needed to offer high product availability at all times.”
Supporting ambitious growth plans
In the UK, Swisslog is supporting Greggs’ expansion. Greggs’ strategic growth plan, announced in 2021, set out ambitious expansion targets requiring investment in significant supply chain capacity. A new purpose-built facility will provide additional manufacturing capacity for products – including new savoury and sweet production lines – as well as logistics for frozen storage and fully automated robotic shop order picking and distribution solutions from Swisslog.
“Our strong partnerships demonstrate our commitment to support growth plans, however ambitious, with cutting-edge automation,” says Adam Fox. “By integrating advanced robotic systems and innovative software solutions, we enable our customers to scale their operations efficiently and sustainably. Collaborating with Swisslog not only supports immediate expansion goals but also positions businesses for long-term success in a competitive market.”
Driving the future of cold chain logistics
Swisslog’s innovative automation solutions are not only enhancing operational efficiency but also paving the way for a more sustainable and resilient cold chain logistics industry. “Automation is not just about efficiency; it’s about creating resilient and sustainable supply chains that can adapt to future challenges,” Adam emphasises.
“By leveraging advanced technologies, we are helping businesses to not only meet current demands but also to anticipate and respond to future market shifts. Our solutions are designed to provide the flexibility and scalability needed to thrive in an ever-evolving landscape, ensuring that our customers are always a step ahead in delivering high-quality, temperature-sensitive products to their customers,” he concludes.
For more detailed insights into these success stories and more, visit the Swisslog website at www.swisslog.com to explore a diverse catalogue of case studies and videos.
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