Robotics in RetailStore-friendly-sequencing through

warehouse-friendly automation

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SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT

The Supply Chain

September 2017

Solutions for materials handling, logistics & distribution

Dematic SFC_Layout 1 9/13/17 10:12 AM Page 1

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As online competition escalates,retailers are under growingpressure to maximise the value

and performance of their high-streetestates. To do so, many are adopting thepractice of store-friendly-sequencing tofree-up stockrooms for the moreprofitable purpose of displaying anincreased range of goods – boostingsales and increasing profitability.

An additional benefit of the techniqueis the time saved by staff whenreplenishing shelves and racks, as mixedgoods arrive pre-stacked in shelfsequence according to store plans,allowing greater attention to be given tohelping customers.

Originally developed by the grocerysector, the practice is now becomingmore widely adopted by departmentstores and fashion chains – making in-store operational efficiency the newbattleground for retailers. Who needs astockroom when pallets and roll-cagesarrive stacked with goods stripped ofouter packaging and all sequenced inshelf order?

However, there are a number ofcritical issues to address. Achieving in-store efficiency requires carefulpreparation of loads in the distributioncentre – and that takes a well-ordered

sequence of operations. Within the warehouse, traditional

labour intensive methods of preparingmixed case pallets for storereplenishment are coming underincreasing strain, as up-scaling ofoperations and tightening labourresources take their toll on productivity.Huge, low-height warehouses bustlingwith manual activity are no longer seenas the way forward by leading brands.Instead, a newly developed strategyintegrating robotics, driverless forklifttrucks, automation and artificialintelligence is fast becoming thepreferred solution – giving scale,accuracy and consistency.

Critically, this union of technologyallows the advantages of automation tobe realised within retailers’ existing 10 –15 m high warehouses and existingpallet racking. Until recently, aconstraint on the adoption ofautomation for case-pick and palletassembly has been the notion that theheight of existing warehouses needs tochange in order to house largeautomated high-bays.

This thinking is changing, thanks tomore flexible solutions that combineDematic’s Automated Mixed CasePalletising (AMCAP®) with Dematic

Egemin’s advanced technology fordriverless forklift trucks. Existingwarehouses can now be transformedinternally and upgraded in a flexible andscalable way, radically shrinking thefloor space needed to prepare store-friendly-sequenced unit loads. Thiscombination of bringing AMCAP® andAutomated Guided Vehicle (AGV)technology together creates a seamlesssolution.

Dematic’s AMCAP® is a high-performance palletising system designedto assemble pallets that are ready foreasy shelf re-stocking at the retail storeand is flexible enough to cater fordiffering store layouts. As it combinesscalability with a compact footprint, itcan be easily integrated into existingfacilities. The design allows flexiblethroughput variations up to severalthousand cases per hour, bringing thecost per case down from typically 12p,for manual operations, to 5p withAMCAP®.

In effect, AMCAP® is an automated

Store-friendly-sequencingthrough warehouse-friendlyautomationStore-friendly-sequencing holds the potential to boost sales and reduce in-store costs on the highstreet. But how do you step-up the pace in the warehouse without having to rebuild it? By MattWeston, Head of Solutions Design, Dematic Northern Europe and Noë van Bergen, BusinessDevelopment Mobile Automation EMEA, Dematic Egemin.

Dematic AMCAP®Palletising System

Far left Matt WestonLeft Noë vanBergen

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robotic system comprising three distinctprocesses: Case De-palletising, wherecases are taken from the stock palletusing a robot or hoist equipped withvacuum and side clamp technology:Case Storage and Retrieval using aDematic Multishuttle® store (DMS),where de-palletised cases aretemporarily stored; and Pallet Buildingwhere products from the DMS are re-oriented and assembled onto a pallet orroll-cage, either semi-automatically orfully-automatically, as required, andthen wrapped in-situ before beinglabelled and taken away by conveyor orDematic Egemin driverless vehicle todispatch or storage.

Dematic’s AMCAP® system hasevolved significantly over the last fiveyears. Early projects required cases to beplaced on trays with bespoke plasticbases, but continued development hasnow completely eliminated the need fora tray on in-bound cases, which in turnhas removed the requirement fordedicated equipment for ‘traying’, ‘de-traying’ and tray buffering. Direct casehandling from de-palletiser to palletiserlowers the risk of accidental damage tocases and saves costs, as well as space. Inaddition, product is securely trackedfrom pallet to case, which cuts out theneed for reading case barcodes.

The intelligence behind the wholeAMCAP® process is Dematic’s iQ PackBuilder software, which directs palletbuilding according to how the retailerwants to receive the cases – by familygroup or store planogram. Cases arrive atthe palletiser in precise sequence and areautomatically loaded accordingly. Whenthe mixed-case pallet arrives in-store, thecases are unloaded in order of the plan,minimising shelf-stocking time.

However, it is the marriage of

intelligent software, sensors, safetysystems controls and navigationtechnology, makes fully automatedguided vehicles from standardwarehouse trucks, enabling them to bedriverless, navigate and handle goodsautomatically, whilst still retaining theability to be manually driven.

Using Dematic Egemin’s trafficmanagement software, 360°intralogistics automation can be readilyachieved, optimising the control andallocation of vehicles across the entiresystem from goods received, VeryNarrow Aisle (VNA) pick and dropstations, and storage and retrieval, totaxi movements for AMCAP® cells andtake-away to dispatch.

A further significant advantage ofscaling up to automation using DematicEgemin controlled vehicles is that thetrucks can be manually operated ifrequired and automation can beintroduced in stages – as demanddictates – giving scalability, without theneed to undertake expensive structuralchanges to the building. Facilities canremain accessible and user friendly, freefrom the physical barriers imposed byfully automated high-bay and conveyorsystems.

If retail organisations are able toautomate their existing distributioncentres using AMCAP® technologycoupled with Dematic Egemin driverlesstrucks, then achieving productivity andinstore cost improvements on the highstreet – with all the potential to growsales and boost profits – becomes arealistic and irresistible option.

AMCAP® technology with DematicEgemin’s expertise in creating driverlessvehicles from KION Groupmanufactured forklift trucks that bringssome of the greatest rewards. Byautomating standard very-narrow-aisletrucks and low-level pallet trucksexisting, conventional rackinginstallations can be fully utilised andeasily upgraded to efficiently move in-bound pallets of product in and out ofstorage, feeding the AMCAP® cells asdemanded by Dematic’s iQ controlsoftware. In turn, completed mixed casepallets or roll-cages can be taken awayby driverless trucks to either despatchbays or storage.

Importantly, Dematic Egemin’sHYBRID automation pack, comprising

Below, DematicMultishuttle ®Bottom, DematicEgemin’s HYBRID

AMCAP® / MobileAutomationWarehouseSolution