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Kuehne + Nagel is a leading worldwide third party logistics organisation providing a range of specialist 24/7 distribution services to industrial, commercial and professional companies. It embraces all temperature bands in the food sector together with a variety of services for non-food consumer goods.
Supporting clients in key market sectors such as food, automotive, electronics, mobile communications, IT and chemicals, the company has highly developed skills in related areas such as installation and assembly services for shop fittings, repair and refurbishment of fittings and refrigeration cabinets. It also covers home delivery, container and crate rental for relocation operations and the provision and asset control of all types of returnable transit packaging.
At its Veghel distribution centre in the Netherlands, Kuehne + Nagel employs extensive information systems, coupled with highly-automated materials handling and storage. Sitting at its heart is Autostore, Europe's leading enterprise warehouse management system. Autostore, developed by Central Systems & Automation, manages the delivery, pick, packing and shipping of an extensive range of perishable food products for major manufacturers such as Unilever and Mars - all night, all day, every day.
Kuehne + Nagel is the leading provider of chilled and ambient logistics services in the Netherlands. It also provides a full service capability in Belgium, collectively operated from its 650,000 sq.ft warehousing facility at Veghel, near Eindhoven in Holland. The Veghel warehouse complex took 11 months to build and is over 120 feet high. Based there is Kuehne + Nagel's Ambient Division - market leader in consolidated transportations solutions for major food manufacturers - plus the Chill and Services Division that offers a range of services to specialist food manufacturers and retailers.
Autostore maximises the performance of a warehouse by improving both the quality of information and the inbound/outbound flow of materials, simplifying everyday warehouse management tasks while improving scheduling and planning decisions. It communicates with different computer systems, mechanical handling equipment (for example automated guided vehicles, cranes and conveyors) and integrates seamlessly with existing corporate management/ERP systems to give users full visibility and control over all current stock in real-time.
Goods in ...
At Veghel, Autostore receives electronic pre-advice notifications for all planned deliveries to the site from the Kuehne + Nagel ERP system. When a delivery arrives, the vehicle is checked and all the pallets unloaded by an automatic vehicle unloading facility. Under instruction from Autostore, the conveyor automatically transfers the pallets - typically weighing one tonne each - to goods-in for indexation. Further deliveries are made from other depots, which are unloaded conventionally by fork lift truck and the pallets placed on the input conveyors.
Hans Russens, site manager at Kuehne + Nagel:
"For both types of delivery, the pallets are profiled to check the balance and measurements. The barcode label on each pallet is automatically scanned, cross-referenced and validated against the pre-delivery advice. Incoming goods may also be accepted without pre-advice and the EAN pallet label data used to create the pallet reference information in Autostore. The process applies as much to the manual zones of the warehouse, which use fork lift trucks, as it does to the automated zones in the high bay".
Real-time analysis in the automated High Bay ...
Veghel's high bay measures nearly 500 feet long, is 240 feet wide and 120 feet high, giving a total surface area in excess of 55,000 sq.ft. There are 11 aisles, each with an automated narrow aisle stacker crane and a over 52,000 pallet storage locations, capable of storing both Euro and Chep pallets. The racking is double-depth and contains three different slot height dimensions.
Autostore manages and co-ordinates all pallet movements within the high-bay through real-time analysis of pallet data, user-definable storage strategies and zoning rules. Product and workload balancing across all aisles is automatically maintained by Autostore, ensuring maximum efficiency and utilisation of equipment. Infra-red wireless devices provide the communications between Autostore and the stacker cranes. Pallet movement instructions are issued to the stacker cranes to operate in dual-cycle mode: putting away and picking in one operation.
Precision picking ...
A radio data terminal (RDT) is fitted in the cab of each fork lift truck, informing each picker exactly which product is required for each order. Pick faces are manually replenished by fork lift and a user-definable low stock trip point embedded in Autostore automatically triggers replenishment in the RDT system. This means that the case picker operates on a JIT basis, never running out of stock and that the number of orders can be handled whilst ensuring efficient customer response.
Autostore gives full visibility of the stock levels in each pick point at all times. Once orders are complete and ready for despatch. It instructs the fork lift operator to deliver the goods to the appropriate marshalling lane. Another team collects the goods, again receiving instructions from Autostore via RDT and loads a trailer through one of the 28 loading bays. The loads are then secured and are subsequently transported all over Europe.
Andrew McKaig, commercial director at Central Systems & Automation:
"Autostore's positive effect has been felt right across the entire Veghel operation. It has meant more effective time management, operational efficiency and stock/order throughput; not to mention pinpoint accurate stock management, better and more timely management information. All these factors have combined to deliver a fast return on investment for Kuehne + Nagel and operational benefits that drop straight through to the bottom line.
"In addition, Autostore interfaces directly with the in-house ERP systems at both Mars and Unilever, making for a seamless sharing of data in real-time. This further cuts precious time out of the distribution equation, cutting cost and improving delivery times and freeing up valuable management time to ensure even higher levels of customer service and satisfaction".