Wine distributor Hawesko Group has improved its warehouse performance by 50% thanks to the deployment of 20 autonomous mobile robots (AMR) from Körber and Geekplus.
Hawesko handles 20 million bottles of wine and champagne annually via its in-house logistics service provider IWL. It now has Geekplus robots operating 330 shelves across an expanded 6,000m2 area at its facility in Tornesch, Germany.
Behind the scenes, all operational warehouse processes converge on Körber’s digital logistics platform. The warehouse management system (WMS) acts as an operational hub, while the subdivided unified control system (UCS) optimizes the control of the automated technology portfolio and creates extended communication interfaces to the robotics application. Because of this, pick performance in the expanded area has more than doubled.
“Given the growth in online retail, the importance of efficient processes to support e-commerce fulfillment has increased significantly. High-performing and resource-efficient solutions are required to address increasing customer demands and seasonal fluctuations,” explained Michael Brandl, executive vice president of software EMEA at Körber Business Area Supply Chain. “The new solution accomplished this for the Hawesko Group through an integrated combination of WMS, AMR technology and UCS.”
“Compared with the use of conventional automation solutions, the expansion in Tornesch proved to be the most economically effective solution, creating not only additional storage capacity but also the necessary freedom for future expansion,” added Frederick Paulsen, project manager for information logistics at IWL. “Capacities for up to 100 additional racks, which corresponds to approximately 40,000 additional article items, are possible in the future in the existing space.”
Geekplus has a longstanding partnership with Körber, which has grown to more than 3,000 robots deployed in 11 countries.