Decrease costs, increase efficiency, increase service level – with these objectives in mind ES3 LLC focused on quality pallet packing. At the heart of this project was the continuing automation of the warehouse. ES3 implemented the first project with the extension of their distribution center in York, PA with the help of SSI Schaefer. SSI Schaefer received the order for delivering the logistics concept, detailed planning and implementation.In 2002 ES3 moved into the warehouse, which grew over the years to become the biggest automated grocery warehouse in the United States of America. Around 20,000 different items, groceries and household items are stored in the approx. 459,000 square feet complex. The goods are supplied by the manufacturers, ordered by stores and forwarded to the forwarding agents for shipping to the retailers. Dennis Senovich, President of ES3, explains the overall challenge, “The industry trend is an increasing number of SKUs with a slower turn velocity. The SCP is a sophisticated automation system that solves the complex problem of each picking and stable pallet building.” ES3 sought a compact, universal solution enabling the automation of the warehouse processes in addition to the automation of the order-related case picking and the shipping preparation of the deliveries. The ideal solution for the planned extension was the Schaefer Case Picking (SCP) concept combined with the Schaefer Tray System (STS). SSI Schaefer’s resulting solution offers nearly 90,000 tray storage positions with variable height classes in its SCP-high-bay warehouse. The material flows and commissioning locations are on different levels, which enable a throughput of more than 100,000 boxes per day, making ES3 one of the largest, most modern and most efficient automated case pick systems in the US. “The Schaefer Case Picking is a holistic, modular designed and extendable system solution", says Christoph Schenk, VP Operations for SSI Schaefer. “We were able to design an automated solution for ES3, which includes the entire process from goods receiving via storage to volume-optimized pallet creation. Physically demanding storage work was eliminated. In the enormous SCP-storage area only 12 employees per shift are required and they predominantly deal with process control and plant maintenance.”SSI Schaefer installed three of the modular designed Schaefer Case Picking systems, the warehouse management system “ant“ as well as an intelligent control system with pack pattern generator “Schaefer Pack Pattern Generator” (SPPG). The SPPG interprets data from the WMS so it can build the optimal shipping pallet in the shortest time. With this information the WMS initiates the operative processes for the automated pallet creation. SSI Schaefer designed the SCP-area the material flows for goods receiving, storing and goods shipping so they are on three separate levels. The goods receiving area is on the central level. The goods are supplied on pallets - up to 1,300 pallets per day. At the good in area a teach-in process for the IT-master data capture is performed by an employee. Light grids, a scale and a camera with Machine Vision Technology capture the dimensions, weight and look of the items and file a basic draft of the packing unit in the article data base. The optical control system with the Machine Vision Technology is also used at the order commissioning in the SCP, making further internal labeling such as barcode labeling unnecessary. After receipt the pallets are forwarded to a short conveyor system. It moves the pallets to two de-palletizing robots. The robots take the boxes in layers from the pallets and put them on trays, which are provided on a conveyor system - 16 boxes on one tray at an average. “With a combination of the gripping principles, the vacuum multigrip technology and a vacuum chamber with a mechanical gripping principle, the automated de-palletizing enables high functionality and gentle product handling - without the necessity of a tool change for the gripper”, says Schenk. "The dynamic parameters such as speed and acceleration as well as the gripper parameters vacuum; air flow and gripping force are always adjusted to the product characteristics and filed in the article data base.”The conveyor system then forwards the trays to six transfer positions that lead to the storage in the SCP high-bay warehouse. Because this consists of several boxes the trays are listed in the IT-system similar to totes. SSI Schaefer did not use conventional storage and retrieval machines for acceptance and storage into the 36-aisle high-bay warehouse. Instead, the system uses lift systems and rack vehicles, utilizing less space. Unlike conventional storage and retrieval machines that have a fork unit that goes below the trays, the STS has a gripping and pulling device to store and retrieve the trays. This reduces the necessary clearances in the rack system. Integrated tray-lifts, transported by the rack vehicles, take the trays to transfer positions on their respective rack level. The uncoupling of the horizontal storage movements by the rack vehicles from the vertically working lifts that carry out the sequencing, leads to very dynamic and efficient storages and retrievals. 36 STS-rack units, in approximately 12 feet high aisles, 6 aisles high and 6 wide, are installed in the rack system. The systems is 78 feet high and offers nearly 90,000 tray storage positions where SKUs are stored redundantly in several aisles in order to improve throughput. This allows the highest possible dynamic at the sequential commissioning.Customer focus and a high service level are guidelines of the grocery industry. The delivery of store-ready pallets is one of the goals. “With the SCP, SSI Schaefer offers the right components to efficiently automate the processes of goods receiving, to goods shipping", says Schenk. "With trays of 47.2”x39.37” and a limit of up to 500+ lbs. per locations the system in York is optimal designed for the large range of items ES3 distributes for C&S and other customers.”48 Case-Wheeler-lifts, which are integrated into the SCP-system and controlled by the warehouse management system, perform order-related retrieval. “This is a unique feature of the SCP-design“, says Schenk. “While conventional warehouses can only be served by lifts on the face side, the SCP-system can scale its performance up to the full efficiency of the rack vehicles by an arbitrary amount of lifts along the rack.” The trays are retrieved from the STS-rack by the rack vehicles and accepted by the Case-Wheeler-lifts - up to 4,500 trays per hour. They then transport the trays to a separate packing-level. There the item quantity on the trays is captured with the Machine Vision Technology, the necessary quantity is identified and respective box quantity - following the requirements of the packing pattern - is sequenced into one of three shoot-out-levels built on top of each other. Each SCP module is served by three conveyor belts one for every palletizing robots. The three modules of the SCP contain 3 robotic palletizers each where the cases are consolidated.Left and right of the robots are empty pallets which are packed by the robots consecutively. The system is designed for a throughput of up to 74 pallets per hour with 5,350 cases. The packing pattern specified by the WMS considers the type of product first. This way, for example, chemical products are not packed on groceries. The next packing criterion is the loading capacity of the products. This is a fundamental part of ensuring the stability of the pallet and that there is no damage to the product. This idea also incorporates the weight of the items - heavy boxes are packed before light ones. In addition family grouping where similar items are kept together is the last piece of information considered by the system. The pallets rest on helix lifters, which can slightly lower the mixed pallets after every packing layer until the specified pallet packing pattern is completely finished. The filled pallets are lowered by the 18 helix lifters to the goods shipping level, at the same time automatically wrapped by an integrated stretch wrapper for further stability and then sent on a pallet conveyor system to two buffering sections in the goods shipping area. Loading forklifts take the pallets from there to the trucks.“An intelligent system designed to fully-automate the processes for the grocery industry", summarizes Schenk. “From goods receiving via warehouse processes and the commissioning up to branch-related, volume-optimized pallet packing, an efficient system for highly dynamic intra-logistics.“The success of this solution is recently confirmed by the renowned Research Strategies Committee (RSC) of the US-American Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, Illinois. The association of supply chain managers awarded ES3, among other things, for the extension in York as "best and most innovative logistics solution" with the Supply Chain Innovation Award 2011. "With that SSI Schaefer also sets standards for the intelligent intra-logistics in the U.S.", says Schenk proudly.About ES3:ES3 is an experienced team of supply chain experts focused on innovation that will make product move faster, more efficiently, and at less cost than traditional supply chain models. The ES3 network spans the entire US, and includes the world's largest, multi-manufacturer collaborative warehouse, which services the Northeast with ES3's revolutionary Consolidation and D2S programs. ES3 provides consolidated warehousing, case pick and transportation services to more than 60 consumer packaged goods manufacturers. For more information go to www.es3.com. ©ES3, LLC.
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