Arvato Implements Driverless Transport System in Harsewinkel

Arvato Supply Chain Solutions is further advancing the automation of its locations. Recently, a driverless transport system (DTS) has taken over all ground-level pallet transports in the healthcare sector at the Harsewinkel distribution center. The system can transport around 400 pallets per day to their respective destinations.

(Harsewinkel, 24.01.2020) At the Harsewinkel site, Arvato provides logistics services over 31,000 m2 for clients in the pharmaceutical and medical technology industries. To alleviate the increasing internal pallet transport and to counteract the shortage of skilled workers, Arvato has invested in six driverless transport vehicles developed by the specialist Jungheinrich. This also helps to relieve existing employees so they can focus on more qualified tasks.

The six vehicles, named after well-known superheroes like Hulk, Batman, or Superman, service all warehouses, incoming and outgoing goods areas, as well as the disposal area for emptying waste containers.

“Through the interfaces between the DTS and the warehouse management software as well as the conveyor technology, every pallet movement has an integrated status upgrade. This allows us to track in real-time where a pallet is currently located,” explains Erich Berg, senior project manager at Arvato. Additionally, the system handles transports for completed outgoing pallets.

“Driverless transport systems are the heart of automated intralogistics. Based on proven standard forklifts, which are supplemented with automation components and controlled by intelligent software, they perform recurring transport tasks with high throughput particularly safely and efficiently,” says Dr. Markus Heinecker, head of project sales at Jungheinrich.