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Jul 24, 2020 at 7:00 AMThe Swiss intralogistics provider Swisslog has equipped the new distribution center of dm-drogerie markt in Wustermark, Brandenburg, with robotics and software. It is the third large facility that Swisslog has realized for dm. The total investment exceeds 100 million euros. This is a flagship project for German retail.
(Buchs/Dortmund) “It is a milestone that the first pallet has left the center in Wustermark towards our dm markets,” said Christoph Werner, Chairman of the dm management board, Karlsruhe, on May 19, and continued in light of the Corona crisis: “In the current situation, it is an even more beautiful event and an important investment in our future. Especially since the availability of goods in dm markets and the online shop is our top priority.” Christoph Werner spoke at the official opening of a new, highly technical distribution center of the drugstore company. Located in Wustermark, Brandenburg, near Berlin, all dm markets in northern and eastern Germany will gradually be supplied from here – thanks to logistical automation and robotics, very quickly and efficiently. “The new distribution center is a flagship project for dm and German retail with its innovative robotics solution,” says Christian Bodi, responsible for logistics as dm managing director. The concept and intralogistics come from Swisslog and represent a showcase reference for the general contractor, particularly for the intelligent plant control and visualization software SynQ as well as the robotics system ACPaQ. The solution recently received the German Innovation Award.
Swisslog provided data- and robot-driven logistics
On a footprint of around 30,000 square meters, a logistics mix has been created in Wustermark consisting of the core components of an automated pallet high-bay warehouse with 24,000 storage locations and a shuttle warehouse – the CycloneCarrier from Swisslog – with 265,000 storage locations for small-volume goods. Connected to this are a total of 15 picking lines: eight manual and seven ACPaQ robot cells. “dm-drogerie markt fully implements the goods-to-person or goods-to-robot principle in the distribution center,” explains Daniel Hauser, Senior Vice President and Head of Region Central Europe & Middle East, Swisslog. ACPaQ stands for the fully automated creation of mixed pallets through “Automated Case Picking.” A KUKA robot simultaneously picks multiple containers and thus assembles a shipping pallet up to three times faster than a human could. The software used ensures that the pallet is stable for transport and is formed according to the depalletizing needs in the store.
Constantly increasing efficiency pressure
“We are proud and happy that our developed data-driven robotics system has outgrown the testing phase and is now proving its performance in practice under high-load operation,” says Daniel Hauser. For our company, it is also a breakthrough, and we are convinced it will be for the retail market as well.” The Swiss intralogistics expert refers to the constantly increasing efficiency pressure that retail faces today and in the future, with a required round-the-clock readiness for performance that can only be mastered through automation and robotics. Christian Baur, CEO of Swisslog, adds proudly: “Without the tireless efforts of our employees, we would not have been able to successfully put the new distribution center in Wustermark into operation parallel to the challenges posed by Corona in spring 2020.”
Long-standing partnership with third large project
The new dm distribution center in Wustermark is a reflection of an expansion strategy that Germany’s favorite drugstore has been consistently pursuing for many years. dm has invested more than 100 million euros in its new logistics location, including construction. For Swisslog, Wustermark in Brandenburg is the third large facility in Germany that the intralogistics provider has realized for dm, following Waghäusel in Baden-Württemberg and Weilerswist in North Rhine-Westphalia. After the groundbreaking in 2018, planning and construction took nearly two years until commissioning.
Photo: © dm-drogerie markt
www.swisslog.com – www.dm.de
