Robots to replace manual order picking
Small parts logistics company Sabag Lucerne is investing in an auto store. In future, small products for DIY and home improvement stores (plumbing and sanitary equipment, for instance) may be stored compactly the company's headquarters in Rothenburg (Switzerland), from where all orders for Central Switzerland and Zurich are dispatched.
Order picking has been done manually until now. This is to change with the auto store. The new warehouse will be set up on an area of about 100 sqm and will offer space for 3,100 boxes. These will be stacked next to and on top of each other in a flexible aluminium grid system without gaps, which maximises storage density and enables four times the capacity with the same floor space compared to conventional manual storage.
Three battery-powered robots will be used to handle the boxes, which will move along the grid's tracks. This solution will significantly simplify manual processes and improve and speed up order-based picking, Sabag says. (ben)