Contact Information: For editorial questions, please contact: Mr. Brian Sherman Business Development Manager Phone: 847-385-6000 email: WITRON Integrated Logistics Corp. 3721 Ventura Drive Suite 140 Arlington Heights, IL, 60004
"DPS Goes Fresh" With the Dynamic Picking of Small Articles in Spain and Belgium
The WITRON Picking System DPS Succeeds Also in the Fresh Food Sector
| Source: WITRON Integrated Logistics
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL--(Marketwire - February 29, 2008) - The tote picking system DPS (Dynamic
Picking System) of WITRON Integrated Logistics Corp. continues its
sensational success story.
Since the first installation of the module more than 10 years ago, numerous
WITRON customers all over the world rely upon the highly dynamic, economic
and ergonomic solution. So far, the DPS solution has been used for picking
small volume articles within the normal temperature area in different food
and non-food industries.
The logistics expertise of the general contractor from Illinois has now
succeeded in establishing the DPS solution also in the fresh food and
temperature-controlled sector.
This enables an economic use of this technology also in cooled areas by
considering the high demands of this product range (cooled environment,
short order lead times and short expiration date periods of the goods,
etc.).
After having successfully implemented the DPS for the picking of fresh
goods at a customer site in Spain, a second WITRON customer in Belgium will
automatically store and pick approximately 2,000 different fresh goods with
DPS in the future. The product range consists of products like meat, cold
cuts, poultry, instant meals, fruits, vegetables, salad, etc. Further
approaches for the use of DPS within the normal and the fresh food sector
are already being planned.
With the use of the Dynamic Picking System in the "Fresh Food Sector,"
WITRON lives up to its reputation as an innovative project house, proves
its flexibility of automated picking systems and breaks into new business
fields for mechanized warehouse solutions.
DPS Functions at a Glance
Being a fully integrated tote system, the warehouse and picking solution
DPS is making use of the Pareto principle that defines 80% of the volume is
achieved with about 20% of the article range. The logical conclusion of
this relation is that due to the access frequency in the picking process
only top-selling articles (fast movers) need to be permanently available.
All other articles (slow movers) will be presented on order-related demand.
This is enabled by providing different storage totes with articles in
static flow channels or in dynamic flow channels. The change of an article
classification (i.e. promotional or seasonal items) will be determined and
automatically adjusted by DPS by means of a permanent check of the article
structure. By directly integrating the storage and replenishment warehouse
into the picking process, it is possible to present the storage totes
directly at the pick workstation without having to provide additional
investment or additional employees. Pick-by-Light displays, which are
installed at each channel, inform the employee about the articles to be
picked and visualize the quantity to be removed. Based on the article range
and the pick volume, it is possible to integrate several DPS modules
according to a modular design principle and to realize several pick levels
one above the other.
Measurable Customer Benefit and high Efficiency with the use of DPS
According to experiences, the personnel and facility footprint savings are
approximately 40% and more compared to a conventional storage. The use of
optimized supply processes as well as efficient and ergonomic workstations
reduces the pick distances by 75%. This enables personnel to achieve high
performance values with a low error rate at the pick workstations.
Furthermore DPS provides a single-branch picking process considering the
arrangements of goods or family groups at the point of sale. More
advantages of the system include the automated management of fast and slow
movers spread throughout all pick areas creating an extremely flexible use
of employees at the pick stations.
WITRON Integrated Logistics Corp.
WITRON Integrated Logistics, located in Arlington Heights, IL, is a leading
company in material handling automation. WITRON's core competence is the
design and implementation of innovative logistics systems. Significant
cost reductions from labor and footprint savings, combined with further
competitive advantages, have become the key customer advantages of WITRON
Picking Systems. With more than 35 years of experience in the automation
of distribution centers, WITRON's main focus is to realize the most
efficient methods of order picking and replenishment.
As a systems integrator, WITRON has the ability to take complete
responsibility for all phases of a project from design and implementation
through ramp-up and maintenance. Headquartered in Parkstein, Germany,
WITRON has grown to include subsidiaries in the USA, the Netherlands and
Spain.