Page 30 - Case Study Annual 2015
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containers are transported to the destacking machine in work station. The employee at the work station picks
stacks of 10, destacked, and transported by conveyor to the quantity of product required for the order from the
the fast-mover autopicker SDA, where orders start takes source container. Optimal process security is provided
place. by the pick-to-light displays that are integrated into
Automatic picking with the SDA the Pick-it- Easy work station. The required number of
The SDA is the optimal solution for fast moving articles articles is displayed above the source container. The
that have square, stackable packaging. The SDA in the employee picks the displayed quantity and confirms
Pretoria DC has more than 1 200 articles. The warehouse the pick.
control software KiSoft WCS KLASS-X receives orders Dispatch preparation
from the HOST and sends them to the autopicker The automatic label insert station inserts the appropriate
control computer ASX. The articles are ejected onto address label into a pocket on the front of the container,
the central belt in a space on the belt specific to the so that the container is assigned to a customer and a
order, and transported to the transfer station. Articles ramp in the dispatch area. Containers with articles that
are transferred to the container allocated to the order: must be repacked into plastic bags are specially marked.
A buffer funnel ensures that all the articles land in the The containers are conveyed to the automatic invoice
container, and ensures the maximum fill degree. This insert station when picking has been completed. The
solution constitutes about 42% of the total number of invoice is inserted into the last container of an order.
picks in a typical warehouse. Repacking
Paperless picking with RF Specific articles are repacked into plastic bags at the
Eight stations are available for manual picking, which repack station, and then placed back into the container.
is carried out without paper using RF terminals. The Containers whose contents need not be repacked pass
RF terminals guide personnel along a path optimised through the station.
for time and distance from one storage location to the Dispatch
next, for the best picking process. The error rate is also In the dispatch area the containers are distributed
reduced through the use of RF technology. This RF among the 24 dispatch ramps and then loaded into
solution is ideally suited for the ‘superfast’ lines that transport vehicles. The dispatch ramps correspond
are just not feasible on the SDA, as well as those fast to to specific routes. Each day, 140 deliveries leave the
medium movers that are too heavy or big, liquids or not Pretoria distribution centre.
suited to either the SDA and/or OSR Shuttle solutions.
Storing and picking with the OSR Shuttle Advantages of the solution
A three-aisle OSR Shuttle for containers up to 15 kg
is used for space-saving storage and efficient picking. The KNAPP solution is a classic, efficient solution for
The storage containers have different divisions (1/1, 1/2 the Pharma sector that optimally fulfils all Alpha Pharm
and 1/4), which raise the number of storage locations. requirements. The OSR Shuttle with sectioned storage
Articles of various size and characteristics can be containers offers a space-effective, flexible and secure
optimally stored. solution for storing small articles. The Pick-it-Easy work
stations permit ergonomic and reliable order fulfilment,
The OSR Shuttle has two ergonomic Pick-it-Easy because the goods-to-person principle reduces
work stations. The picking containers are automatically employee walking time and increases efficiency. In the
transported to the work station according to the goods- manual picking areas, paperless picking with KiSoft
to-person principle. The OSR Shuttle automatically RF enables personnel to work with the fewest possible
retrieves the necessary source containers from the errors. The entire container flow has a lean design.
system, and also transports these to the Pick-it-Easy Containers are only diverted to those areas in which
they must be processed. In total, the KNAPP solution
raised the productivity and throughput, while lowering
the error rate.
What are the advantages?
The KNAPP system results in a wide variety of benefits
for Alpha Pharm, such as substantial savings in labour
costs, increased efficiencies and thus productivity,
increased security and less opportunity for pilferage,
drastically reduced reaction and delivery times in the
logistical and operational systems, resulting in a vastly
improved service delivery and customer satisfaction.
Combined, these benefits constitute substantial savings
and thus a good return on investment. •
28 the logistics news case study annual 2015
