Food Logistics serves the entire food supply chain industry with targeted content for manufacturers, retailers, and distributors.
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24 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 • FOOD LOGISTICS www.foodlogistics.com trays into high-density storage modules, such as AS/RSs, shuttles, carousels and robotic systems. As orders are filled, SKUs are auto- matically delivered to a workstation. An automated picking system, such as pick-to- light, voice- or screen-based technology, then directs the operator at the workstation to pick a specific quantity and place it into a specific order carton or tote. Software-driven picking systems include horizontal carousels, vertical carousels and vertical lift modules, says Christina Dube, marketing communications manager at Kar- dex Remstar, a Westbrook, Me.-based auto- mated storage and retrieval solutions provider. These systems can cut fulfillment time, labor and warehouse space while speeding through- put, Dube says. Horizontal carousels consist of bins and shelves mounted on a horizontal track which rotates to deliver items to a fixed, ground-lev- el location. The picker retrieves the item and consolidates batches of items to fill orders. Vertical carousels have a series of shelves or carriers that rotate along a track in the verti- cal axis and bring items to the worker at the ground level. Vertical lift modules operate like an elevator with a shaft in the middle and two columns of shelving or trays in the front and back. A mechanism in the center auto- matically locates and retrieves the stored trays from both columns and brings them to the picker at a pick window. Europe leads the U.S. in automation As technology evolves, investment in ware- house automation continues to grow. Europe, where warehousing costs are higher and land is less available, leads the U.S. in this area. The Wall Street Journal recently reported, for example, that a two- centuries' old German brewer, Badische, Sta- atsbrauerei Rothhaus AG, recently bought four robots after discovering that one robot can sort through 30,000 bottles per hour, which speeds delivery, especially during peak holiday periods. The IRB7600 robot from Zurich, Switzerland-based ABB Ltd. allows the brewer to fill customer orders faster and has become a competi- tive advantage. In the U.S., investment has been less aggressive, but is on the upswing. Southern Wine & Spirits of America, a Miami, Fla.-based, nationwide distributor of wine and spirits, recently opened a 334,000-square-foot warehouse in Union City, Calif. housing the company's first four- high rack pick module. Four AS/RSs refill pallets automatically; each can process 80 pal- lets per hour. The AS/RS, developed in part- nership with W&H; Systems, stores 24,750 pallets and can store up to 10 pallets deep. "We tore down the existing Atlantic Street structure to invest in the development of this state-of-the-art facility that will not only drive value for our trading partners, but also drive internal operational efficiencies that will allow Southern to remain competitive in this ever- changing and highly competitive wholesale environment," says Wayne Chaplin, Southern Wine & Spirits president and CEO. Chris Castaldi, director of business devel- opment at W&H; Systems, observes that automation has evolved slower on the distri- bution side of the f&b; industry compared to the production side since distribution tasks are less uniform. "It's hard for them (f&b; distributors) to pin down an automation system that would be flexible enough to change with whims of how customers want their product to be stored and retrieved," says Jeff Hedges, president of the materials handling division at Opex Corp., the Moorestown, N.J.-based picking solutions provider. iHerb.com, a Moreno Valley, Calif.-based nutritional supplement e-commerce retailer, has been able to quickly ship a high volume of small orders domestically and internation- ally, thanks in large measure to a "goods to person" inventory and delivery system from Opex Corp. iHerb.com, which carries more • Intelligrated's automatic fullfillment solution adapts to a variety of work flows and changing business requirements. Intelligrated