WMS from Consafe Logistics helps SVZ International B.V.

Because of its global network of processing units, purchase offices and logistic facilities, SVZ is able to deliver its products to her international customers throughout the year. This includes a wide variety of fruit and vegetable products for a wide variety of industrial applications, for which the raw materials – red, yellow and tropical fruits as well as vegetables – are being collected in relatively short harvesting periods.

New warehouse for storing frozen goods

In the year 2001 SVZ built a new warehouse for storing frozen fruit and vegetables (average temperature –20° C). Frozen storage is a very expensive way of stock-keeping. The goal for the project team was therefore to design a warehouse that could store as much pallets as possible. A secondary objective was to provide the employees with an ergonomic working environment in which they would no longer be exposed to the low temperature when doing their work. These two goals led to the following solution.

Pallets are transported on a conveyor from the production department into the warehouse. Upon arrival at the end of the conveyor belt, a fixed oscillating scanner scans the pallet. This information is sent to SattStore, that selects a suitable storage-location for the pallet.

When selecting a location, SattStore has to consider several important facts:

• The article on the pallet (strawberries may not be stored next to onions to pre-vent odour transmission)
• The pallet type (80x120 cm or 100x120 cm)
• The height of the pallet
• Equal division of similar articles over different racks
• Filling of the racks bottom-up
• Location(s) of outputassignment(s)
• Current open aisles

The assignment to store the pallet is then sent to the RF terminal placed in the cabin of a forklift truck. The operator can execute the assignment without having to perform any manual operation due to a fixed scanner placed on the forks of the truck. When picking up the pallet, the scanner scans the barcode, and the assignment is accepted. After having placed the pallet on location, the scanner scans the barcode on the palletrack which finishes the assignment. The operator can stay in his heated truck, even if the assignment is being executed on the fifth level.

The wish for as many pallets as possible in the warehouse is solved by making use of mobile palletracks. There are 20 racks in the warehouse, divided over two banks. Each bank can have only one open aisle. The choice which aisle in each bank has to be open is made by SattStore.

When an operator is executing an assignment in one of the banks, SattStore has already sent a signal to the other bank to open the correct aisle. Thus the operator never has to wait for an aisle to open to enable him to execute his assignment.

Special functions:

• Control of PLC-operated mobile racks
• Assignmentexecution without manual intervention
• Location control including complex input strategy
• Considering in- and output assignments in both rackbanks to ensure optimal productivity
• Communication to host via FTP over an TCP/ IP network
• Communication to Travhydro PLC
• Communication to mobile racks via RS232 over a TCP/ IP network

Equipment used

• 1 Windows NT server 6/800, PIII CPU, 256 KB cache, 128 MB
• 1 disk station 9,1 GB
• 1 Tape station
• 1 Client PC
• 1 Laser message printer
• 1 fixed oscillating scanner (heated version)
• 2 fixed scanners (heated version)
• 2 RF truck terminals
• 3 RF Access Points

Warehouse specifications:

• 6.000 locations (± 2500 m²)
• 20 racks, divided over 2 banks
• 5 levels (13 meters high)

Read more at www.svz.com

2005