VCM_092025_LR

PARTNERINFORMATIE

know how to solve the problem. Now, we have a solution that is also very efficient economi cally,” explains Raymond Lundmark. Dry ice is a thing of the past. Another notable feature of the frozen food process is the ability to load deep-freeze totes fully automatically and in a store-friendly man ner with the COM machine using the OPM sys tem. Back to the material flow: But what happens in Bålsta when an e-commerce customer orders frozen peas, chocolate, and shower gel? “Consolidation takes place in special route sequence buffers, where the totes are sorted and stacked fully automatically immediately after picking, before they are delivered to the end customer,” explains Holger Weiß. The process entails online ordering > distribution according to temperature zones > order pic king (where the appropriate part of the order is picked separately in the respective tempe rature zone) > consolidation in the route buf fer > automatic sorting according to shipping routes > loading > delivery. Technology and culture must fit together Over the next few weeks, Raymond Lundmark and Holger Weiß will be fine-tuning the mate rial flow – a typical final task in a project, but one that is particularly important. “No one has ever implemented a project of this mag

The logistics center provides more than 700,000 storage locations for wooden and plastic pallets, roll con tainers, totes, deep-freeze containers, as well as 200+ stacker cranes and over 30 km conveyor technology.

nitude and functionality before and there are few comparable ones in the world,” Raymond Lundmark is certain. “This only works if you work closely together as a team, think in terms of solutions and master challenges together,” he adds. “It was a very satisfying experience to imple ment the project together with WITRON,” says Raymond Lundmark. “As a strong partner, WITRON has the necessary know-how and decades of experience to successfully imple ment a project of this magnitude. WITRON’s

corporate culture aligns seamlessly with our own, which I believe is a pivotal factor in the successful execution of this ambitious logis tics initiative. Technology and culture must fit together.” Because it was not so much the technology that hindered Raymond Lundmark and Hol ger Weiß’ progress. The project’s commence ment coincided with the onset of the Covid pandemic, followed by supply chain disrup tions due to bottlenecks in automation com ponents. These challenges were further com pounded by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, resulting in further disruptions to supply chains. “Despite the challenges, we succes sfully managed all of these tasks and went live on schedule,” says Holger Weiß happily. ”We can state with great pride that the pro ject goals we set ourselves in terms of ser vice level, efficiency, and sustainability have already been more than achieved. Concur rently, we will continue to optimize and adapt our processes, leveraging the flexibi lity of the technology used to provide signi ficant support. Fortunately, the work never stops,” Raymond Lundmark smiles. And he is already looking forward to welcoming visitors from all over the world whom he will then guide through the distribution center together with Holger Weiß. “We have set a new standard.”

The picking of e-commerce orders takes place in all temperature zones at semi-automated, ergonomic workstations directly into the shipping bag.

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