INDU-Store
Your spare parts warehouse, shipping warehouse or automatic storage system for small parts, the INDU-Store is a warehouse automat that optimizes your warehouse logistics.
With the warehouse management system INDU-Store you break new ground in the picking of small parts.
In automated areas, picking robots take over order processing. In order for this to work quickly and error-free, proven and mature technologies are needed. Our warehouse robot routinely handles items up to the size of a shoebox and weighing 5kg. For storage, it automatically identifies each item via integrated auto-ID solutions. The small parts are directly fed via a conveyor system, taken over by the robot and placed on the shelves in a space-optimized manner. The advantage of this system: The INDU-Store is an automatic storage system that does not target fixed storage locations, but continuously reallocates its storage areas dynamically so that they are always optimally utilized.
Optimize logistics with the INDU-Store - a step towards Logistics 4.0
Small parts do not have to be stored as packs, but can be stored either individually, or in small load containers. This allows direct access to each individual item, accurate to the piece count and error-free. The INDU-Store achieves picking rates of more than 500 articles per hour with multipick and combipick strategies. All articles can be stored via freely definable positions. Detailed log files monitor every movement within the automated small parts warehouse (AS/RS) at all times. This technology ensures error-free storage and retrieval and not only saves the user time, but also makes his daily work processes easier, resulting in a more profitable bottom line!
Goods to the man - with our automatic warehouse the articles come directly to you
The INDU-Store is therefore an automatic storage and picking system that enables the storage and retrieval of items on a per-item basis. Users always receive exactly the one article that is needed for the respective customer or production order. This eliminates the possibility of incorrect picks. It can be optimally integrated into your warehouse and provides you with transparency, inventory security and efficient use of space.
INDU-Store Challenges & Fields of Application
Our customers are often faced with the following challenges:
- The warehouse is bursting at the seams and there is too little space available for value-added activities.
- Manual picking, search efforts, bookings, etc. result in high personnel expenses.
- There is always a risk of shrinkage or theft - especially with high-value goods (e.g. watches).
- Incorrect stocks due to manual tabulations, manual picking and human errors lead to delays in the process (because material is not available for production or shipping) and inventory discrepancies, with loss of costly time of correcting these mistakes.
- Wrong components are transferred to loss of production efficiency because they were picked incorrectly manually (wrong item was picked)
Particularly affected by such problems are manufacturing companies handling small parts and stationary retailers with back-office warehousing, e.g. watch retailers, jewelers with repair shops, manufacturers of nutritional supplements, opticians (contact lenses/eyewear), electronics manufacturers and retailers or laboratories (samples, retained samples).
The INDU-Store offers different fields of application to support our customers in the best possible way
Use as an unmanned magazine:
- 24/7 controlled, automatic dispensing of tools and consumables to employees
- Interface to WMS enables continuous checking of inventory and timely reordering
- Independent restocking of consumables (e.g. tools) after use by the employee
- No uneconomical waiting times for the magazine employee
- Space reduction: magazine items are stored in the smallest possible space
Use as an (automated) shipping warehouse
By integrating a picking workstation with storage and retrieval conveyors, you can optimally use the INDU-Store as a shipping warehouse. Thus, stored individual items for customer orders can be retrieved, assembled at the picking workstation, packed and labelled ready for shipping. If required, the articles can then be stored again until dispatch. To reduce costly time in order processing, it is also possible, for example, to assemble sets in advance for planned marketing campaigns or to add outer packaging. Optimal also for peak phases!
Do you want to use the INDU-Store as an automated shipping warehouse that does not need any employees at all? No problem. It stores individual items for customer orders and transports them via a conveyor belt to an automatic sorting system. This sorter then sorts the items into boxes (one box per order) according to the customer orders. The boxes are then transported on to the packing and shipping area seamlessly.
The INDU-Store as a spare parts store for expensive items (e.g. watches)
Watch manufacturers work with authorized dealers / jewelers who are allowed to offer and perform repair services for these watches. Due to long time warranties for high quality watches, many different spare parts have to be made available.
The automatic storage system supports the dealers in
- the space-saving storage of spare parts
- the transparent inventory management and thus the reliable availability check and replenishment
- the retrieval of spare parts according to the customer’s order
the return of already repaired parts to the vending machine until collection by the customer
The advantages of this are obvious:
- Inventory transparency
- Reduction of the search effort
- Optimization of spare parts management (replenishment)
- Secure storage (protection against shrinkage/theft, etc.)
- Space reduction through automated storage (an important issue especially in expensive inner city locations)
Long-term stocking of spare parts or retained samples
On the one hand, this applies to companies that need to keep spare parts in stock for many years (due to warranties) or to biobanks active in research (collections of biological materials such as blood or tissue samples). These “slow-moving” items can be stored safely and in a space-saving manner with our warehouse logistics system. They are removed from storage as needed for testing purposes – or perhaps not for several years. Afterwards the samples can be stored again.
If such articles are stored with the INDU-Store, the following advantages result:
- Space saving
- Facilitation of documentation
- Very good transparency
- Error prevention
- Elimination of search effort
- At the push of a button, remove exactly those patterns that are no longer needed (deadline expiration)
- Automatic tracking of access to the respective patterns
Integration into production processes / harmonization of production steps
The automatic storage system can be integrated into existing or newly created production systems. This allows production processes to be designed more efficiently.
Examples:
- Compensation of different cycle times of production steps by buffering in the INDU-Store
- Compensation of different shift models in production areas
- Buffering of material to supply night shifts / weekends with material or semi-finished products
- Preliminary work for upcoming production orders (prefabrication of assemblies, provision of tested individual parts, etc.)
- Postponement strategies (prefabricate products to a certain extent and specify them only after receipt of the customer order in order to achieve a reduction in lead time)
- Temporary storage of materials delivered too early or manufactured too early for the downstream production step.
- Optimizations during the night: increase the retrieval capacity by storing the individual parts in the correct sequence for upcoming production orders.
