PRESS RELEASE

Issued 13 March2015 – for immediate release

KNAPP solution ensures efficient automation for Spanish online grocer

The Spanish online grocery retailer,Tudespensa.com, is using KNAPP's innovativeE-Grocersolution at its Madrid distribution centre to process about 1,000 orders a day.

With a range of over 7,000 items, Tudespensa.com delivers fresh foods, ambient goods, frozen items, drinks and toiletries directly to customers by the next dayat the latest.Due to its expertise in high-performance single item picking, the company chose KNAPP to design and realise a future-oriented automated logistics solution.

Grocery e-commerce poses considerable challenges for intralogistics – such as the need for minimum throughput times, flexible and efficient picking and detailed stock management for the entire product range. With theE-Grocersystem, KNAPP has developed the ideal automation solution for these specialised demands. One of the key success factors for Tudespensa.com has been the picking of items directly into the assigned shopping bag. Handling the broad range of products across several temperature zones was an additional challenge, with the various article groups differing in terms of their storage period and type, therefore requiring separate storage and picking.

Voice picking from pallet for fast-movers
Fast-moving articles are stored in a manual picking area, to be picked directly from the pallet into the shopping bag, which eliminates the need for depalletizing. The fast-moving articles are combined into batch orders, thereby optimising the path and time for picking several orders simultaneously. Empty containers are automatically provided to the picking staff from the empty container buffer via conveyor. The articles are picked directly from the pallet into bags suspended in the order containers, which are then conveyed by picking cart through the fast-mover area. The manual picking process is guided by KiSoft Voice, KNAPP's voice-directed order picking system. After the fast-moving articles have been picked into the order containers, they are transferred to the OSR Shuttle™ system via conveyor, where they are temporarily stored until the order has been either completely picked at the goods-to-person workstations, or is ready to be dispatched.

Two OSR Shuttle™ stores
Medium- and slow-moving articles, meanwhile, are stored in KNAPP's OSR Shuttle™ system.Two OSR Shuttle™ stores form the heart of the warehouse – one is used for ambient goods and the other for fresh foods and as a dispatch buffer. TheOSR Shuttle™ store forambient articleshastwo rack lines and totes are stored double-deep in 9,216 locations, while theOSR Shuttle™ forfresh food has three rack lines with totes stored single-deep in 4,680 locations. The assignment of goods to a specific storage location and the storage of the containers in the right temperature zone is handled fully automatically by the central warehouse management system, KiSoft WMS, and its subsystems.

Pick-to-light technology
At thefivehighly ergonomicPick-it-Easy workstations,either empty totes from the empty container buffer or containers with partial orders coming from the manual area are provided for picking.Goods required for orders are retrieved from the OSR Shuttle™ system and orders are fulfilled at the workstations using pick-to-light technology.Completed order containers are then stored in the OSR Shuttle™ dispatch buffer until required for loading. As soon as the orders for a route are completed, the order containers are automatically retrieved in the optimal sequence from the dispatch buffer and conveyed to an automatic stacking machine.

Using various checking mechanisms – includingautomatic weight check scales – KNAPP has successfully implemented its zero-defect-warehouse philosophy at the Tudespensa.com facility.The e-tailer processes about 1,000 orders a day through the distribution centre for same-day or next-day delivery to its customers.

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High-resolution versions of the images below are available on request to:heidi@bridgeland-copyright.co.uk

Tudespensa OSR pick station.jpg
A key success factor for Tudespensa.com has been picking of items directly into shopping bags

Tudespensa OSR store.jpg

KNAPP's OSR Shuttle™ technology forms the heart of the warehouse

Tudespensa van.jpg

Spanish online grocer, Tudespensa.com, is using KNAPP's E-Grocer solution at its Madrid DC to process about 1,000 orders a day

About KNAPP
KNAPP AG operates internationally in the field of warehouse automation and warehouse logistics software. The company, headquartered in Austria, has 2,500 employees worldwide. The high export quota of 98% reflects the international character of the business: KNAPP has 20 subsidiaries and 13 representative offices around the globe. In the fiscal year 2013/2014, the company achieved a turnover of over 383 million euros, the highest since its founding.
 

Company contact:
Mr Craig Rollason, Managing Director

KNAPP UK Ltd

Tel:  01844 202149

Media contact:
Heidi Scott, Partner
Bridgeland Copyright
Tel: 01622 832598
E-mail:heidi@bridgeland-copyright.co.uk