Rapid response units
February 1st 2009

Witron says a long-term modular approach to automation has enabled German manufacturer, Phoenix Contact, to continually improve its storage, picking and packing operations despite rapid expansion and changing market requirements

Phoenix Contact, a German manufacturer of electronic interface technology and industrial automation, has had a successful partnership with Witron Logistik + Informatik for over a decade, employing a modular automation solution to continually realise new gains in efficiency and make constant adjustments to the plant so that it is perfectly in tune with the changing requirements of a changing business world.

At present, the picking and packing processes are being completely decoupled by the integration of an Order Consolidation Buffer (OCB) to further optimise the operation of staging articles promptly for dispatch according to shipping routes.

"We have had to take this step because our delivery and picking structure has changed considerably", says Hans-Gunnar Elias, Head of Logistics at Phoenix Contact, headquartered in Blomberg. "We are faced with the enormous challenge of handling increasingly complex global goods and material flows without adding greater complexity in logistics." To enable the logistics operation to keep pace with these changes, the picking and packing processes at Phoenix Contact are being decoupled.

This will create additional picking capacity.

"We are expecting the introduction of the OCB to improve efficiency by around 20 percent. Materials will flow through the entire system at an even greater speed," says Elias.

OCB creates complete orders "Phoenix Contact will use these new logistics components to synchronise readypicked order containers for the packing process", adds Witron Project Manager Josef Bauriedl. "For this to work, the OCB and packing stations will need to be coordinated as well as possible." For package dispatch, the pre-picked totes will be placed in intermediate storage in an OCB with 1,400 tote spaces and then transported to the packing stations at the right time and in the correct sequence for the order. This enables coordination of the customer orders with the packing stations, such that the employee at the packing station no longer has to carry out additional sorting. Some 3,000 packages leave the logistics centre in Blomberg on a daily basis.

Modular order picking system The OPS supplied by Witron and commissioned in 2001 laid the foundations for the replacement of the previous entirely manual picking operation. This modular tote picking system combines an automated small parts warehouse (ASW) with a distribution loop and upstream picking stations. OPS stages the articles at the picking workstations in the correct sequence for a given order, ready for picking according to the goods-to-man principle.

The storage and retrieval processes are decoupled from order picking by integrated sequence buffers. OPS integrates storage and order picking in one system and can handle a broad spectrum of articles.

Dynamic picking for fast movers Due to rapid growth, Phoenix Contact's logistics centre has had to be expanded several times. The number of picking aisles and, consequently, the performance capability of the plant, has already doubled from an initial 8 aisles to 16 aisles at present. The planned size after the completed expansion is 21 aisles. To enable further increases in capacity, Phoenix Contact is planning to implement Witron's Dynamic Picking System for quick movers.

Quick-moving A articles will be staged statically in flow-racks in the DPS system with the help of stacker cranes, while slower-moving B and C articles will be staged dynamically in dynamic flowchannels, likewise using stacker cranes.

This will shorten the picking front by up to 75 per cent, significantly reducing the distances travelled by the picker.

Consequently, all the quick movers will be located in the immediate vicinity of the picking workstation, with the system staging heavier articles and gripper units at an ergonomic height.

Modular expansion flexibility According to Phoenix, the modular approach initiated in 2001 with flexibility in mind has proved its worth time and again in that the plant has been able to respond to market changes immediately. This has resulted in sustainable efficiency gains at Phoenix Contact. "For example, we have since introduced automatic palletising for delivery involving load handling devices and also added completely new tote flows", explains Elias. "The pick-to-box picking process has also helped here to further increase flexibility in our logistics structure.

The total number of picks per day between 2001 and present day has increased from an initial 6,000 to roughly 15,000 – 18,000 – with next to no extra staff required." "The various upgrades have had to be carried out during ongoing operation and therefore completed exactly on time and with maximum precision. In addition to Witron's impressive know-how, use of the Witron simulation system for tests beforehand has helped ensure efficient application in practice and a speedy conversion operation.

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