One of the signs of a good automated warehouse system supplier is knowing when some aspects of a potential client’s business could be better done manually than automatically and factoring that in to any proposal for a contract. Another is having its own software specialist and full WMS, rather than relying on bought-in packages. In that way there can be no buck-passing if a project fails to meet a client’s expectations. Not all handling hardware equipment suppliers also have software competence involving WMS.
From the client’s position it is critical it has a clear perspective of its needs fully conveyed to its prospective supplier and if necessary spend plenty of time mining its information on product dynamics, while keeping a wary eye on the need for flexibility to cope with multi-channel distribution formats, JIT, and lean production/storage techniques. In comparing various tender quotations a client should also remember that as with buying forklifts, the inital cost should not be the overarching consideration because MHE systems providers claim that life cycle costs should take precedence, as some systems have better life cycle costs than others. A client, however, must ask potential suppliers to provide sound evidence that their offering is more cost effective over the longer term than other proposals and that is not an easy task to arrive at the truth.
Fast, accurate order picking continues to exert greater influence in warehouse operations as they must adapt to multi-channel deliveries to end users brought on by e-tailing’s upheaval over the last five years, a trend that will continue to grow and likely as not eliminate 40% of all UK retail shops over the next five years. But direct delivery from warehouses to buyers’ homes will not only mean very fast and accurate picking; it will mean handling very diverse, single-item picks for which a variety of fast sortation conveyors and picking systems have been developed. Where this is the case, it makes sense to consult only those suppliers with a wide range of sortation conveyors, provided they have a good track record. Some equipment buyers have sorters that are no longer maintained by their original suppliers, but to get around this the Dutch-based Equinox MHE, specialists in sortation conveyors, have developed a ‘Sorter Doctor’ program to prolong the lifetime of those installations.
The problem of product diversity sorting can be eased, however, by some conveyors which are capable of sorting a wide variety of goods, shapes and sizes. A good example is SDI’s PTU Sorter, capable of handling a broad array of products, from apparel to shoe boxes and small electronic items, and easily adapted to handle much higher throughput rates. Recently, SDI provided Warsaw-based No Limit with a 140-chute PTU sorter, complete with all software, able to sort 5,000 items per hour. A further 140 chutes will be added to the other side of the sorter, raising performance to 10,000 items./hr. This ease of adding more capacity highlights the need to ensure built-in flexibility to cope with future business changes. The investment has given No Limit a competitive edge through an enhanced, faster and more accurate service to its retail clients, all so essential to retain customer loyalty and secure new business.
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