The Challenge
E-commerce companies are dynamic drivers of technology and have successfully spurred a technological revolution in India. One of the horsemen of e-commerce giants headquartered at Bangalore is a specialized online store that serves the needs of autonomous retail grocers of every store size and format.
This e-commerce giant was facing operational inefficiencies which not only devoured its productivity but also stunted its growth. To achieve inbound & outbound operational efficiency they ventured on a mission with Armstrong Dematic to handle millions of SKU's in a shorter span of time.
The past few months have accelerated the demand for speedy deliveries thus snowballing the burden of functional optimization on businesses. This creates a challenge for the players to manage the constant flow of orders with maximum accuracy and speed to meet promised deliveries. With the palletizing area becoming a bottleneck, the picking operations multiply operational expenses, thus fetching lowered productivity couple with low ergonomic quotient and slacked-off throughput.
A fulfilment facility with friction in operations such as, human dependency, low throughput, sorting errors, pilferages and under-utilization of space, aids to hefty business losses. To achieve today's heightened level of e-commerce, a growing number of manufacturers and retailers are turning towards warehouse automation.
Key Challenges Faced:
Increased Inbound Staging Space requirements
Need to Increase Volumetric Dispatch & Swift Product Exchanges
Order Fulfillment & Consolidation challenges
Damages & Pilferages
Excessive Manual Intervention
Facility-Specific Challenge:
The uniqueness of this facility was there being unused storage space on the G+1 level. The space was not being utilized because of the difficulty in transportation of cartons to and from storage. Solutions such as goods lift and stacker cranes were not feasible due to their weight, and labour and time expense. Thus, a dense, lightweight and fast system was needed.
The Solution
Given the opportunity to enhance their business productivity, Armstrong led the journey to deliver the best value & experience for their investment and aimed to make their lives easy by offering sustainable and affordable state-of-the-art warehouse automation solutions.
With Armstrong Dematic's end-to-end consultative approach, a solution which would take cartons from production up to the storage and bring them back down directly to the dock to be loaded into trucks was ideated.
To meet the client demand, Armstrong Dematic deployed a scalable & modular solution that optimized their order fulfillment process across four key areas:
Inbound Operations:
Armstrong Dematic's Telescopic Belt Conveyor unloads the material and brings it to the staging area after a close check of the entire consignment. The totes are then picked from G1, G2, G3 and G4 and each tote is mapped to a particular product with a unique bar-code which directs its journey from the shelving area to the desired destination through 8 inward lines. This ensures a smooth flow of totes without any man-movement activities nearby thus regulating safety norms within the warehouse.
Put Away & Storage:
The three vertical conveying spiral systems installed at the ground floor help carry a variety of loads at heights up to 6 meters on the respective floor. A scanner mounted on top of the conveyor helps swiftly transport the tote through the seamless integration of WMS & WCS. On each floor a kilometer long, peripheral conveyor is installed that stacks the consignment in the pre-decided shelves with the help of swivel wheel sorters.
Storage to Packaging:
Armstrong Dematic's smart intelligence system micro-manages the assimilation task with ultimate ease. The system seamlessly integrates WMS & WCS to ensure smooth product flow from storage to packaging areas.
Outbound Automation:
The outbound operations helps in the faster movement of parcels by picking & placing them on the outbound conveyor which transports the materials from all the floors through the downward spirals. Armstrong Dematic's intuitive six pack conveyor system bid-adieus the parcels from the dock to the containers for the last lap.
The double-decker conveyor system yields a throughput of 3000 & 3600 totes per hour for inbound & outbound operations respectively thus, helping the customer handle approx. 158000 tote/hour. With the operations running 24/7, Armstrong Dematic helped them manage 1.6 million parcels a day during the peak season thus reaping economies of scale.
Technical Specifications:
| Location : | Sankpa, Gurugram |
| Products Handled : | Parcels/ Totes |
| Parcels Capacity : | 5000/hr per lane: Total 6 lanes = 30000/hr (Non Large) 2000/hr per lane: Total 6 lanes = 12000/hr (Semi large) |
| Totes Capacity : | 3000 Totes/hr for IB (72000 Totes/day for IB) 3600 Totes/hr for OB (86400 Totes/day for OB) |
| Throughput : | 158000/day |
| Working Hours : | 24 hours/day |
| Warehouse Size : | 5 Lakhs Sq. Ft |
| Product Spectrum : | Approx 7.0+ Km straight & Curve conveying |
The Results
By reducing manual intervention & boosting efficiency, Armstrong Dematic successfully helped this Ecommerce giant skyrocket their profits and create a revered market image. Armstrong Dematic is empowering the next generation of supply chains & taking the material handling industry to new heights thus making the operations faster, smarter and cheaper.
Key Outcomes:
- ROI < 2 Years
- 100% Visibility of operations
- Streamlined Operations across all fulfillment stages
- 3X increase in productivity
- Safe handling of fragile SKU's
- Reduced labour cost
- Zero Errors, Damages & Pilferages
- Helped manage 1.6 million parcels a day during peak season
- Double-decker conveyor system with throughput of 3000 & 3600 totes per hour for inbound & outbound operations
- Three vertical conveying spiral systems carrying loads at heights up to 6 meters
- Approximately 7.0+ Km of straight & curve conveying installed
