"ONE SMALL STEP FOR IX-TECH, ONE BIG STEP FOR ANZADO".
– Markus W., Warehouse staff
Success Story anzado Gmbh
CUSTOMER
anzado GmbH was founded in Saarbrücken in 2014. Since then, it has been offering a wide selection of electronic components, kits and everything your heart desires around robotics, 3D printers and more with its shop roboter-bausatz.de.
Thanks to the dispatch warehouse based in Germany, delivery times of 1-2 days can be offered and goods can thus be sent to customers promptly.
Customer orders are received via the company’s own shop and marketplaces, so that a large number of different orders are processed every day.
CHALLENGE
In order to be able to pick up to 1,500 orders per week more quickly and without errors and to dispatch parcels on time, a new system was needed.
A chaotic storage system and unoptimised walkways slowed down the warehouse staff. This often led to incorrect picking processes, which in turn led to returns and customer dissatisfaction.
anzado opted for single-stage picking. Here, the warehouse worker walks through the warehouse with the help of a trolley that holds up to 40 order boxes.
The articles are immediately assigned to one of the customer boxes and thus to an order during the picking process.
But problems and uncertainties with this procedure are obvious: was the correct article picked in the correct quantity? Is the allocation to the box and thus to the order correct? And finally: if errors occur, will they be noticed in the course of the further process or, in the worst case, will the customer receive an incorrect order?
The hurdles to be overcome were manifold, so iX-tech came into play.
PROJECT PROCESS
Upgrading the warehouse was carried out in several partial steps over a certain period of time.
In the first step, the current situation was recorded together with the customer and the exact problem definition, including the recommended solution, was defined in the specifications.
After successful consultation, the next step was to arrange the shelves in a U-shape. This optimised the previously unthought-out aisles and saved both time and space.
Let there be light!
Finally, our pick2light system was installed. For this purpose, all shelves were equipped with cable channels and fitted with RGB LEDs.
Furthermore, we equipped picking trolleys of different sizes with light systems so that a faster and error-free allocation of picked goods to their orders is possible.
A total of 5,600 storage locations and several picking trolleys were equipped with our pick2light modules.
This allows the control of targeted storage locations, so that the next picking process can also be identified for different pickers thanks to different LED colours.
In interaction with the ix.mate handheld devices and the individual pack2light solution, a completely compatible warehouse process optimisation could be completed for anzado.
RESULT
Thanks to the modernisation of the warehouse with our pick2light solution, the picking processes accelerated by 60% per pick.
The highly visible, flashing LED display of individual storage locations enabled anticipatory picking, and the optimisation of walking routes also contributed to faster processes.
The error rate was reduced by 8% thanks to the clear allocation through product images and quantity display on the handheld devices. . Due to the lights placed on the trolley, items can now be clearly assigned to a customer order after removal.
As soon as the removal of the item has been confirmed with the handset, the corresponding customer box lights up on the trolley. Occupied boxes are displayed in a different colour so that the employee can work through the customer orders quickly and efficiently.
Furthermore, the training time for new employees is now less than half the time.
CONCLUSION
The new picking system and the process optimisations could be built up and expanded piece by piece without any problems and according to the customer’s needs.
Thanks to the clear identification of the products thanks to LED marking, as well as the assignment to their orders, both time is saved and errors are reduced.
Storage, stock transfers and the training of new employees are now quick and easy. In addition, the modernisation makes it possible to expand the existing product range while maintaining the same number of staff.
