Case Studies Highly Automated Solution for Precise and Efficient Order Fulfilment

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	Highly Automated Solution for Precise and Efficient Order Fulfilment

Highly Automated Solution for Precise and Efficient Order Fulfilment

Technology Category	Analytics & Modeling - Predictive Analytics Automation & Control - Automation & Process Control Systems Functional Applications - Warehouse Management Systems (WMS)
Applicable Industries	E-Commerce Retail
Applicable Functions	Logistics & Transportation Warehouse & Inventory Management
Use Cases	Inventory Management Predictive Maintenance Warehouse Automation
Services	Hardware Design & Engineering Services Software Design & Engineering Services System Integration Training
Challenge	In the last decade, the rise of e-commerce has significantly changed the landscape of business-to-business (B2B) transactions. Customers now expect higher order frequency, shorter lead times, and user-friendly order fulfilment. Brødrene Dahl AS, a leading water, heating, and sanitation technology wholesaler in Norway, faced the challenge of meeting these evolving customer expectations. Their central warehouse in Langhus was responsible for fulfilling all orders and distributing goods to regional warehouses across Norway. However, their existing manual distribution center could no longer keep up with the growing business demands. The company needed to optimize their order fulfilment process to handle a wide range of product sizes and orders, from single items to fully loaded pallets, with expectations of overnight or even same-day delivery. Read More
About Customer	Brødrene Dahl AS is Norway’s leading water, heating, and sanitation technology wholesaler, owned by Saint-Gobain Distribution Nordic, one of Europe’s leading industrial groups. With an estimated revenue of 320 billion NOK, Brødrene Dahl operates at 56 locations throughout Norway and employs around 1,300 people. The company has a significant e-commerce presence and works across various fields, including water and sewage and industry. They define themselves as a logistics company, focusing on efficient and precise order fulfilment to meet the high expectations of their B2B customers. Read More
Solution	To address the challenges, Brødrene Dahl partnered with Swisslog, a highly qualified Norwegian supplier of warehouse and logistics solutions. Swisslog provided a comprehensive solution that included a High bay Warehouse with automated pallet stacker cranes, an integrated picking solution, and a short-term buffer storage facility. The solution also featured Swisslog's warehouse and automation software, which controls the entire system and communicates with Brødrene Dahl's order management software. The High bay Warehouse, equipped with eight Vectura pallet stacker cranes, allows for large storage capacity on a small footprint, ensuring maximum pallet throughput and high storage density. Additionally, Swisslog introduced GreenLog standards to optimize energy efficiency, utilizing lightweight designs, energy-efficient drives, and innovative control concepts. The solution also included a pick-to-belt system for efficient and ergonomic picking of cartons, and a buffer storage facility with three types of transport units for fast and organized transportation of goods. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Analytics & Modeling - Predictive Analytics

Automation & Control - Automation & Process Control Systems

Functional Applications - Warehouse Management Systems (WMS)

Applicable Industries

E-Commerce

Retail

Applicable Functions

Logistics & Transportation

Warehouse & Inventory Management

Use Cases

Inventory Management

Predictive Maintenance

Warehouse Automation

Services

Hardware Design & Engineering Services

Software Design & Engineering Services

System Integration

Training

Challenge

In the last decade, the rise of e-commerce has significantly changed the landscape of business-to-business (B2B) transactions. Customers now expect higher order frequency, shorter lead times, and user-friendly order fulfilment. Brødrene Dahl AS, a leading water, heating, and sanitation technology wholesaler in Norway, faced the challenge of meeting these evolving customer expectations. Their central warehouse in Langhus was responsible for fulfilling all orders and distributing goods to regional warehouses across Norway. However, their existing manual distribution center could no longer keep up with the growing business demands. The company needed to optimize their order fulfilment process to handle a wide range of product sizes and orders, from single items to fully loaded pallets, with expectations of overnight or even same-day delivery.

About Customer

Brødrene Dahl AS is Norway’s leading water, heating, and sanitation technology wholesaler, owned by Saint-Gobain Distribution Nordic, one of Europe’s leading industrial groups. With an estimated revenue of 320 billion NOK, Brødrene Dahl operates at 56 locations throughout Norway and employs around 1,300 people. The company has a significant e-commerce presence and works across various fields, including water and sewage and industry. They define themselves as a logistics company, focusing on efficient and precise order fulfilment to meet the high expectations of their B2B customers.

Solution

To address the challenges, Brødrene Dahl partnered with Swisslog, a highly qualified Norwegian supplier of warehouse and logistics solutions. Swisslog provided a comprehensive solution that included a High bay Warehouse with automated pallet stacker cranes, an integrated picking solution, and a short-term buffer storage facility. The solution also featured Swisslog's warehouse and automation software, which controls the entire system and communicates with Brødrene Dahl's order management software. The High bay Warehouse, equipped with eight Vectura pallet stacker cranes, allows for large storage capacity on a small footprint, ensuring maximum pallet throughput and high storage density. Additionally, Swisslog introduced GreenLog standards to optimize energy efficiency, utilizing lightweight designs, energy-efficient drives, and innovative control concepts. The solution also included a pick-to-belt system for efficient and ergonomic picking of cartons, and a buffer storage facility with three types of transport units for fast and organized transportation of goods.

Impact #1	The customized solution from Swisslog has significantly increased Brødrene Dahl's efficiency, capacity, and accuracy in order fulfilment.
Impact #2	The High bay Warehouse with automated pallet stacker cranes allows for large storage capacity on a small footprint, ensuring maximum pallet throughput and high storage density.
Impact #3	The introduction of GreenLog standards has set a new benchmark for energy efficiency, reducing energy consumption through lightweight designs, energy-efficient drives, and innovative control concepts.

Impact #1

The customized solution from Swisslog has significantly increased Brødrene Dahl's efficiency, capacity, and accuracy in order fulfilment.

Impact #2

The High bay Warehouse with automated pallet stacker cranes allows for large storage capacity on a small footprint, ensuring maximum pallet throughput and high storage density.

Impact #3

The introduction of GreenLog standards has set a new benchmark for energy efficiency, reducing energy consumption through lightweight designs, energy-efficient drives, and innovative control concepts.

Benefit #1	The High bay Warehouse with eight Vectura pallet stacker cranes can store and retrieve pallets from over 20,000 pallet locations.
Benefit #2	The buffer storage facility's Vectura crane serves 386 pallet locations with a maximum throughput of 70 pallets per hour.
Benefit #3	The Tornado miniload crane handles 540 tray locations with a maximum throughput of 80 trays per hour.

Benefit #1

The High bay Warehouse with eight Vectura pallet stacker cranes can store and retrieve pallets from over 20,000 pallet locations.

Benefit #2

The buffer storage facility's Vectura crane serves 386 pallet locations with a maximum throughput of 70 pallets per hour.

Benefit #3

The Tornado miniload crane handles 540 tray locations with a maximum throughput of 80 trays per hour.

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Overview

Highly Automated Solution for Precise and Efficient Order Fulfilment

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit