3D Warehouse System for Today’s Retail Environment
For years the standard warehouse systems remained the same – the racks are aligned vertically, and pallets, cartons or totes are transported by storage and retrieval machines or lifts to the front of the warehouse for retrieval.
There are a few chinks in the system, which can be ignored when delivery from distribution centres (DCs) is destined solely for brick and mortar retail shops involving large orders of relatively few items, requiring full pallet or full case with only occasional split case replenishment. But in today’s multi-channel world, the hiccups are becoming more apparent. The system’s performance is limited by the number of lifts and central front zone conveyor system, and bottlenecks at transfer points slow down the handling process.
With direct-to-consumer order fulfilment involving many small orders within a tight delivery dateline, the inadequacies will make it problematic for DCs, especially during special events when orders and volumes increase in multiples.
Accessible, Scalable and User-Friendly
Faced with this challenge, material handling manufacturers have gone back to the drawing board and have come up with something which can help the industry to address its challenges squarely. Using proven equipment such as shuttles and lifts, they have put together a new 3D Matrix concept which removes the limitations of the conventional ASRS system and eradicates bottlenecks.
Modular in design and shaped like a cube, this Matrix comprises of a high density warehouse system integrating goods-to-man retrieval and order picking. Automated shuttles operate within the framework, storing and picking pallets, trays, totes or cartons between anywhere in the warehouse and any picking station.
On request, the load units are moved by shuttles to lift transfer station serving a particular workstation and buffered there. Individual access of the lifts to the transfer stations enables retrieval operations to be sequenced.
Driven by proven control system and software, almost any number of picking and shipping stations can be configured, integrated and sequenced individually. With this design, all items in the warehouse cube can be accessed at any time to anywhere without compromising the performance.
What are the advantages of the 3D system? The system can:
Manage very high throughput at optimal storage density
Ensure easy access to all skus without any decrease in the performance
Eliminate the need for inventory sequencing of the orders as it is already managed by the warehouse system
Scale up to meet expanding requirement
Simplify maintenance activities because of unlimited accessibility even when the plant is in operation
The system can be configured for the storage and picking of individual items (piece picking), cases or whole pallets.
For more information, check with one of our representatives who will be pleased to assist you.