Overview
The Dematic Automated Case Pick System for Mixed Case Palletizing is an order fulfillment system for automatically building mixed cases. The system is ideal for replenishing distribution centers or retail stores and as a replacement for operations currently building mixed case pallets manually.
The system is well suited for producers and wholesalers of general merchandise (personal care products, paper products, food, beverages, pharmaceuticals, and groceries) as well as of durable goods (industrial supplies, replacement parts, general hardware, and electronic devices).
Benefits
- Provides process improvement, optimized case pick operation
- Facilitates pallet building according to business rules (family groups, weight, store planogram)
- Improves service-level responsiveness and decreases cycle time
- Visibility and insight of operations
System description
The Dematic Automated Case Pick System for Mixed Case Palletizing has a pre-engineered, standardized design configuration that ensures predictable case picking performance. Here is the general order of how the system functions:
- Inbound Depalletizing: Pallets of finished goods from production are transferred to de-palletizing workstations. Conveyor transports the cases to the Case Buffer Sequencer.
- Case Buffer Sequencer: The order fulfillment process starts at the Case Buffer Sequencer. The warehouse execution system software releases cases in the precise sequence required for mixed case palletizing.
- Mixed Case Palletizing: Conveyor transports each case to the appropriate palletizing workstation for building mixed case pallets. Completed pallets are transferred to outbound shipping for loading onto over-the-road truck trailers.
System management
The Dematic Warehouse Execution System (WES) software manages a continuous flow of orders for processing downloaded from the Warehouse Management System (WMS). The WMS is responsible for the overall operation of the facility, including inbound receiving and outbound shipping.
The Dematic WES software is a scalable logistics software platform responsible for directing, controlling, and synchronizing workflows. It dynamically manages processes, inventory, workforce, and material handling automation in real time.
The Dematic WES software determines and tracks the storage locations for the inventory held in the Case Buffer Sequencer sub-system. The software releases cases in sequence to create mixed case pallets in specific build patterns.
Warehouse Management System (Host)
- Order entry
- Inventory
Fulfillment orders
Status and completion
Dematic Warehouse Execution System
- Mixed case pallet pre-build planning
- Order management, plan, execution
- Order attributes, priority, changes
- Direct de-palletizing management
- Direct automated case picking
- Scan and sort control
- Balance workflow
- Visibility and insight
Comparison
The Dematic Automated Case Pick System for Mixed Case Palletizing is more accurate, requires less labor to operate, and is more efficient than conventional case pick systems
| Conventional Case Picking | Automated Case Pick System for Mixed Case Palletizing |
| Manual operation throughout: replenishment, case picking, transport | Automated, real-time control, visibility and insight into operations |
| Manual case pick to pallet truck | Automated case pick |
| Case pick at floor level | Case pick at multiple levels creating compact system footprint |
| Pick one or two pallets and pass through most or all of warehouse | Pallet built to business rules: family groups, store planogram, weight |
| Workers travels to the cases stored throughout the warehouse | Cases brought to workstations for palletizing (goods-to-person method) |
| Manual fork truck transport | Conveyor connects de-palletizing, case buffer, and palletizing |
| Potential aisle congestions around high velocity inventory | More throughput capacity |