Economical, efficient and ecological: the storage lift in combination with SuPCIS-L8!

As a rule, modern logistics is always particularly efficient when it is easy to handle, is carried out with a high degree of quality and the intralogistical procedures follow a clearly defined process. In order to be able to meet these requirements, a well-structured warehouse organisation, a smooth provision of goods and often also automated workstations for the fast processing of orders play an essential role.

At this point you are asking yourself: sounds good in theory, but which storage solution is best suited to make optimum use of the available storage space and to meet the aforementioned challenges in the best possible way? We have an answer!
S&P has been working for many years with warehouse technology partners to implement a wide variety of systems in the automation of classic shelf systems or RBG and shuttle systems for small parts. The different automated storage concepts on the market have advantages and disadvantages that must be considered in detail when selecting a system. Today we will focus on warehouse lifts. These are sold, designed, installed and maintained by system integrators - examples are companies like Hänel Büro- und Lagersysteme, SSI Schäfer as well as Modula GmbH. All of them have already been integrated into SuPCIS-L8.

The special feature of a warehouse lift: compared to a "traditional" warehouse, it builds up in height on a comparably small area and thus makes very good use of the space for storing goods. The size of the system and trays can be individually adapted and expanded to the conditions and requirements of each customer. The storage units are grouped on trays of the same size, which are stored both in front of and behind the "lift". The goods on the trays are stored on only one level - each tray has its own identification number in the system.

So far so good - but who takes care of the management and control of the orders and the articles to be picked? This is where the SuPCIS-L8 warehouse management software comes into play. The WMS manages and controls the entire handling process of the individual orders for the warehouse lifts. Both space and stock management are carried out in the WMS.

As soon as an order has been entered, the ERP transmits it to the WMS - the order now becomes a picking order and the WMS transmits the request to the control system. Under the motto: "Drive out tray 23", the WMS specifies which tray is needed next at the pick point. This tray is then moved to the pick point so that the employee can then remove the item to be picked. The detailed information on the individual picking orders (e.g. order number, article, quantity) is displayed to the employees on the WMS screen or, if no permanently assigned PCs are installed, on the MDE. The displayed tray number informs the employee from which tray he has to pick the desired item.

In order for the employees to know immediately from which place on the tray goods are to be picked or stored, the place on the tray is visualised graphically and can also be illuminated by a light display or laser pointer shining from above on the place of the relevant tray. Once a picking order has been completed, the employee confirms the removal and the tray is returned to its storage location.

Thanks to the "goods to person" principle, the goods are quickly available, picking times and routes are significantly minimised and the annoying search for goods in the warehouse is also a thing of the past. Integrated into the multi-order picking aisle, warehouse lifts with their specific design can easily be included in the picking runs in manual warehouses.

The interaction between the WMS SuPCIS-L8 and the warehouse lift allows the user ergonomic access to the items and faster goods delivery, improved inventory security through theft protection, efficient order picking with a lower error rate and, as a result, shorter throughput times. The flexibility of powerful software such as SuPCIS-L8, combined with the scalability of the tray systems, forms an essential basis for future-proof logistics, so that ideally you will never again have to say: "I don't know where this item is."

Would you like to find out more? Feel free to contact us!

We would like to thank Hänel and Modula very much for providing the photo material!

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