Beumer launch AutoDrop pouch system

Gregor Baumeister – Director Warehousing & Distribution Logistics Systems at Beumer tells Warehouse & Logistics News about the company’s new AutoDrop pouch system, which is up to 30-35% more efficient than other systems on the market.

How has business been on the Beumer stand?

I think we had a really good start, with lots of visitors already, the booth is very busy. It has been quite busy, and I’m convinced it will be a good show overall.

What is Beumer highlighting at the show?

Beumer Logistic Systems is a specialist in sortation solutions, we have a whole range of sortation solutions, from line sorters to pouch sorters. This year at LogiMAT we will be presenting our new AutoDrop, the automatic loadable and unloadable pouch system.

Is there any AI involved in the AutoDrop system?

The movement of material is still physical, but of course, there is a lot of intelligence involved in the AutoDrop system, it’s a system for e-commerce, the applications could be for fashion, e-pharma and other sectors and returns sortation. If you are in the retail space or the e-commerce space, data is everything. We can track the system, we can see patterns of movements and from that make intelligent decisions about how we’re running the system in the most efficient way from an operational perspective and from an energy perspective. We have data analytics looking at certain patterns and apply algorithms to intelligently run the system.

Is AutoDrop quicker at processing products, compared to other order picking systems on the market?

Absolutely. You can have a stand-alone pouch system in collaboration with a manual picking area. If you are in high performance scenarios, you frequently have the accommodation of goods to person with a pouch system. The pouch system allows you to apply a batch picking strategy; that will then allow you to produce the number of co-presentations to your operators, so you increase efficiency. You have a manual interaction; the next step is having a robot interface, loading and unloading the pouches automatically. Using AutoDrop, you can automatically drop the pouches into a shipping container. It is the next step towards the ‘lights-out’ warehouse, a fully automated process.

Does this process reduce the amount of people in a warehouse?

Absolutely. It is integrating different processes, it’s not only order fulfilment, but also integrating the returns process so that returns you receive are still good for resale. You are not packing them up, putting them in storage and picking them again. You can put them directly into a pouch and put these items first when you request a pick from the warehouse, so it increases efficiency in the fulfilment process.

So AutoDrop doesn’t just take out orders, it puts them back into the right place?

Exactly.

Does it cover all services – fashion, sport, food?

Correct. We have a weight capacity of up to 7kg per pouch. If it is heavier than that, then you will probably use a different system. It’s super high performance; it’s a modular system which can process up to 10,000 items per hour per module and then it can incrementally increase and scale it as is needed. It can also process smaller and leave some things out and do less than 10,000 items per hour.

How does AutoDrop’s speed of picking compare, in terms of how much volume can be picked in a day?

That system is 30-35% more efficient than other systems on the market, with a higher specific capacity. It’s not by us running faster, because speed is what you don’t want in a pouch system, it’s about accuracy and the intelligence of how we control pouches and switches, diverts, merges. It’s all about keeping distances between pouches smaller, this is how we rate the performance.

Can one pouch deliver four or five different products from different areas?

That’s the whole idea, it’s exactly what we are doing in the distribution centre in Poland. There are a lot of different picking zones, and the pouches are bringing different items from different areas to a consolidation area and there they may be merged with items that come from outside. It’s an intelligent process that is bringing items to one single point for efficient customer packing.

Does it interlink with conveyors and all the different systems?

Yes. If you build up a mental warehouse, you have your inbound process, your storage and goods to person technology. Then you have your order fulfilment system like this which can handle returns. After packing, the subsequent process would be a dispatch sorter which could be a line sorter or a crossbelt sorter. From a technology perspective, the innovative part of AutoDrop is in the chutes where the pouch is automatically opening and unloading. It’s an alloy metal, and by adding power, it is contracting the metal and opening the mechanism. We do that because it is super lightweight and super robust. You cannot measure the wear and tear of this alloy. We are aiming to minimise weight at the bottom of the pouch because weight at the bottom of the pouch is giving you movement you don’t want to have. It prevents products swinging backwards and forwards. You are maximising the load capacity of the pouch, and you are not giving up the load capacity by increasing the weight of the carrying unit.

What makes the mechanism open and close?

A quick energy boost is all that’s needed. This is technology used by NASA and in the automotive industry. Now we are applying the technology transfer to logistics. The overall key message about AutoDrop is its versatility, you can use it in different industries from fashion to pharma. In terms of regional application, we see the focus right now in Europe and North America.

AutoDrop, which provides greater accuracy than other order picking systems, will have applications across an almost unlimited spectrum of industries.The post Beumer launch AutoDrop pouch system first appeared on Warehouse & Logistics News.