Client in the healthcare industry

Blohm Consulting successfully implements and automates the warehouse processes and supports the customer in advance development and support after project completion

The task

A customer in the healthcare industry operates an international distribution center with very extensive conveyor technique.
Blohm Consulting undertook the tasks of design, realization and implementation of all warehouse processes. Blohm Consulting also assumed the responsibility of continuous maintenance and further development of the system.

Characteristics of the processes:

  • 4 different temperature zones
  • 4 miniloads, carton conveyor technique
  • 2 pallet warehouses, pallet conveyor technique
  • Automated frozen storage
  • Whole-carton picking
  • Shipping automation

System features

  • Decentralized SAP WMS connected to SAP ERP system
  • Goods receipt with palletizing and repacking in cartons
  • Putaway
  • Management of different temperature requirements
  • Dangerous goods handling
  • Case calculation considering temperature, shipping method, season, dangerous goods, etc
  • Batch creation for 5 different picking methods
  • Goods-to-man picking
  • Whole-carton picking
  • Picking of pallets (conveyor technique)
  • Whole pallet picking
  • Automated packing workstations
  • Shipping sorter control
  • Shipping and transportation planning
  • Loading

System architecture

The warehouse control is mainly automated. The control station monitors the system and covers only exceptions.
Case Calculation calculates the shipping cartons.
Batch creation generates optimized batches so that the dates of dispatch are observed on the one hand and the conveyor technique is optimized on the other hand by minimizing the number of retrieval outputs in each picking process.
WMS orders the MFR component in SAP with the movement commands along the process chain. Only the WMS manages the stock and processes.
MFR communicates with the conveyor technique.
The picking happens at SAP touch screen monitors with graphic display – without key board. The automatically connected packing sites furnish the packages with special labels and documents. On the automated shipping route the cartons are tagged (shipping labels) and sorted in shipping channels. In dispatch transports are created, palletized and loaded system-controlled.