STAEDTLER picks Witron
June 26th 2006 German writing and drawing instruments supplier, STAEDTLER GmbH & Co. KG has committed to tightening its European distribution network by mid year 2007. Leading up to this time, local warehouses in the various European countries will be closed. STAEDTLER will invest about 15 million Euros at its headquarters in Nuremberg, Germany, to centralize its logistics structures focusing on the construction of a new distribution centre. The new distribution centre will be equipped with warehouse and picking systems from Witron Logistik + Informatik GmbH, Parkstein (Eastern Bavaria/Germany).
Due to the conditions of the site, there are only 5600m˛ of floor space available for the new Euro logistics centre, which will be connected to the production site and an existing warehouse, established in 1982 by means of a conveyor link. Therefore the general contractor, Witron, designed the complete logistics and technical equipment to fit within this footprint. In the 82 meter long high bay warehouse (HBW) with two storage location heights, the pallets will partly be stored double-deep. Four pallet ASRS cranes will access 11,000 storage locations and supply eight multi-functional workstations where cartons with goods will be picked, or finished goods will be repacked into totes for piece picking. The HBW and the picking work area is based on the Witron standard solution “Module Picking System” (MPS). In addition, the finished goods will be stored in an automated tote warehouse with 62,000 locations, which for space reasons will be divided over two levels. Five ASRS cranes will be integrated on each level. Likewise there will be five workstations for piece picking, each connected to a packing station. Witron’s “Order Picking System” (OPS) is the technological basis of this tote picking solution.
From the economical point of view, STAEDTLER expects reduced logistics expenses and stocks when centralizing its distribution logistics. The capital lock-up and personnel costs in the subsidiaries can also be reduced. For quality reasons, the project “Eurologistik” will ensure a continuously updated transparency of sales and turnover figures, it will optimize the international sales management, and simplify the distribution channels. Furthermore the customer service will be advanced by reducing delivery times, the technical ability to deliver will increase, and the accuracy of delivery can be maximized. More articles from Witron Engineering: | 
