"DPS Goes Fresh" With the Dynamic Picking of Small Articles in Spain and Belgium

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL--(Marketwire - February 29, 2008) - The tote picking system DPS (Dynamic Picking System) of WITRON Integrated Logistics Corp. continues its sensational success story.

Since the first installation of the module more than 10 years ago, numerous WITRON customers all over the world rely upon the highly dynamic, economic and ergonomic solution. So far, the DPS solution has been used for picking small volume articles within the normal temperature area in different food and non-food industries.

The logistics expertise of the general contractor from Illinois has now succeeded in establishing the DPS solution also in the fresh food and temperature-controlled sector.

This enables an economic use of this technology also in cooled areas by considering the high demands of this product range (cooled environment, short order lead times and short expiration date periods of the goods, etc.).

After having successfully implemented the DPS for the picking of fresh goods at a customer site in Spain, a second WITRON customer in Belgium will automatically store and pick approximately 2,000 different fresh goods with DPS in the future. The product range consists of products like meat, cold cuts, poultry, instant meals, fruits, vegetables, salad, etc. Further approaches for the use of DPS within the normal and the fresh food sector are already being planned.

With the use of the Dynamic Picking System in the "Fresh Food Sector," WITRON lives up to its reputation as an innovative project house, proves its flexibility of automated picking systems and breaks into new business fields for mechanized warehouse solutions.

DPS Functions at a Glance

Being a fully integrated tote system, the warehouse and picking solution DPS is making use of the Pareto principle that defines 80% of the volume is achieved with about 20% of the article range. The logical conclusion of this relation is that due to the access frequency in the picking process only top-selling articles (fast movers) need to be permanently available. All other articles (slow movers) will be presented on order-related demand. This is enabled by providing different storage totes with articles in static flow channels or in dynamic flow channels. The change of an article classification (i.e. promotional or seasonal items) will be determined and automatically adjusted by DPS by means of a permanent check of the article structure. By directly integrating the storage and replenishment warehouse into the picking process, it is possible to present the storage totes directly at the pick workstation without having to provide additional investment or additional employees. Pick-by-Light displays, which are installed at each channel, inform the employee about the articles to be picked and visualize the quantity to be removed. Based on the article range and the pick volume, it is possible to integrate several DPS modules according to a modular design principle and to realize several pick levels one above the other.

Measurable Customer Benefit and high Efficiency with the use of DPS

According to experiences, the personnel and facility footprint savings are approximately 40% and more compared to a conventional storage. The use of optimized supply processes as well as efficient and ergonomic workstations reduces the pick distances by 75%. This enables personnel to achieve high performance values with a low error rate at the pick workstations. Furthermore DPS provides a single-branch picking process considering the arrangements of goods or family groups at the point of sale. More advantages of the system include the automated management of fast and slow movers spread throughout all pick areas creating an extremely flexible use of employees at the pick stations.

WITRON Integrated Logistics Corp.

WITRON Integrated Logistics, located in Arlington Heights, IL, is a leading company in material handling automation. WITRON's core competence is the design and implementation of innovative logistics systems. Significant cost reductions from labor and footprint savings, combined with further competitive advantages, have become the key customer advantages of WITRON Picking Systems. With more than 35 years of experience in the automation of distribution centers, WITRON's main focus is to realize the most efficient methods of order picking and replenishment.

As a systems integrator, WITRON has the ability to take complete responsibility for all phases of a project from design and implementation through ramp-up and maintenance. Headquartered in Parkstein, Germany, WITRON has grown to include subsidiaries in the USA, the Netherlands and Spain.

Contact Information: For editorial questions, please contact: Mr. Brian Sherman Business Development Manager Phone: 847-385-6000 email: WITRON Integrated Logistics Corp. 3721 Ventura Drive Suite 140 Arlington Heights, IL, 60004