Department store opts for second helping of Click&Pick

An automated small parts storage solution, integrating an AutoStore system will be installed in Möhlin, Switzerland with commissioning scheduled for the second half of 2016.

Since the launch of an AutoStore system at Manor’s Hochdorf site in August 2014, the retailer has realised considerable cost savings, as the retailer has been able to vacate some warehouses. In addition, the construction of the fully automated small parts storage solution has increased Manor’s picking performance fourfold.

The new AutoStore facility, which will be built in Möhlin, will be similar in size to Manor’s existing system in Hochdorf. Eighty-two robots will traverse the top of the aisleless AutoStore aluminum grid. The storage space will accommodate approximately 27,400 bins. Robot vehicles automatically transport all stored items to the eight pick stations located along the sides of the grid.

Möhlin will also feature a buffer storage area for 9,600 bins of picked items, connected to the AutoStore system via a bin conveyor. In the automated bin storage area, seven Tornado miniload cranes will ensure smooth storage and retrieval of the custom-picked bins for each Manor store. Swisslog’s WM 6 warehouse management system is the main pillar of the comprehensive automation concept; this software ensures that each store-specific bin removed from storage and stacked on a rolling base – all done fully automatically – will be delivered in the right sequence, at the right time to the right store.