Automated grocery picking

The first Fully Automated Standard Tray (FAST) picking system – which handles products automatically from goods-in to goods-out – will be installed later this year for the Swiss grocery chain, Migros.

Standard containers are common in grocery retail for fresh foods such as fruit, vegetables, meat, dairy produce and bakery goods. These plastic containers, which circulate throughout the supply chain from producers to point of sale, are ideal for automation. In most distribution centres, however, they are typically picked manually from floor positions to a pallet truck, a process involving considerable bending and lifting for employees. 

The Austrian group, KNAPP, has developed a new solution called FAST – Fully Automated Standard Tray – for the automatic storage and picking of these containers. The technology handles not only pool containers but also, for the first time, the one-way cartons used in the food sector. In addition, KNAPP is the first company able to offer complete solutions that combine handling of containers sized 600 x 400mm and 400 x 300mm. 

Works with OSR Shuttle

At goods-in, pallet loads are depalletised and goods placed in containers. These trays and other incoming containers are then stored in KNAPP’s OSR Shuttle automated storage system. Modular in design, the OSR Shuttle combines high performance with energy efficiency. With low shuttle weight and energy recuperation, the system requires only 5% of the energy needed for the equivalent performance by a stacker crane. The system can store goods in different temperature zones, according to their specific requirements, and offers considerable space savings compared to manual picking.

The OSR Shuttle solution forms the bedrock of KNAPP’s ‘low-complexity warehouse’ concept, which aims to reduce the number of different technologies within distribution facilities in order to minimise costs. The system offers the highest storage density of any shuttle-based solution on the market today and is not limited in size, with solutions up to 30 metres in height and more than 100 metres in length by no means unusual. Over 10,000 shuttles have been installed at more than 180 sites worldwide for customers including John Lewis, Boots, Ocado and British Gas in the UK; SPAR in Austria; Würth in Germany; Office Depot in France; Bausch + Lomb in the Netherlands; CIBA Vision in the USA; and AVON Products at several locations worldwide.

Optimal sequence

After order start, a stacking algorithm calculates the ideal sequence for the various container types, taking into account the need for load stability, packing density and shop-friendly deliveries. Containers retrieved from the OSR Shuttle store are fed to a stacking machine in an optimised sequence in order to build up pallets or roll containers, depending on the order. An integrated washing system ensures a hygienically clean operation.

The new solution is being installed at Migros’ distribution centre in Zurich. As well as being Switzerland’s largest supermarket chain, Migros is the country’s largest retailer and biggest employer, which accounts for its nickname among the Swiss of ‘the orange giant’. The group remains true to its co-operative roots, with more than 90% of its range being produced by 90 subsidiaries of Migros.