Providing long service

A close service relationship over many years, tailoring the complete Yale range of products to meet the customer’s requirements has been the secret of success for Yale dealer, CLS with Italian wholesaler Sacchi Elettroforniture.

“Sacchi presented us with their specific logistics operation challenges, requiring the movement of a whole range of different items both inside and outside the warehouse on round-the-clock shifts,” said Mr. Crovetto, CLS-Yale sales manager.

The logistics centre in covers an area of 36,000 sq m, including a 3,000 square metre automated warehouse for pallet stocking and 2,000 sq m of automated warehousing for bulk materials and boxes, with instant availability of 50,000 items and 300,000 items on order. The warehouse structure is designed to facilitate the picking and storage of boxes, pallets and cable reels, even at great heights.

For over 12 years Yale and CLS have provided logistics solutions to Sacchi. This has involved a full consultation on requirements, specifying adaptations to the trucks and providing the customised range of Yale products which CLS then supports and maintains.

The logistics management is vertical and the trucks work in teams within a bigger automated warehouse along with the traditional warehouse areas, integrating perfectly in terms of the materials handling tasks of the whole distribution chain.

At the Desio headquarters, more than 80 counterbalance and warehouse range trucks are in operation, in addition to approximately 50 trucks used in the various branches. The fleet is varied in order to meet the multiple handling needs of the customer, inside an impressive storage facility. The traditional counterbalanced trucks with capacities of 1500 to 4000 Kg are assisted by the vertical order pickers with the operator on board, intended for large shelves or pallet shelves in picking and storage operations, which in some cases are provided with specific equipment and specially designed for Sacchi.

The platform and non-platform electric pallet trucks are used for internal handling operations and lifting loads. The reach trucks are used for handling particularly bulky products (pallets or crates) along the warehouse lanes, thanks to the great manoeuvrability of Yale trucks in tight spaces.

Over the years, thanks to the high efficiency of the logistics centre, Sacchi has reduced the size of its stores while maintaining quality of service and product availability. Yale has worked with the client to identify the trucks ideally suited to materials handling in tight spaces, with "user friendly" characteristics for the operator and smaller dimensions. For example, Sacchi changed from reach trucks with a lifting capacity of 2.5 tonnes to trucks with a lifting capacity of 1.6 tonnes.

Operator ergonomics
“The ergonomic conditions for our workers are a fundamental value for us, and the choice of the truck includes both the materials handling operation and the driver’s comfort,” confirms Giuseppe Pellegatta, general service and logistics manager at Sacchi. “And this is not to mention the ease of driving, thanks to the presence of joysticks and the ergonomic interior of the cabins.”

Many of the changes requested are aimed at enhancing protection for operators in Sacchi’s specific applications, for example the inclusion of an overhead guard above the operating position to offer protection from falling objects, as well as scheduled tyre changes and ergonomic seats.

"We can endorse Yale on all fronts," continues Pellegatta. "The electronic elements of the trucks are sophisticated, with no difficulties in using the telematics, and the tools to diagnose any anomalies are extremely intuitive and are easily resolved.  This undoubtedly aids our productivity.”

Move to rental agreement
Optimising the operation of the trucks and maintenance of the tyres and forks are aspects which CLS and Sacchi monitor closely. Yale and CLS provide an agile and efficient service to Sacchi through the supply of a highly manoeuvrable and dependable fleet with fast response times.

With the general climate of uncertainty in 2008, Sacchi chose to move to a rental agreement, to optimise the number of machines according to the workflow and is grateful to CLS for providing the flexibility and punctuality of service they required. With the opening of the new automated warehouse in 2010, the old trucks were replaced by a complete Yale fleet and the dealer fully satisfied the needs of the customer with a combined rental and purchase solution.

Also, Sacchi has always been very attentive to waste and environmental impact. Ten years ago they installed high frequency batteries instead of the classic heavier and bulkier ones, so as to reduce energy consumption and charging time.

“The product is excellent and working with Yale and CLS provides flexibility and rapid professional assistance, by advising on the choice of trucks for specific needs. This is a service that certainly represents important added value,” concludes Pellegatta. “The high quality of Yale products together with CLS services provide a complete service and ease the logistical burden for us: we can dedicate ourselves to our customers, to our 1,000 employees, to the technical specifications of orders.”