Toll and Dematic are on track in helping deliver sophisticated retail distribution systems in Australia for adidas.
The adidas national distribution centre (NDC), which will be operated by Toll Global Logistics – Customised Solutions, is currently under construction at Truganina, Melbourne, and is due to commence operations by October.
The NDC will include the first use in Australia of Dematic’s new RapidPick 1:1 ergonomic order picking stations, which will offer productivity, accuracy and safety in Goods-to-Person (GTP) order fulfilment.
“By bringing the stock for orders to the picker, GTP eliminates the time spent by pickers travelling from order location to order location,” Glenn Barnes, Dematic’s industry manager, said.
“Automated handling of stock and orders not only enables operators to consistently and accurately pick goods at rates of 600 lines per hour, it also improves occupational health and safety (OH&S), presenting stock for picking at an ergonomic workstation.
“The associated reduction in forklift operations required for conventional order fulfilment also contributes to a safer workplace.”
Dematic’s warehouse control system (WCS) interfaces with Toll’s WMS, and has responsibility for co-ordinating all order picking activities, including replenishment and put-away, through to automated conveyor sortation for despatch.
Delivering stock to the workstations will be done using Dematic Multishuttle automated storage, buffering and sequencing systems.
Unlike conventional ASRS, which typically use cranes to access stock, Multishuttle uses a fleet of self-propelled carts equipped with load handling devices (LHDs) to retrieve and put-away a range of storage media like totes and cartons.
The Multishuttle will initially provide capacity of 47,600 storage locations. It has been designed so that an additional aisle can be added at a later date, creating space for an additional 9,500 storage locations.
Toll will put MS-Flex’s load handling will be used used to stage a variety of order types for shipment on specific dates to meet seasonal, promotional, and pack and hold requirements.
Dematic’s integrated logistics solution for Toll also includes the fit-out of the NDC with narrow aisle ColbyRACK pallet racking, longspan shelving and custom racks for the storage of pallets, bulky goods and uglies, and the integration of RF for order fulfilment.
“During the project development phase, we worked closely with adidas in the UK, where they have been using Dematic GTP order picking as part of their order fulfilment strategy for several years. It was great to be able to take advantage of their knowledge and experience, and apply it to our own market,” Arthur Dardoumbas, Toll Global Logistics, customised solutions national design manager, said.
“Dematic’s global retail logistics experience and local track record for implementing and, importantly, supporting complex order fulfilment systems gave us the confidence to go ahead with one of the most technically sophisticated integrated logistics solutions Toll has commissioned in Australia.”