Page 27 - Logistics News Sept / Oct 2018
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and repackages them as mixed case pallets? has rapidly accelerated in recent years. The
Are you looking to simply store goods, or store pressure for speed and precision means
before turning them into something else? Next is software has to efficiently coordinate
determining the rate at which you need to store resources from equipment to labour to
and retrieve, and then you need to consider the storage space. Software providers are now
physical constraints of the new or existing facility. focused on timing. If an order should be
If new, it might make sense to build a tall AS/RS sitting at the shipping door at 2:56pm for a
crane to maximise the use of vertical space. truck leaving at 3:07pm, the software must
Cranes are characterised by a single load work backwards from that point to determine
handling mechanism per aisle. Cranes that handle the optimal time to launch the order. If it gets
pallets (unit loads) might be able to handle one, to the dock too early, it’s in the way. If too
two or multiple pallets at a time. Cranes can also late, it misses the truck.
be designed to handle totes, trays and/or cartons AS/RS supporting shipping can provide
(mini-load). For, say, 20,000 pallets of only 200 case buffer capabilities and bring out cases
SKUs, shuttles are a good supplement to such a and orders in a specific sequence to build a
system. Instead of a fork-type telescoping load rainbow pallet or floor load trailers in route-
handling unit, the crane can be fi tted with a bed stop sequence. But again, the software
or chassis for a shuttle. The shuttle can then leave must have a holistic view upstream and
the confi nes of the crane to travel down a lane. As downstream of the AS/RS.
automated storage supports ever-smaller orders In this dynamic business climate,
and storage quantities, another wave of shuttle exceptions are increasingly becoming
technology is predicted. the rule. In addition to the conventional
storage role for AS/RS, there’s a growing
Software and solutions range of applications that leverage AS/
In terms of both equipment design and RS functionality to address contemporary
software, the evolution of AS/RS solutions challenges. •
