The demands on logistics are increasing, driven in part by the rapid development of e-commerce. Without automation, many companies will hardly be able to meet this challenge, according to the Business Area Supply Chain of the Körber technology group. The company therefore offers a wide range of software and automation solutions for seamless process and system integration along the entire supply chain.
Logistics processes are becoming increasingly complex, especially where goods of different types and shapes have to be handled very quickly and in large quantities. Complete solutions that fully automate warehouse processes are in demand today.
„The big challenge is our consumer behaviour, which companies can no longer manage manually. This trend will continue and many companies will be forced to automate. In addition, there is currently a shortage of logistics staff in many places. We therefore offer technical solutions for a wide range of requirements, not only for large-scale projects, but also for smaller projects. For us, this means not only developing outstanding machines and software, but also combining them with each other - flexibly and, above all, scalably, tailored to the customer's needs.“
Andreas Ebert, CEO of Körber Supply Chain Automation
One of these solutions is the layer picker. The system depalletises pallets fully automatically and reassembles them into so-called rainbow pallets according to each order. „In this area, the Körber Business Area Supply Chain world market leader,“ says Ebert. Until now, the layer pickers were equipped with fixed conveyor technology. Now autonomous mobile robots (AMR) are supplementing the machines and replacing rigid technology with mobile solutions. This should also make it easier for customers to get started with fully automated layer picking, which can grow in line with increasing requirements through the gradual addition of further AMRs.
„Thanks to its versatility, the layer picker technology is particularly popular with FMCG and 3PL customers, as it can pick up and re-pick single or multiple layers - even with gaps in between,“ says Andreas Ebert. Each access of the layer picker solutions is controlled by specially developed software, which can be integrated into the customer's IT environment via plug-and-play. „Together with our international partners, we are very strong in system integration and can offer all components from a single source, which also dovetail perfectly.“
Growing demand for intelligent storage capacity
Most recently, Körber a new fully automated warehouse for the sports retailer Intersport at the Heilbronn site implemented. The aim was to cover the growing demand for intelligent storage capacity in the coming years by means of new automation technology and a simultaneous conversion and modernisation of existing logistics. In future, it will now be possible to up to 10,000 parcels can be sent per day. Körber's Business Area Supply Chain was involved in all integral components of the central warehouse, from software to hardware.
The company recently presented another new solution at Logimat: AI-supported „Operator Eye“ technology for fully automated layer picking. „As requirements become more specialised, we are adapting our products and solutions. The Operator Eye is an AI-based device that uses a camera system to continuously detect errors during order picking in real time, such as overhanging pallets and problematic layer pads. From this, it creates algorithms to learn the operator's actions and then applies these insights to recognise problems, adjust the process and make decisions about when to stop or continue - just like an autonomous car.“
The new solution thus detects error patterns and autonomously minimises downtimes and human intervention in the picking processes. If a picking error occurs, physical intervention by an operator takes an average of two minutes. The AI algorithm completes the same task in just three seconds. Although Operator Eye was developed for the layer palletiser, it can also be installed in any other machine that the operator has to reset after a visual inspection - for example in crane forks, where loose plastic film often leads to downtime.
Körber operates internationally with its Business Area Supply Chain and particularly well established in the European markets. „We are also stepping up our activities on the Asian market and investing in North America - both are growth markets for us. So we are continuing to expand globally, we are not yet at the end of our journey,“ says Andreas Ebert.