Generic pharmaceutical manufacturer TEVA enlisted the help of SSI Schaefer when it switched from manual operation to an automated distribution centre in Castleford, West Yorkshire.
The new site despatches over four million items per day.
It combines low level automation with more efficient smart storage systems, which have increased storage capacity, improved overall picking performance and sharpened efficiency and customer service levels while reducing labour overheads.
An ASRS has three cranes and 3,500 single deep storage locations working with pallet racking of some 21,000 storage locations, a pallet conveyor system, a 78 sort lane tote conveyor system and a pick-by-light system with 13 pick stations and 910 locations.
The racking is on a footprint of 125m by 53m, and is 12m high.
The whole operation is monitored and managed by SSI Schaefer’s WAMAS C warehouse control system.
John-Paul Bednarek, head of operations and service, said: “The automated storage and distribution facility enabled us to easily reduce our labour overheads by moving from a three-shift operation to two-shifts. Perhaps most importantly, the increased storage capacity allowed us to handle our immediate needs but also accommodates any future growth in the business with ease.”
