When automation becomes part of the business model

Requirements

The need to achieve greater competitiveness in costs and the need to provide a more efficient and high-quality service to the client were the factors that led DBG Logística to decide to implement its automated logistics project.

The value of this operator’s offer had to be based on a great capacity for logistical movements and great flexibility, in order to offer an integral storage and dispatch service to its clients. In fact, this degree of flexibility also had to be accounted for in the IT system, so as to put in place a communication interface with the clients’ different management systems.

Proposed solution

From a functional point of view, the installation has a fine stocker box storage system, distributed in two corridors with a height of 18m, as well as a campaign picking system and Pick to Light for picking replacements and automatic replacement of references using stackers cranes for the client Import Arrasate.

The installation also comprises an automatic palletising system and pallet storage with a palletising robot, formed by two Compact System corridors at a height of 18 m. In the case of the Import Arrasate client, the function is to palletise and store pallets of full boxes for campaign orders for clients, and in the case of Alfa Hogar, it is used for palletising and storing mini-appliances.

The system also has a very comprehensive reports module that gives the warehouse manager access to very precise and comprehensive information, which helps to make decisions.

For DBG Logística, the automation project was a strategic decision that has allowed it to consolidate its competitive position: “We have achieved our targets in less time and with less personnel, and now we are in a position where we can track products from when they arrive from the supplier to when they are dispatched to clients, with total control of the stocks of different references“, says Jose Ignacio Garro, DBG’S Industrial Manager.

Another important achievement made possible by automation has been the improvement of working conditions and a drop in the errors rate to negligible, practically irrelevant, values.

The Industrial Manager says that the most positively valued aspects of ULMA Handling Systems’ offer, apart from its experience in the automation sector and the strong commitment and effort demonstrated by the team when commissioning the project, were the decisive role the company played in the process of redefining the engineering plans and the assistance provided in developing key aspects of the company.

Result

Basically, the automation project has been a strategic decision made by DBG Logística that has allowed it to consolidate its competitive position as a logistical operator: “We have reached our targets in less time and with less personnel“, Mr. Garro points out.

The system makes it possible to track a product from the moment it arrives from the supplier to the moment it is dispatched to the client, with total control of the different references in stock and references in batches. Plus, it represents an enormous step forward in terms of working conditions, providing negligible error rates and a significant increase in productivity, all of which constitute the base from which the company can continue to grow.