New Automated Case Picking System Vanderlande Industries Lowers Cost per Case by 40%

At the Logistica 2009 exhibition, held in Utrecht, the Netherlands, November 10-14, Vanderlande Industries introduced a new, revolutionary Automated Case Picking (ACP) system, which lowers the costs per case handled by 40% compared with a manual case picking operation. The system is especially aimed at food retailers, who require very high system capacity to handle a large product range.

In this system, pallets coming from bulk storage are automatically depalletised layer by layer. Each pallet layer is stored on a tray in a miniload AS/RS system. Storing pallet layers instead of individual cartons, significantly reduces the number of crane movements and therefore the number of AS/RS systems required to handle the workload. Hence, the ACP system requires a significantly lower initial investment and reduces order picking costs per case handled by 40% compared with a manual operation. The ACP system has a very short payback time, less than 4 years. The new ACP system also secures stock availability in the pick face and ensures short order processing time, improving service level to food retail stores.

This new system is especially beneficial for food retailers, who require very high system capacity to handle a large product range.