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With a new compactly-built logistics system, optimized use of space and intelligent material flows, Körber lifted Greiner Bio-One’s intralogistics to a new level. Storage capacity in the existing room has been doubled and warehouse performance increased fivefold.

CustomerGreiner Bio-One is one of four companies of the international Greiner Group, with its headoffice in Kremsmünster, Austria. Greiner Bio-One’s BioScience-division specializes in the development, production and sales of quality polymer products for laboratory supply. The company has thus experi-enced a consistently positive development in the overall business and orders received in recent decades. With a comprehensive infrastructure project, Greiner Bio-One are currently preparing their production and logistics for future sustainability. The core of this restructuring process is the new logistics center.

Greiner Bio-One, Frickenhausen (Germany)

Logistics center with high-bay warehouse

Features and benefits

• Throughput 100 pallets/h

• 4-aisle high-bay warehouse with 12,448 storage positions

• Camera systems on-board the stacker cranes

• Ergonomic equipment for the picking workstations

• Retrofit of the existing plant

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Customer requirements The existing high-bay warehouse, dating from the 1980s, could no longer cope with the dynamic development of the company’s business in recent few years. At times, the workload stretched the warehouse to its limits and goods had to be stored at additional locations. For this reason, they resolved to extend capacity and increase efficiency with a newly built system. Körber was awarded the contract for mechanical and automated intralogistics.

To be able to optimally and efficiently cope with this dynamic development for the future in terms of intralogistics, Körber designed and implemented a compact layout with intelligent material flow.With the enormous performance increase of the new logistics system, Greiner Bio-One is now well prepared for further business growth in terms of intralogistics.

Special features / benefitsWith Körber’s new compactly-built logistics system, Greiner Bio-One not only was able to more than double capacity of pallet on the available company premises, they can also achieve a new quality of performance at Frickenhausen.The base area for the new high-bay warehouse was already preset by the existing building, which was removed for the new construction. This was one of the particular challenges of the project. By an efficient layout and optimized utilization of the new building volume, we managed to increase warehousing performance by a factor of 5.On a property base area of 2,285 square meters, Körber erected the new high-bay warehouse and connected the adjacent processing areas by pallet conveyor. The center of intralogistics is a four- aisle rack system. Unusual feature: All stacker cranes are furnished with an accompanying camera system in order to document the current system status holistically. The system is connected by interface via the implemented visualization system K.Sight PMS-V from the process management system software portfolio by Körber to the overhead SAP-based Warehouse Management and Material Flow System. The camera transmits footage from the moving stacker crane to the control center. Apart from high process transparency, the information - captured in livestream or on SD card together with the MX Control Center software tool included by Körber - also offers Greiner Bio-One a retrospective analysis and data evaluation e.g. of errors or failures.

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Solution / Integrated componentsIncoming goods, delivered on pallets, are registered by scanning in the controlling SAP system and put onto the conveyor by order-picking forklift trucks at transfer stations. The pallets are thereby introduced into the automated processes, and deliveries are digitally recorded in stock in the SAP system. On the conveyor lanes, load units first pass a pallet contour check which inspects dimensions, weight and possible damage. For intralogistics and shipping, Greiner Bio-One uses two pallet types of different dimensions. Pallet conveyors and lifting devices for the stacker cranes installed in the high-bay warehouse have been built to cover these requirements. A central pallet conveyor moves the pallets coming from the incoming goods area - as well as the order pallets from the picking stations - directly to the transfer stations for the stacker cranes in the high-bay warehouse. The conveyor system is designed as a continuous conveyor without transfer car. This allows buffering possibilities and short consecutive transport times to the working stations. Additionally, the attribute “central” describes another special feature of the system: the central conveyor lane serves the inbound lines of the high-bay warehouse as well as the shipping lanes, and transports pallets to and from the picking stations. To keep the system compact, inbound and outbound transports are mainly conducted on the same conveyor. Nevertheless, the respective processes have been separated in the system layout. Outbound transports coming from the high-bay warehouse for supply of the shipping area or picking stations are guided via a steel platform on a second, higher level. Vertical conveyors bridge the difference in height and introduce the shipping pallets into the

central conveyor lane, so both material flows can be transported on the same compact conveyor.For order picking, three working stations are installed in the warehouse feeding area. Supply of material source pallets from the high-bay warehouse is organized by a transport order from the SAP-based material flow control directly to the PLC control and is initiated by the superordinate, also SAP-based warehouse management system. For supplying the material source pallets to the picking stations, the conveyor has been built even with the ground. Below the determined stopping positions for these pallets, scissor lifting tables are placed, which opera-tors can adjust to a comfortable, ergonomic picking height via a control in the base plate. The same applies for target pallets. Picking is assisted by a picking dialogue, individually customized for Greiner Bio-One’s requirements with special functions such as optimized consolidation of several deliveries to one pick, pick & pack functionality and target pallet generation by the SAP-based software. Partly consumed source pallets are returned via the central conveyor lane to the high-bay warehouse. Target pallets are directly transported by the conveyor to the shipping zone. Allocation of free storage positions considering the aisle load and determination of the final destination of pallets is controlled by the SAP-based Körber-components MFS and WMS.Supply of pallets coming from the high bay warehouse or the picking stations for shipping is provided on two shipping lanes with a buffer zone with a capacity of up to five pallets, each. They end at ground level of the outgoing goods zone, so the pallets can be

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Körber Supply Chain AutomationOur impartial consultants will advise on, and help you select, the rightautomation solution for your organization. We have our own range ofcompetitive products, but we are equally willing to procure andimplement other products if they are better suited to your needs.

Körber Supply Chainkoerber-supplychain.comCopyright © 2020 Körber AG or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

accessed, taken up, transferred and loaded by operators using manually operated pallet trucks. The destination of the pallet is displayed on a monitor,

which is also controlled by the SAP-based MFS. The loading platforms of the trailers are docked to four outgoing goods gates.

Facts and figures

IndustryMedical technology

General contractor scope of delivery• Stacker cranes and conveyor system incl. control• Camera systems on-board the stacker cranes• Stages in the picking area, crossovers for conveyor systems• High-speed doors• Fire gates• Plant visualization• 3 working stations• Scissor lift table at picking workstation• Retrofit of the existing plant• Material flow control / SAP

High-bay warehouseL x W x H 79 m x 29 m x 29 mLoad units EURO pallets (1200 x 800 mm) Greiner pallets (1200 x 1000mm)Storage positions 12,448Weight max. 710 kgType of storage double depth

Stacker cranes (SRM)Aisles / SRM 4 aisles / 4 SRMLoad handling device: telescopic, double depthDriving speed 120 m/minLifting speed 60 m/minThroughput 25 storage / retrieval/h / SRM

Pallet conveyor system components• roller and chain conveyors• conveyor lifters• rollers lifting table

Throughput100 pallets/h