Axelot WMS X5 system is implemented in the new Center-T warehouse

2022: Introduction of Axelot WMS X5

AXELOT announced on October 3, 2022 that the AXELOT WMS X5 system was introduced in the opened CENTER-T TD warehouse and the functionality of "rearranging" pallets was developed, which made it possible to optimize the placement of goods and increase the capacity of this warehouse.

The CENTER-T trading house is engaged in the wholesale of food products. The company has many branches in the cities of the Volga region and is a market representative in this region.

The company has a dual responsibility to both product suppliers and customers. And in order to do its job 100%, TD "CENTER-T" uses current technologies and software. One of the previous versions of WMS from AXELOT has been implemented in the main warehouse of the company, but the company plans to completely transfer warehouse logistics under the control of AXELOT WMS X5. Therefore, the opened warehouse, which the company launched recently, was decided to immediately automate using the fifth generation WMS from AXELOT.

The warehouse is located in Nizhny Novgorod, the storage area is 1000 sq. m. The entire warehouse is a freezer with a storage temperature of -18 ° C, the number of active SKUs is 500. This is a two-story building equipped with an automated AS/RS storage system, on the ground floor there is an acceptance/shipment area and a loading/unloading point in AS/RS, on the second floor there is a freezer where pallets from the first floor go. The use of storage areas and resources required optimization and the use of automatic algorithms when performing various planning operations.

WMS, based on the pallet composition (mono/mix, production date), analysis of the composition of AS/RS stuffing cells, analysis of the availability of the necessary empty space for pallet maneuvers inside AS/RS and taking into account optimization algorithms, plans the target location of the pallet and sends the command to AS/RS for execution.

Since different products or different batches of the same product can be contained in the same stuffing box, WMS schedules pallet selection tasks based on the remaining shelf life and location of the pallet within the stuffing box in order to eliminate or minimize internal pallet permutations. If, after all, the necessary pallet for shipment is forced by other pallets, then WMS first plans internal pallet movements to release the required one.

If an error occurred during the execution of the AS/RS command (for example, the shuttle cannot accommodate the pallet or, conversely, cannot pick up the pallet for descent into the shipment area), then the WMS processes such a scenario and reschedules tasks from other places. And the cell is blocked, marked as problematic for further proceedings by the responsible employee. WMS was integrated with the corporate information system, for this the DATAREON MQ message queuing service was used.

In order to ensure the maximum disposal of the warehouse, taking into account the possible availability of different batches of goods and a planning solution, during the project, an algorithm for planning the placement, selection and internal movements of pallets inside the warehouse was invented and developed - "spots." The classic solution "1 bin - 1 item - 1 date of production" in conditions of unpredictable deliveries greatly reduces the efficiency of using warehouse volumes. And thanks to the proposed solution, one of the key goals of the project was achieved - to increase the storage density of products and, as a result, free up space for SKU.

TD "CENTER-T" provides responsible storage services. The same item in the warehouse can belong to different owners. To avoid confusion, one item in the CIS is divided into several storage objects in the WMS, taking into account the actual owner of the product. Cargo processing of products is carried out in strict accordance with the FEFO principles. In terms of responsible storage, billing and automatic billing for the period for a number of services provided by the warehouse was set up - storage in pallet rooms per day, taking into account the volume, handling operations with pallets and boxes, assembly of a mixed pallet and additional services.

The introduction of AXELOT WMS X5 made it possible to automate the management of goods flow at the opened CENTER-T DP warehouse at all stages - from acceptance to shipment. Optimization and automation of planning principles made it possible not only to free up space for other goods and counterparties, it was also possible to reduce the number of necessary equipment and personnel. Thanks to the pilot project, the strategy of the complete transfer of warehouse logistics under the control of AXELOT WMS X5 is recognized as correct, and the next step is planned to transfer the main warehouse under the control of the resulting finished solution.