Beyond long-term storage: 8 new ways to use AS/RS

For years, automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) were thought of as being only good for one function:  the long-term storage of pallets and cartons in high density unit load and mini-load systems.

Typically, these systems were built to 60-, 70- or even 90-foot heights to save enough horizontal space to justify the investment. Today, thanks to lower cost computing, better controls, more reliable systems and, most importantly, new demands, AS/RS are now being asked to play a key role in activities like sequencing, work-in-process, goods-to-person picking and staging for shipping.

“When we go to visit customers, the mindset tends to be that AS/RS is for large warehouses that need to store a lot of pallets for extended periods of time,” says Jason Perks, manager of sales planning and estimating for viastore systems. “Many of them haven’t even considered the use of AS/RS for anything other than long-term storage.”

In reality, the value of AS/RS solutions today goes beyond long-term storage. Here are eight ways companies are leveraging their AS/RS investments beyond the basics:

1: To better manage “buffer” storage.  Sure, AS/RS solutions are adept at placing, retrieving and storing goods over the long haul. Now, they are being called upon to perform those same duties on a short-term basis. In these scenarios, “buffer” storage is held in the AS/RS as other work and projects continue around the warehouse or plant. When the stored goods are needed, those items are automatically distributed to their designated areas or destinations.

“Instead of using miles of conveyor to buffer and stage products, companies are storing the goods in AS/RS units for as little as 30 minutes at a time,” says Christina Dube, Kardex Remstar’s marketing communications manager. “This is a fairly new concept within our industry, and one that finds companies gaining from the capacity of the new, high-density buffer space.”

2: For maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) management. System maintenance is more important than ever (See “MRO Moves to Materials Handling.”). Effective management of MRO parts, supplies and equipment is an ongoing challenge for most companies. One way to solve this persistent problem is by using AS/RS to support the use and or consumption of parts, consumables and even tools within a plant or warehouse.

One Kardex Remstar customer, for example, uses the vendor’s systems to place, store and retrieve all of the spare parts needed to maintain a major league baseball field—from the light bulbs to the field chalk and everything in between. “They’ve found AS/RS to be a particularly effective way to manage all of the maintenance supplies for that facility, in yet another example of how the usefulness of automated storage equipment goes beyond just long-term storage,” adds Dube.

3: To optimize your warehouse management system (WMS). In many automated warehouse solutions, pallet cranes supply full pallets to de-palletizing machines in a sequenced manner. This activity supports the WMS, which in turn can prioritize the retrieval of selected items depending on the order status and consequently provide quicker and more efficient access to the desired SKU. In addition, Norman Leonhardt, business development manager for WITRON Integrated Logistics, says automated storage systems can supply pallets to a pick front, which can be found in the lower parts of an AS/RS crane aisle.

“This set-up saves time and labor,” says Leonhardt, “as the process of manual storage using forklifts [plus] the replenishment of individual pick slots is eliminated.” In addition, he says there is a potential to save space by reducing the pick front. “If a certain item is not frequently picked, the AS/RS can supply the item during the time it is needed,” says Leonhardt. “Thus, not every SKU in the warehouse will need its own dedicated pick slot.”

4: As a way to improve staging for shipping. Omni-channel and just-in-time processes have put some unusual materials handling constraints on today’s warehouse managers—many of whom are struggling to match production schedules with specific shipping windows.

By using AS/RS to stage items for shipping, these managers can more effectively streamline their operations and meet the challenges being put in front of them. A company that receives products 24 hours a day, for example, but that relies on 4- or 8-hour-long shipping windows (due to worker shifts, for example), can use AS/RS to “stage” the goods in advance and then properly sequence them for distribution. “That way,” says Perks, “no one is waiting around for production operators or dealing with delays. The goods are on standby in the shipping area, properly sequenced and ready to load on the trucks.”

5: To supply pick and/or pack stations. Within the AS/RS realm, mini-load cranes supply directly to pick and/or pack stations where individual cases are prepared for shipment. “The AS/RS is able to supply cases in a sequenced manner so that orders can be prioritized and a pallet can be built according to the desired parameters,” Leonhardt explains. For example, heavy cases can be put on the bottom of a pallet to guarantee a minimum crushability. At the same time, the system can keep an individual store layout in mind and groups cases on a pallet. “Just like a pallet AS/RS,” says Leonhardt, “a mini-load crane can supply to a pick front that is integrated into the crane aisles.”

6: For enhancing picking systems. An emerging area involves the intersection of AS/RS and picking systems—an area ripe for better automation. For warehouses where goods are moving at a slow to medium pace, for example, Perks says an efficient approach involves four or five operation stations where pallets or totes are delivered using an automated system.

The AS/RS stores those pallets or totes, “instead of having operators walking around the warehouse with pallet jacks,” says Perks. “That allows them to more efficiently pick discrete orders or batch-pick orders.” He says this arrangement cuts down significantly on the number of pickers needed within that slow- to medium-movement warehouse. For DCs operating at faster speeds, pick modules can be set up and the AS/RS can be used for vertical storage and picking. “Cranes will automatically replenish the designated pick locations,” says Perks, “with operators working in specific zones in a goods-to-person format.”

7: To enable work-in-process setups. From a manufacturing perspective, work-in-process is a functional area where AS/RS can play a key role. According to Sean O’Farrell, market development director for Dematic, facilities can use AS/RS as a use point manager. For example, one side of the multi-shuttle or mini-load AS/RS solution can be used to stage raw materials and the other side can be used for assembly operations. Once completed, the assemblies can be placed back into the AS/RS, which then becomes a use point manager by buffering the goods or sequencing them for use in the next workstation.

O’Farrell says food or retail operations can use a similar approach with value-added processing, gift-wrapping, special labeling or kitting. “Whether you want to do value-added processing or end-process type processing,” says O’Farrell, “the automation within AS/RS is flexible enough to handle it efficiently.”

8:For reducing inventory control needs.  According to Leonhardt, another advantage of AS/RS technology that goes beyond long-term storage is the fact that it eradicates the need for time-consuming inventory control. “By scanning each item in an AS/RS before it is stored, the WMS knows exactly where each item can be found,” says Leonhardt. “If an item expired or needs to be checked, one can simply retrieve the item within minutes and send it back just as fast.”

Continued evolution
As technology continues to evolve, and as materials handling needs grow in scope, expect to see AS/RS solutions playing even larger roles in DCs and warehouses. One newer capability to keep an eye on, for example, is the way in which AS/RS technology can be programmed to ensure that cranes follow certain parameters when putting each SKU into a storage slot. For example, an operation can make an entry that liquids, oils or chemicals should always be stored in the lower levels of storage racks.

“That way, in case there is a spill caused by a leaky case, damage to the goods stored below will be minimized,” says Leonhardt. In another example, he says companies can also easily program the AS/RS to randomly store the same SKU in different aisles. “In case a crane has to go through a maintenance process, every SKU will consequently still be available.”

When assessing the AS/RS options on the market and deciding how to best integrate them into a DC, Leonhardt says operations should realize that cranes literally never sleep. “While one might not have a 24/7 picking, receiving or shipping operation,” he points out, “cranes can optimize the storage over night or on the weekends. Thus, goods will be available faster the next day and the storage space is used even more efficiently.” 

Companies mentioned in this article
Dematic, dematic.com
Kardex Remstar, kardexremstar.com
viastore systems, us.viastore.com
WITRON Integrated Logistics Corp., witron.de