Short delivery times and high availability at Debrunner Acifer
The long-established Swiss company Debrunner Acifer is a B2B trade partner for reinforcements and reinforcement technology, steel and metals, water supply and civil engineering, building services, gutter and roof materials, fastening technology, tools, machines, and work protection.
State-of-the-art technology
The stated objective was to make warehouse processes considerably more efficient and effective. Kölliken was the location as Debrunner Acifer wanted to remain in the region and keep their central location as they deliver across the whole of Switzerland, with particular emphasis on French-speaking areas.
More efficient and effective warehouse processes
In order to achieve ideal logistical processes, the decision was made for a fully automated small parts warehouse and a high bay warehouse in silo design with two racking aisles. The new high bay warehouse is 16 metres in height. It consists of an automatic small parts warehouse with 58,000 containers divided into seven aisles, along with 5,400 pallet positions in which the products are stored until dispatch. The fully automated small parts stacker cranes move around six metres per second to retrieve the ordered material. Such automation is a benefit for all clients in the Debrunner Acifer trade centres across Switzerland. It also benefits the customers who order via the web shop and experience extremely short delivery times and high availability. Barcodes and a paperless process ensure that everything runs smoothly. Experienced logistics staff are responsible for optimal process monitoring.
The employees also benefit from the new warehouse. Due to the innovative in-house warehouse management system, they don’t require as much knowledge of products and logistics, and can concentrate on order picking activities. The picking workstations are equipped with a pick-by-light. This system helps avoid errors during order picking.
Short delivery times and high availability
The end result is one of the most modern logistics centres that we have ever planned and created in Switzerland. The new warehouse meant that internal process costs and also procurement costs could be heavily reduced. “The fully-automated system in Kölliken means that the goods now reach the person concerned instead of staff picking up products from the rack. That reduced the error rate, and the delivery times became shorter. We were able to improve our services in general. If an order arrives at 6pm, then delivery can be guaranteed for the next morning”, says Thomas Widmer, CEO of Debrunner Acifer, Kölliken.