High-bay warehouse: DACHSER takes the automation highway

3 May 2023

Acting as the general contractor for the logistics service provider DACHSER, Kardex Mlog constructed an 8-aisle, fully automated, high-bay warehouse in Memmingen. The new facility accommodates 52,640 pallets and enables up to 400 pallet movements every hour. The plant features camera-supported pallet identification and enables automated storage of diverse load units. Load units not meeting the required criteria are automatically split into sub pallets.
 
Dachser
 
Few logistics service providers operate fully automated high-bay warehouses, making the DACHSER investment even more impressive. The new plant, commissioned in the summer of 2022, is located at the company’s largest operational site in Memmingen, Germany. On a surface area of just 7,320 square meters (120 x 61 m), the general contractor Kardex Mlog constructed a 32-meter-high building with 52,640 pallet storage spaces for the storage of ambient foodstuffs and food packaging.

A first for DACHSER

For the globally active logistics service provider, this is the first construction project in the company’s more than 90-year history involving a fully automated high-bay warehouse. It is DACHSER’s largest extension of the Allgäu logistics center to date, creating additional capacity for new customers and the growth of its existing customers. The project was completed within 52 weeks, targeting maximum efficiency and sustainability. “We are very happy with the expert advice and the high-quality construction work carried out by Kardex Mlog. During the entire course of the project, we knew we were in safe hands with the very experienced and helpful Kardex Mlog employees,” says Thomas Henkel, General Manager at the Dachser Allgäu logistics center. 
 
The focus on sustainability is underlined by the photovoltaic installation on the roof of the facility, which generates a large portion of the energy required to operate the 8-aisle high-bay warehouse. The Kardex Mlog-designed and installed technology inside the building relieves approximately 40 employees from most of the previous manual storage and retrieval activities.

Capability for 7 different load units

At the heart of the plant are 8 stacker cranes of type Kardex MSingle B-1000/33-ZT. The name stands for a payload of 1,000 kilograms with a height of 33 meters and double-deep storage functionality (ZT, zweifachtief = double deep). Next to the high bay structure is a conveying system with approximately 260 drives, 2 transfer carriages in the goods issue area, and a vertical conveyor. This allows for the fully automated transportation of seven different load units alongside fully automated storage and retrieval. Load units not meeting the required criteria get split into sub pallets. For example, for pallets with damaged planks or insufficient space for the forks and for all transport units that do not correspond to DIN EN 13698-1 / DIN EN 13698-2. The sub palleting occurs at two stations, each with automated pallet dispensers.

Goods receipt is supported by automated truck unloading, where two vehicles can be handled simultaneously. Another 4 of the 22 loading and unloading bays are available for manual unloading. Finally, a camera-based system ensures automated recording of the load units, which are then moved to the high-bay warehouse either directly or via the pallet-splitting area.

400 pallet movements per hour

On subsequent retrieval, the sub pallets are removed from a central location (depalletized) and stacked in two pallet collectors. From here, the goods travel to one of two goods issue areas, where they are consolidated and buffered into complete loads for up to 10 trucks. Above the loading area, a 2,300-square-meter floor area is available for manual picking and packing. In total, the Kardex Mlog automated high-bay warehouse has a maximum capacity of approximately 400 pallet movements per hour – 200 pallets each in goods receipt and goods issue.

Optimized material flows in the high-bay warehouse are ensured by the modular software solution Kardex Control Center, which includes the Kardex WMS warehouse management system and the Kardex MVisu plant visualization system. Using Kardex MVisu, the operators can graphically map the entire conveying technology and the stacker cranes and show their operating status. DACHSER programs the article information administered in the WMS Mikado WMS, and any changes or amendments are transferred automatically to the Kardex Control Center. Over 5,400 DACHSER employees worldwide use Mikado at more than 163 warehouse locations to manage some 2.7 million pallet storage spaces.

Comprehensive Life Cycle Service

The project is completed by the Kardex Mlog comprehensive Life Cycle Service. The "all-inclusive worry-free package" includes maintenance, spare parts supply, on-site service, and a hotline, with an initial term of 5 years. The Kardex Life Cycle Service supports logistics plants throughout their lifetime, ensures maximum operational security, and maintains state-of-the-art technology. Customers can configure a tailor-made maintenance concept from the six available service modules.

Summary: With its first fully automated high-bay warehouse, the logistics service provider DACHSER has spared no effort, and the new facility ensures highly efficient processes with a minimum of manual intervention. The approximately 40 employees can now concentrate on providing high-quality, value-adding services.

Background: DACHSER

The family-owned Dachser company, based in Kempten in Bavaria, Germany, offers transport logistics, warehousing, and customer-specific services within two business fields: Dachser Air & Sea Logistics and Dachser Road Logistics. The latter consists of two Business Lines: Dachser European Logistics and Dachser Food Logistics. Cross-industry contract logistics services and industry-specific solutions round off the portfolio. An extensive European and intercontinental transport network and fully integrated information systems ensure intelligent logistics solutions across the globe.

With approximately 32,850 employees at 379 locations worldwide, Dachser generated consolidated revenues of approximately 8.1 billion euros in 2022. The logistics service provider transported a total of 81.1 million packages with a total weight of 42.8 million metric tons. Dachser operates its national subsidiaries in 41 countries. For more information on Dachser, see dachser.de

About Kardex Mlog

Kardex Mlog (www.kardex.com), with head office in Neuenstadt am Kocher, is one of the leading suppliers of integrated material flow systems and high-bay warehouses. The company has more than 50 years of experience in the planning, implementation and maintenance of fully automated logistics solutions. The three business sectors - Greenfield installations, Refurbishment, and After-sales service – draw upon its in-house manufacturing facility in Neuenstadt. Kardex Mlog is part of the Kardex Group and employs 305 people. In 2021 the company achieved revenues of €89 million.

For more information:

MLOG Logistics GmbH
Wilhelm-Maybach-Straße 2
74196 Neuenstadt am Kocher

Press Officer:

Bettina Wittenberg
Tel.: +49 7139 / 4893-536