Nominated for IFOY Award 2013 in the Forklift Truck Solutions Category: Jungheinrich

• Transparent and error-free goods transport: Jungheinrich builds new logistics centre for southern German commodities trader Warimex

Munich, February 18, 2013.  For many years the family owned Warimex enterprise, which specialises in the worldwide import and export of household and gift items ranging from cosmetics to kitchenware, handled its logistics activities manually in a rented warehouse in Kehl. The storage area was spread over three floors and there was no warehouse management system, so the Warimex management decided to look for a new and more efficient solution. They commissioned Jungheinrich to build a completely new logistics centre in Neuried near Offenburg with a design that not only optimises front-to-end goods transport and makes the movement of goods transparent but also achieves zero error rates. The project was completed in November 2012 after a construction period of just two months.

Digital data instead of paper mountains
The centrepiece of the facility with an area of 2,700 square metres is a narrow aisle warehouse with around 2,600 pallet storage places which is controlled and managed by the warehouse management system from Jungheinrich (Jungheinrich WMS). This signals the end of the era when picklists were printed on paper via the SAP system, forwarded to the warehouse and, once the picking processes were completed, used to compile delivery notes, invoices and shipping labels. Whereas the main challenge used to be handling huge amounts of paperwork without losing sight of individual orders, the new and totally paperless WMS now ensures extensive automation of goods storage and removal while monitoring the arrival of the right truck at the right location at the right time. The profiles stored in the item master file enable the system to recognise where incoming articles are to be stored and to automatically define the destination area.
Four different types of material handling equipment are in used throughout the storage facility. Storage in the narrow aisle warehouse is performed by a Jungheinrich EKX 515k with logistics interface and warehouse navigation system. The order picker is provided with a Jungheinrich forklift terminal and a wired handheld scanner. The terminal shows the driver the commands of the truck control system and the work instructions for replenishment and order picking. The handheld scanner also allows manual confirmation of loading equipment or storage location. An EFG 113 equipped with a handheld terminal operates as a pre-zone forklift in the warehouse pre-zone; the terminal also displays the driving commands of the forklift control system. The primary vehicles used for goods receipt and loading are the electric pedestrian controlled truck EJC 110 and the electric pedestrian pallet truck ERE 120.

Customer benefit: fewer errors and high-performance logistics
As the Jungheinrich WMS has digitalised more or less all warehouse navigation processes and constantly monitors which truck is needed for a particular task, picking errors have practically been eradicated. One reason for this is that storage locations, article numbers and removed quantities are always confirmed. Moreover, standardised and system-supported processes pave the way for measurable improvements in performance. The Jungheinrich logistics interface plays a key role in this process. The software creates a reliable connection between the vehicles and the warehouse management system; it also ensures that storage locations in the narrow aisle warehouse are automatically confirmed, after which the warehouse navigation system guides the vehicles semi-automatically to the storage location. The workload of drivers is further reduced by eliminating the need to scan shelving labels.
Thanks to its new logistics centre, Warimex is also well equipped to face the challenges of the future. It is now possible, for example, to incorporate any changes into the Jungheinrich WMS without the need for programming. This applies not only in the case of warehouse expansion but also the possible integration of an additional narrow aisle truck in the system. "Through this broad spectrum ... it is possible to provide optimal, sustainable solutions for all client requirements and problems", say Jungheinrich in their IFOY entry documentation, adding that "this great potential offers clients worldwide the opportunity to work on even the most complex demands of a vendor and to obtain solutions and support from a single source."

IFOY AWARD  WWW.IFOY.ORG
The International Forklift Truck of the Year (IFOY) recognises the year's best materials handling equipment and solutions in four categories. The aim of the non-profit organisation is to document the performance capability and innovative drive of the materials handling sector, helping to boost competitiveness and raise the profile of the entire intralogistics sector in the public arena. The winners of the IFOY Award are selected once a year by an independent jury of international trade journalists. A neutral test forms the basis for assessment by the jury. The sponsor of the IFOY Award is the VDMA Materials Handling and Logistics Systems Sector Association. The patron is the German Ministry of Economics and Technology, the presentation partner is the leading international CeMAT trade fair in Hannover. The headquarters of the IFOY Organisation are in Munich.
Members of the jury: Martin Althoff, Editor-in-Chief Logistiek Totaal (Netherlands), Theo Egberts, IFOY tester and owner of Buro Andersom/Andersom Testing (Netherlands, without voting rights), Günther Hörbst, Editor-in-Chief Deutsche Logistik-Zeitung (DVZ) (Germany), Anders Karlsson, Editor-in-Chief Transport & Logistik iDag (Sweden), Peter MacLeod, Editor-in-Chief SHD Magazine (England), Bernd Maienschein, Editor-in-Chief MM Logistik (Germany), Marilena Matei, Editorial Manager Tranzit and Tranzit Logistica (Romania), Isabel Rodrigo, Editor-in-Chief Logística Profesional (Spain), Hans-Joachim Schlobach, publisher and Editor-in-Chief BUSINESS+LOGISTIC (Austria), Sascha Schmel, Managing Director of the VDMA Materials Handling and Logistics Systems Sector Association (without voting rights), Dr. Petra Seebauer, Editor-in-Chief LOGISTIK HEUTE (Germany), Sebastian Śliwieński, Editor-in-Chief Warehouse Monitor (Poland), Heres Stad, Editor-in-Chief Logistiek (Netherlands). Executive Jury Chairperson is Anita Würmser, logistics journalist and Managing Director of wuermser.communications (Germany).

Reproduction free of charge, courtesy copy requested.

Anita Würmser
Chair of the IFOY Jury
Postfach 1304
D - 85767 Unterföhring
Telefon: +49 (0)89 958 226-11
E-Mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.