Customized material handling by Wemo xPacker
Power, the leading electronics chain in the Nordic region, contacted Wemo for help with a customized automation solution for its central warehouse. The primary purpose of the automation was to optimize material handling and reduce the ergonomic strain on employees.
Power International Logistics AB, PILAB, is the central warehouse for home electronics giant Power. From here, products are shipped to stores and online customers throughout the Nordic region. Depending on the season, the number of employees varies between 200 and 270 warehouse workers. The central warehouse covers an impressive 90,000 square meters, and an additional 20,000 square meters are planned in the near future.
PILAB's working year follows a rhythm of three seasons: low season, mid-season (summer), and high season (November, December). The number of picking lines per day varies on average from 20,000 during the low season to 32,000 during the high season. Wemo's portal robots play a crucial role by handling approximately 80 percent of these picking lines.
During the most demanding days of the high season, when up to 45,000 picking lines (!) need to be handled, the xPacker robots are an indispensable part of the flow.
The need for ergonomic and efficient workflows is explained by the high number of picking lines. It is necessary to find solutions that can handle even the most intense periods.
Wemo solved our problem
We had a chat with John-Robin Glandberger, project manager at PILAB. He explains that the primary purpose when Wemo was contacted was to address ergonomics. He paints a picture of what they wanted to improve.
“Before the automation solution, employees handled the pre-packed cartons manually. The cartons weigh up to 20 kg and are stacked on pallets up to 2.40 meters high. This task carries a high risk of strain injuries and is ergonomically unsustainable.”
John-Robin also describes how the automation solution freed up staff for other tasks in the warehouse, which is particularly important during periods of extra high workload such as Black Friday. By automating material handling with two portal robots, the working environment became more efficient, more ergonomic, and less labor-intensive.
He concludes by adding that the collaboration with Wemo has worked extremely well.
"From the idea stage and throughout the dialogue, the collaboration has worked very well. Together with Wemo, we have created and adapted a solution that fits our business perfectly. The response from Wemo has been excellent throughout the process, even when we have needed to make adjustments along the way. Their attitude has been both responsive and focused on finding the best solutions for us. They have been fast and cost-effective in their work, which is of course appreciated on our part. Even after the solution was put into operation, they have maintained their high level of service. The fact that we are also geographically close to each other has meant short lead times in terms of service and maintenance, which is an added bonus."
Material handling with special requirements specifications
Wemos' assignment for Power involved designing an automated material handling solution based on given parameters, with input and requirements specifications from Power setting the tone. The result was two xPacker units that handle all packaged goods, with a total of 28 pallet spaces divided between 14 pallet spaces per robot. The cartons are sent to defined pallet spaces, for example, a given postal location. The height of the carton varies because the amount of content determines how high the carton will be, simply to ensure that as little air as possible is transported. The cartons are then placed on a pallet and stacked up to a maximum height of 2.40 meters.
Record-breaking robots
To learn more about Wemo's work, we asked Johannes Kjellgren, CEO of Wemo, to describe the assignment in more detail. "Power International Logistics was a new customer for us at Wemo. We came into contact with each other through a mutual partner, Knapp, who did the integration at Power when they expanded their central warehouse. We delivered two XXL-sized xPacker units, while Knapp ensured that the project was also equipped with roller conveyors, palletizing stations, and machine guards. Although the xPacker units are the largest robots we have ever delivered to a project, we felt confident that everything would run smoothly and that the customer would be satisfied. Basically, the mechanics and approach are exactly the same as when we design a smaller model. In other words, it is a proven concept, just a little bigger. The fact that our products demonstrate their great value in a palletizing process fills us with extra pride, as it is perhaps not widely known that we offer this service.
The logical structure was a challenge
When asked if the project presented any challenges, Johannes explains that Wemos' skilled development department developed a solution that reads the height of the carton so that it can be placed correctly on the pallet. Since there is a maximum height for the pallets, the robots also keep track of the total height of each pallet space.
"The request reached us at the end of September/beginning of October 2020, and the installation was completed in May 2022. The most time-consuming part of the project was designing how the robots would handle the picking of the cartons and the logical structure behind it all. From the outset, the possibility of handling more than one carton at a time was discussed, but that idea was later rejected. Another challenge was designing the logical sequence for how the boxes would be distributed to their respective locations from the WMS system, which was handled by the customer's own warehouse management system. In addition, we needed to obtain information about when a carton was ready to be picked up. Lots of challenges, but fun challenges! The development team and robot builders solved it in the best possible way."
Installation and commissioning
The automation solution was installed by Wemo's technicians in about two weeks. This was followed by commissioning, where a developer from Wemo and a representative from Knapp worked together to ensure that the software worked seamlessly and optimally.
