Photo: IFOY
Spread across six continents, the intralogistics and automation specialist SSI Schäfer now employs more than 10,500 people who continuously develop innovative concepts. The "Flat Pack Picking" system, implemented at IKEA, is said to be transferable to other industries.
The order picking system enables efficient pallet assembly for online furniture retailers and in-store deliveries. Developed in collaboration with Inter IKEA Group Supply Chain Development and Intralogistics, the concept is already successfully operating in Dortmund and ultimately impressed the jury at this year's Intralogistics and Forklift Truck of the Year Award (IFOY) in the "Integrated Warehouse Solution" category. The award was presented to the team (also from the Siegerland region) at the Award Night in BMW Welt in Munich.
Photo: SSI Schäfer
A total of four gantry robots handle heavy and large items, relieving employees of ergonomically challenging tasks and ensuring consistent, transparent material flows. The gantry robots and grippers were developed by RO-BER Industrieroboter GmbH, a subsidiary of SSI Schäfer. "This project demonstrates how we address our customers' challenges and work with them to develop and implement innovative logistics solutions for a more ergonomic work environment and improved productivity," says Notker Steigerwald, Head of Business Unit Logistics Solutions at SSI Schäfer. "The IFOY Award (...) confirms the sustainability and future viability of our concept compared to other solutions in the market."
IKEA and its employees benefit directly from the increased performance and automated processes. Inter IKEA reserves the option to roll out the system to other locations and IKEA stores. The flat pack picking solution can also be applied to other industries that work with large and bulky goods such as windows or wood/metal cut-to-size pieces.
