A controversial yet still highly topical subject, warehouse automation has gained ground in recent years in France, which was long considered to be off-the-pace in this area.

Process automation alone presents numerous advantages: optimised flow management, enhanced quality of service, improved delivery times, etc.

In addition to the issues of productivity, mechanisation allows companies to improve workplace comfort and, as a consequence, boost employee loyalty.

By automating tiresome tasks so that workers can concentrate on operations demanding skill, the warehouse has become a source of ever-increasing added value. MANUTENTION 2012 showcases the expertise of leaders in the sector, such as Savoye, Fives Cinetic and Ulma, each of whom will be presenting their innovations at this year’s show.

Savoye has recently developed new-generation equipment, such as the brand-new warehouse for the online trading site, vente-privee.com, in Lyon, with a surface area of 30,000 m².

“With vente-privee.com, Savoye has come up with a totally innovative model of organisation and mechanisation”, explains Alain Bussod, Sales Director - France for Savoye.

“It’s a modular, scalable system capable of handling all types of product.”

From small-scale to extra-large goods, the system is capable of processing a sale in four days.
It can also be expanded in line with sales growth.
Another remarkable installation for which Savoye is responsible is the mechanisation of the logistics platform for Kermené, the main supplier of fresh meat and delicatessen products for the Leclerc supermarket chain.

“This is a high-performance, compact and scalable order preparation system.

Fifty autonomous shuttles run back and forth along ten levels of racks, four-deep, in order to pick out the products to be prepared. The system automatically schedules the orders according to the package characteristics (weight, size, etc.)”, Alain Bussod adds.

Currently, the system can be used to prepare 5000 boxes per hour, and within 3 to 5 years it will be capable of preparing some 10,000 packages per hour thanks to the fitting out of the new storage aisles.

As for Fives Cinetic, a specialist in automated supply chain solutions, it has just equipped Hem, near Lille, which is the largest order preparation centre dedicated to all the e-commerce companies of the 3 Suisses International (3SI) group.

The system conceived by Fives Cinetic comprises two SBIR Cross-Belt sorters equipped with automatic induction and exit channels on 4 levels.

“These sorters are capable of sorting all items proposed by the websites of the 3SI group, from a sachet containing a pair of earrings weighing a couple of dozen grams to a 10 kg package,” explains Emmanuel Perez, Development Manager at Fives Cinetic.

The project also comprises box and pallet storage, and the automatic storage of trays and conveyors.

Ulma Handling Systems
For warehouse automation in extreme conditions, Ulma Handling Systems has the solution. The development of controlledtemperature logistics is currently booming in the cold storage and frozen foods sector.

Ulma has become the number one supplier of automated and computerised supply chain systems in this area, working for such prestigious brands as Danone (4ºC), Andros (4°C) and Bonduelle Surgelés International (-27°C). Ulma has designed automated supply chain solutions for them which guarantee a maintained controlled temperature as low as -40ºC.

“Product conservation and time are the main constraints in the cold storage and frozen foods sector», explains Claude Pasqua, Ulma official representative.

“To preserve the product under optimal conditions, we use automated stock management as a genuinely dynamic function in order preparation. For cold storage, we only receive the products that we need and we keep them for less than 24 hours, with same-day delivery to the stores. The last-minute extraction of order pallets also makes it possible to reduce the size of the loading bays. This means, for Bonduelle Surgelés for example, that 4 trucks with 33 pallets can be loaded in just 30 minutes! Dynamic stocks offer true optimisation,