Optimization of the inbound process at Helly Hansen in Born (NL)

Helly Hansen commissioned De With Groep bv to optimize the inbound department of its distribution center in Born. The goal: a drastic reduction in the number of labor hours required for unloading, sorting, and palletizing boxes, without compromising ergonomics and safety.

Requirements

System integration was one of the requirements. The sorter must communicate with the WMS (Warehouse Management System), but must also be capable of being used standalone.

The number of Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) coming from a container can reach up to 140. A container with approximately 900 boxes must be emptied, sorted, and palletized within 1.5 hours. The available surface area for the sorter and palletizer is limited to a maximum of 10 x 10 meters. Additionally, two docks are used to manually unload the containers.

Solution

pewiSYS/De With group bv developed various custom-made solutions to meet HH’s specific needs:

– Cartonmover/pewiMOVER ERGO is used to unload the containers in an ergonomic manner.

a. The operator never lifts above their shoulders;

b. The drop-off point on the pewiMOVER™ ERGO moves along with the pick-up point of the box, so that the operator has to lift as little as possible;

c. Switching to another dock takes less than 13 seconds, ensuring the sorter is downtime as little as possible.

– pewiFLEX™, a powered accordion roller conveyor, serves as a flexible connection between the pewiMOVER™ ERGO and the sorter. The challenge here was to install a roller conveyor system at a distance of 10 meters where the extended length would be 20 meters. This was achieved by using a 38 mm roller instead of the standard 50 mm roller. As a result, the pewiFLEX™ requires 25% less space in its compact state.

– pewiSORTER™, a multi-layer automatic sorting system consisting of 18 chutes (with space for up to 16 boxes) connected to the HH WMS system. The boxes enter the sorter via the pewiFLEX™.

– Plate palletizer. The plate palletizer has a standard capacity of 1,000 boxes per hour. For smaller boxes, De With has developed a stacking system integrated into the roller conveyor in front of the forming table. Thanks to this innovation, the palletizer can even achieve a capacity of 1,500 boxes per hour.

The installation is equipped with a pallet magazine. At the output side, there is a buffer lane where full pallets are collected, ready to be transported to the warehouse racking by a pallet truck.

Sorting Process

To sort the boxes as efficiently as possible, the system goes through the following steps:

a. Scanning: The barcode on the box is scanned.

b. Measuring: The dimensions of the box are recorded.

c. Weighing: The weight of the box is checked.

d. Sorting: Based on this data, the box is transported to the correct chute or to the reject lane.

These phases are important for an optimally functioning sorting system. The reject lane is essential for filtering out boxes that do not meet the criteria.

The scanned barcodes are checked against data from the WMS, ensuring that inventory records in HH’s administration remain up-to-date.

Because the pewiSORTER™ communicates with the WMS, the system knows exactly when all boxes of a single item have been collected in a chute. As soon as a batch is complete, they are released for the palletizer.

Benefits

Thanks to the custom-made solutions from pewiSYS, Helly Hansen has achieved several benefits:

Compact system
• Unloading the containers and removing the boxes takes place over an area of 3 x 10 meters; this is possible because the pewiFLEX™ is equipped with 38 mm rollers.
• Sorting and palletizing take place over an area of 10 x 10 meters.

Ergonomically sound
• Lifting above the shoulders is a thing of the past
• Lifting from the ground is reduced by the movement of the pewiMOVER ERGO™ conveyor belt
• Sorting and palletizing are performed fully automatically.

Real-time inventory management
• The real-time connection between the WMS and the pewiSORTER™ guarantees accurate and up-to-date inventory registration.

Efficient and cost-saving
• Previously, this process was performed by eight people in 2.5 hours. With the new solution, only two operators are required for unloading, sorting, and palletizing the boxes. The result:

Result: A significant reduction in working hours and substantially increased efficiency.

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