APRIL 2020 MATERIALS HANDLING
Jack and Vera
have dramatically
simplifi ed
Kuehne + Nagel’s
operations
relevant documents are printed,
there are two live and one
offl ine document printers. The
documents are then scanned
before being fed into the system
onto the lower conveyor. Two
identical SIM feeders, equipped
with cameras to capture barcode
information, add a SIM card to
mobile device orders. There is
a reject chute for unreadable
SIMs. The SIM information is
automatically associated to the
customer order.
Product on the top conveyor
merges with its correct
documentation on the lower
conveyor at a beak section. The
completed orders are check
weighed and automatically
spaced ready to be fed into an
automatic bagging machine.
Each order is individually
packaged and then a shipping
label is printed and applied to
the outside of the bag. A fi nal
overhead scan verifi es the order
with any reject orders sent
down a reject chute for manual
inspection. All confi rmed
orders are unloaded for onward
delivery to EE customers.
Working in partnership
“We have a yearly maintenance
contract with Axiom for both
‘Jack’ and ‘Vera’,” says Henman.
“They are both serviced at the
same time. If required, any
issues can usually be fi xed
remotely. Our staff are also
very familiar with the systems;
however Axiom staff are always
on hand if we have any queries.
We can call them at any time
and they are happy to assist;
their support services are
excellent.
“We have become reliant
on both of our automated
systems because they have
made such an improvement
to our productivity. We would
recommend Axiom to anyone.
In fact we’re looking at other
projects for Kuehne + Nagel at
the moment and I know we will
always refer to Axiom because
of the good work they have
done here.”
it. Manually packing we were achieving 65 units
solution we can push through 1200 units hourly
with just four people – it’s made a big diff erence
to our productivity.
per person per hour. With the Axiom automated
“The automation particularly helps when
we have a product launch. Before we had ‘Jack’
a major plan had to be put into place and we’d
start at 4am and be working up to 22 hours a day
to roll out the new products. Now a launch just
goes unnoticed. It’s day to day routine rather than
working throughout the night because we have
the capacity to pack 1200 orders per hour.”
Automation for increased productivity
Orders are pre-processed using Kuehne + Nagel’s
WMS system, which validates the customer
information and associates the handset(s) to
the customer order. Then, a 2D order label is
printed and applied to each order before it is
placed onto the system and the label is scanned.
One person can place 1200 orders per hour onto
the belt conveyor at the start of the twin-level
automated system.
Each order passes under a scanner and its
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