A book distributor has enhanced efficiencies at its Didcot site by implementing a multi-tier zone picking solution across four mezzanines from LAC Logistics Automation.
Hachette UK Distribution (HUKD), a renowned book distributor serving various publishers, faced the challenge of meeting rising demands for its services. To address this, the company sought to increase its order fulfilment capacity and consolidate operations into a larger warehouse, the Hely Hutchinson Centre (HHC) located in Didcot, UK.
To achieve this ambitious goal, HUKD partnered with LAC Logistics Automation, to support this growth transition.
The scope of the project involved the implementation of a multi-tier zone picking solution across four mezzanines. The primary objective was to enhance performance and efficiencies while integrating seamlessly with existing materials handling systems, without causing disruptions to live site operations.
A critical aspect of this project was the relocation and integration of Hachette’s distribution and fulfilment operations into the new HHC warehouse. This entailed designing and deploying an end-to-end materials handling system capable of handling totes and cartons. The challenge was to synchronise this system with both the existing and new materials handling equipment.
Hachette required a solution that could efficiently handle stock receipt, storage of long stocks, case and loose picking for replenishment, and customer orders across a multi-tier mezzanine.
LAC devised a turnkey multi-floor order fulfilment and replenishment solution for the 240,000sq ft warehouse, which included various elements and subsystems to automate stock receipt, replenishment, zone picking, and fulfilment. The solution was designed, simulated, and deployed to facilitate the efficient picking and replenishment of the entire warehouse capacity, which houses 28 million books.
The system consisted of a network of approximately 500 metres of conveyors, mergers, diverts, pop-up transfers, and scanning systems across the ground and four mezzanine levels. Two 18-metre spiral conveyors facilitated vertical conveying between levels and the ground floor. Different types of conveyors, such as 24V DC powered roller and accumulation conveyors, belt conveyors, and gravity roller conveyors, were deployed to optimise the distribution service to more than 45 publishers, encompassing a total of 100,000 SKUs.
Picking and replenishment were conducted using HUKD’s existing JDA warehouse management system. Various types of cartons, internal picking totes, outbound dispatch totes, and replenishment trays were launched from the ground floor for their respective functions in the picking zones. Zone sizes were optimised to enhance picking and replenishment performance while minimising walking time.
The replenishment and picking processes were conducted using a voice solution that was integrated with LAC’s technology. The solution also allowed for quality control, weighing, and packing processes before routing completed orders to dispatch zones. The system efficiently handled the flow of empty cartons to picking locations and returning internal replenishment trays back to the launch area.
HUKD’s existing automation, managed by TGW through its Commander warehouse management system, was integrated seamlessly with LAC’s solution to achieve operational requirements.
Benefits include:
• Increased throughputs & fulfilment capacities
• 99.8% system uptime & accuracy
• Optimised traffic, sequencing & picking performance, and
• Improved scalability for future growth.
The implementation of LAC’s multi-tier and vertical conveying solutions has enabled HUKD to bulk pick from 28 million books across 4 mezzanine levels and ship 60 million books per year globally.
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