AutoStore

AutoStore, founded in 1996, is a robot technology company that invented and continues to pioneer Cube Storage Automation, the densest order-fulfillment solution in existence. Our focus is to marry software and hardware with human abilities to create the future of warehousing. Our corporate headquarters is in Nedre Vats, Norway, with offices in the US, UK, Germany, France, Japan, South Korea and Poland. AutoStore is the ultimate order-fulfillment solution, reducing the storage footprint by 75% when compared to traditional storage space with aisles and shelves. Elimination of traditional needs such as walkways and shelves within reaching height means that almost all warehouse space is utilized for its intended purpose: warehousing. Bins are stacked in an aluminum cubic grid system that can be formed in any shape. The warehouse robot lowers its gripper plate into the stack, grabs the bin with its grippers, and lifts it to the grid surface.

• Expand storage capacity four times without moving • Increase performance ten times without hiring • Unbeaten up-time of 99.6 % • Energy efficient - lights can be turned off as the robots run in the dark and use very little energy • Total Inventory Control and no single point of failure • A manual picking rate gets multiplied up to five times per worker

With the highest density ratio of any goods-to-person system on the market, there are many advantages. You achieve four times the storage capacity from your company’s current building or move your DC to a city center location to obtain speedy shipment times and worthwhile cost savings. The beneficial effects of the AutoStore system are significant and are often kept as a confidential competitive edge among many of our users.

With over 500 installations in over 30 countries, AutoStore is trusted by some of the biggest brands such as Arvato, Bergfreunde, Bike24, BLG, boozt.com, DHL, E.M.P., Giesswein, PUMA, Rhenus, XXL.

• AutoStore is the fastest and densest order fulfillment system in the world per square foot.

• Easily expand the system and grow your capacity without shutting down operations or experiencing operational loss.

• The design is modular based, and just like building blocks, you can build any shape, form, or height you need.

• AutoStore is the very definition of space efficiency as it delivers the highest storage density ratio of any ASRS.

• Our unbeaten up-time and no single point of failure design provides customers with a near 100 percent system availability

• Our green credentials are unrivaled, and zero energy is wasted. Ten robots use the same amount of energy as a vacuum cleaner.

New Software: Router

• Router™ utilizes sophisticated computer algorithms to continuously calculate and recalculate the most efficient path for robot movement in real-time - making each robot up to 40% more efficient.

• With the Router™, each Robot achieves up to 40% more performance by evaluating the best available path in real-time. This has a massive impact on the overall system throughput, as it allows a higher density of robots working together, enabling an increased total throughput of up to 4x.

In the logistics center of Bergfreunde.de, 125 robots are currently racing through the 4,386 m² facility, moving 140,000 bins stacked on 16 levels. Bergfreunde has an average of 180,000 articles from over 900 of the leading brands in its product range - with a strong upward trend. With an annual sales increase of around 30 percent, scalability is a decisive success factor for the mountain enthusiasts.

The initial installation from 2016 was successively expanded several times together with the AutoStore Partner Element Logic. In addition, a new logistics hall was added in the immediate vicinity of the existing warehouse, which now accommodates the incoming goods and returns processing departments and is directly connected to the AutoStore System via a grid, i.e. a rail for the robots. Thus, the new warehouse offers enough space for future extensions of the existing AutoStore system.

In total, 32 ports are currently available for storing and retrieving goods. In two-shift operation, about 140 employees handle up to 300,000 articles per working week, take care of incoming goods, returns and shipping. With the help of Element Logic, Bergfreunde.de has succeeded in increasing picking efficiency by more than 400 percent. In addition, the lead time from customer order to handover to the shipper has been reduced to less than 3 hours. Today the company processes more than 15,000 orders on peak days.

For Bergfreunde.de, the investment in the warehouse automation project has paid for itself in less than 2 years.

"With our growth rate, we depend on a flexible and efficient storage system, which is why Bergfreunde chose AutoStore. Scalability, efficient use of space and high performance were decisive for us. Our expectations of AutoStore and Element Logic were more than fulfilled and we have not regretted the decision one day," says Ronny Höhn, managing director at Bergfreunde.de.

Wissenschaftliche Studie: „AutoStore – Was Nutzer über das System berichten können“ 2020 - Prof. Stefan Galka OTH Regensburg, Prof. für Materialflusstechnik und Fabriksimulation, Fakultät Maschinenbau

https://logistikwerkstatt.de/veroeffentlichungen#autostorestudie

•„Die Gesamtzufriedenheit wurde von 93 Prozent der Befragten mit der Note eins oder zwei bewertet. Damit kann festgehalten werden, dass die Nutzer sehr zufrieden mit dem System sind.“

•„Es gibt keine typische Größe für ein AutoStore-System. Diese Systeme können sehr klein (3.000 Behälterplätze), aber auch sehr groß (500.000 Behälterplätze) sein. (Gleiches gilt für die Anzahl Roboter und Ports)“

•„Die Realisierungszeit für ein AutoStore-System ist relativ kurz.“

•„Die Nutzer sind sehr zufrieden mit der Zuverlässigkeit des AutoStore-Systems und berichten größtenteils von keinen nennenswerten Störungen.“

https://autostoresystem.com