FACTS & FIGURES • Throughput every week: approx. 12.000 pallets • 80% of the pallets leave as full pallets • 20% of the pallets are picked • 45% of these were picked automacally prior to the project H.J. HEINZ: AUTOMATIC LAYER PICKING BACKGROUND Wincanton, a leading third party logiscs provider (3PL) in the UK market was challenged with a task at the Naonal Distribuon Centre managed on behalf of H.J.Heinz. The challenge from Heinz was to increase the amount of automated Layer Picking performed at the site without associated changes in product configuraons. The Qubiqa Layer Picker® was idenfied as a potenal soluon. In 2013, the first product tesng took place at the Qubiqa site in Denmark, tesng more than 40 product configuraons that could not previously be layer picked using exisng technology at the Naonal Distribuon Centre. During this test, the Layer Picker® proved its worth and its’ potenal for the upgrade at the Naonal Distribuon Centre. PROJECT The project focused on a soluon with one Layer Picker® Flex-R including conveyors. In the middle of 2014, an order for the Layer Picker system was placed. Factory Acceptance Test then followed at the end of 2014, and more than 60 product configuraons not previously tested all passed with great success. The Layer Picker Flex-R soluon offers an improved picking profile compared to the exisng technology. This soluon is designed to create “sandwich / rainbow” pallets of mixed products to customer specificaons. The soluon offers a throughput up to 180 layers per hour and is designed to operate 24/7 if needed. BENEFITS Due to the new Layer Picker soluon, H.J. Heinz are able to improve the agility of the automated warehousing soluon, aiming to provide over 90% of its despatched volume, untouched by hand. The soluon will also bring more flexibility into the loading of vehicles as the throughput will be greater and will enable operaons to run closer to the planned despatch me. This installaon went live April 2015. CUSTOMER STATEMENT “The Qubiqa Layer Picker® does what it says on the n. Working with Qubiqa and the team behind the Layer Picker® has been very professional and has added even more confidence in the soluon delivering outstanding results from the first push of the buon”, Stuart Alldridge, Senior Logiscs Execuon Manager, H.J.Heinz Manufacturing Ltd.