Worker assistance system for people with disabilities (WfbM)
Customer: DE software & control GmbH, 84130 Dingolfing, Germany

LevelUP is the worker assistance system of DE software & control GmbH for people with disabilities. This means that progress in digitalisation is no longer reserved for modern industrial applications. LevelUP can compensate for various handicaps and, thanks to the individualised presentation of information, offers precisely the support needed to master complex tasks safely.
The employee is guided step by step through the assembly or picking process with the help of a screen. In the process, wireless pick-by-light displays of the Speedypick AIR series signal to the worker from which container material is to be removed. After removing the material, the worker acknowledges the process step and is automatically guided to the next step. The use of radio technology ensures maximum flexibility here. Another advantage: by using magnetic holders, the displays can be repositioned at any time without tools. This makes retooling the workstation not only faster but also considerably easier.
Inclusion through innovation. Employees are empowered and motivated and make an important, real contribution, visible to all, both professionally and socially.

Further information on the system at: www.levelup-assistenzsystem.de
Further information on the manufacturer: www.de-group.net

Furry friends give thumbs up
Customer: Wirtschaftsgenossenschaft deutscher Tierärzte eG (WDT)

The Wirtschaftsgenossenschaft deutscher Tierärzte eG (economic cooperative of German veterinarians) is one of the leading companies in the German veterinary pharmaceutical market. With a presence of over 95% in all veterinary practices, WDT sees itself as a basic supplier to the veterinary profession. In addition to providing services and producing medicines and feed supplements, WDT offers a comprehensive range of pharmaceutical and practice supplies in this segment. Deliveries are made from the company's own distribution centre in Garbsen. "We ship over 4,000 packages every day. An order that reaches us by 3 p.m. is delivered to the customer the next day," says Mr. Mahn, Head of Logistics at WDT.  This promise obliges and leads to a great relationship of trust between WDT and its customers.

With an average of more than 12,000 individual items per day, distributed over approx. 2,000 orders, fast, efficient and error-free goods picking is indispensable. In addition to standard order picking with pick-by-light, kanban racks were also equipped with this technology. Mr. Mahn explains "We have replaced our space-intensive pallet storage locations here with a container replenishment system and have been able to increase efficiency while saving valuable storage space". The removal of goods from the individual containers as well as the replenishment request is supported by Speedypick displays.

In 2018, the pick-by-light technology was refitted. Based on WDT's good experience with the predecessor system Speedypick I, it was decided to use the successor system Speedypick II. "The systems are robust, work reliably and have proven themselves in the hard everyday work," says Mr. Mahn, who was additionally faced with the challenge of carrying out the conversion in an extremely short time window. This did not only affect the installation of the hardware. Software adjustments were also necessary to complete the project successfully.

For an uncomplicated realisation of the upcoming software and hardware changes, WDT decided to work with ibi-soft as a competent eQ-3 sales and cooperation partner for Speedypick systems. After a detailed preliminary clarification of the requirements, ibi-soft was able to carry out the conversion successfully and on time in 2 stages. In the first stage, the Speedypick profiles were "loosely" pre-assembled directly under the existing profiles of the previous system.

In the second stage, the old system was dismantled and the new Speedypick II system was installed in its place. For each of these conversion stages, ibi-soft had 2 days at its disposal. Mr. Biermann, Managing Director of ibi-soft, remarks: "We were under a lot of time pressure, but due to the intensive and detailed pre-planning we were sure that we could do it".

The project was completed as agreed and without affecting ongoing operations. This meant that WDT was able to fulfil its delivery promise throughout and without restriction.

Trade(s) for profit
Customer: POLO Motorrad

As one of the largest multi-channel suppliers of motorbike clothing, technology and accessories, POLO Motorrad can now look back with pride on over 40 years of successful development. Thanks  to a 40-day satisfaction guarantee, POLO customers can obtain the desired goods in over 90 stores in Germany, Austria and Switzerland or alternatively directly online and test them at their leisure. A total of around 1,000 employees stand for professional advice, product selection and excellent logistical processing. The latter is handled from the central warehouse in Jüchen. Here, both the deliveries for the POLO stores and the online orders are picked and sent on their way. On average, thousands of individual orders are processed here every day, in most cases with several items per order. During seasonal peaks, this can even double, according to Mr Schramm, Head of IT at POLO. The search for a technical solution to speed up the process and increase efficiency initially led Schramm to Speedypick II. After an initial personal meeting and an inspection of the local conditions, it was decided to test Speedypick II in a small demo application for order merging. This allowed Schramm to familiarise himself with the data interface and successfully run through the desired process virtually. This was the "go" for the first expansion stage in the warehouse.

Overall, several goals were achieved simultaneously with the introduction of Speedypick:

• increase in picking performance by approx. 100% and thus significantly reduced throughput times
• changeover from single-order picking to multi-order picking with picking trolleys
• request for picking tote replenishment in a semi-automated process (similar to kanban)
• introduction of mobile shelving segments for flexible adaptation to the order situation during order consolidation (peaks).

The goods now reach the customer faster and order peaks can be handled more efficiently and flexibly. For the customers, this is a further service gain and for POLO it is the possibility to flexibly adapt the order picking to the order situation at any time.

Speedypick AIR on commissioning containers and on the commissioning trolley

Hidden Champions
Customer: BITZER Kühlmaschinenbau GmbH

Refrigeration and air conditioning technology are indispensable in our world. With innovative products and services, BITZER Kühlmaschinenbau GmbH has been making its contribution to this segment for more than 85 years. Here, BITZER products stand for an optimum climate in buses, trains or indoors and ensure, among other things, that food stays fresh on the way to its destination.
The core elements of BITZER solutions are reciprocating piston, screw and scroll compressors which, in interaction with heat exchangers, automation components and software, do their work continuously and mostly in the background. Highest precision and perfection are the prerequisites for efficient and sustainable technology, which is used in trade, industry and also in special applications.
Rotating elements running in ball bearings are a core component of the different compressor types. The commissioning of these ball bearings took place in the supermarket of the main assembly. After the ball bearings were provided in Kanban containers, the components required for each compressor type were previously taken from the setter using an SAP parts list and placed on a set trolley. "Among other things, this involves covering long distances in the hall and the parts also have to be completely unpacked," explains Donato Zottoli, head of material flow optimisation. In order to create the required capacities, this process, which is very time-consuming compared to the total assembly time, should be shifted to logistics.
For this purpose, BITZER provides a picking list in which the allocation of the ball bearings to the respective compressor type is stored. After scanning the compressor type, a pick-by-light system is to ensure that the right materials in the right quantity are placed on a so-called setboard and fed to the assembly. "Since the setboards are equipped with a pick display, it was clear from the beginning that only a wireless solution would be considered," says Donato Zottoli. The technological decision was made in favour of the Speedypick AIR system from eQ-3 AG, which offers all the necessary features for mobile and maximum flexibility.

The foundation for a targeted implementation of the project was formed by a detailed specification sheet from BITZER, which served as a guideline for ibi-soft, the company responsible for the software adaptation and integration. In detailed preliminary briefings on site as well as in additional online meetings, both the process flows required by BITZER and the associated framework conditions were explained and agreed. "We had no leeway for experiments and had to ensure a smooth and short-term changeover of the processes. The detailed preliminary clarification was a prerequisite for keeping the conversion phase as short as possible and without any significant disruption to production," says Donato Zottoli.

The synchronisation between all parties involved (BITZER, ibi-soft and eQ-3) worked in an exemplary manner. The specifications were implemented 100 per cent and the set goals were achieved; the latter especially with regard to the optimisation of processes and the associated economic efficiency, the reduction of errors and also the increase of the service level in logistics.

The intended result has been achieved and the system is running stable and to the full satisfaction of all parties involved.

Drugstore logistics
Customer: ROSSMANN Logistik GmbH, Landsberg

In 2015, ROSSMANN operated around 1930 shops in Germany and is one of the fastest-growing companies in Germany. The drugstore range comprises approx. 17,500 articles with a focus on skin, body, hair, baby and health. In addition, ROSSMANN offers its customers selected promotional items, pet food, a photo service plus an extensive natural food and wine assortment.
Distribution to regional stores and branches throughout Germany is carried out from the central warehouse in Landsberg. Here, approx. 500,000 items can be processed per day.
The Speedypick II system from eQ-3 AG provides the technical basis for implementing the high-frequency pick-by-light process and is thus an important component in the supply chain.

Stock on the line
Kanban – transparency in replenishment logistics
BRÜGGEN Oberflächen- und Systemlieferant GmbH

As a leading company for swap systems, box semitrailers, fixed bodies and system components, Brüggen has placed great value on first-class workmanship and practical details for more than 20 years. From development to production to after-sales service, Brüggen holds the reins and has established itself as a reliable competence partner in the industry.
To secure the continuous material demand on the assembly line, the Kanban method is used, among other things, in the production of the box semitrailers. For this, the logistician had to make a tour several times a day and look for, scan and collect empty material containers. "It could happen, for example, that labels on the containers were damaged and therefore could not be scanned, or that empty containers were not fed to the designated collection point," says Peterberns, logistics planner at Brüggen. The stock on the line could run out, with the inevitable consequence of a production standstill.
In order to ensure continuous replenishment and the associated safeguarding of production, the logistics department was looking for a solution that would optimally provide additional transparency for both the assembly workers and the logistics department. From an installation point of view, the required hardware should be easy to retrofit and, with regard to the software, it should be possible to integrate it on one's own.
Both requirements are perfectly met by Speedypick AIR, so that Brüggen gave the go-ahead for the installation of the Speedypick system after a preceding test phase.
In the new Kanban shelf, there are now 2 bins in a row per storage compartment. A Speedypick module is assigned to each article. When the bin is completely filled (with 2 full bins), the status "Full" is shown on the Speedypick display. As soon as one of the two bins is empty, the assembly worker triggers a replenishment request by pressing the acknowledgement button on the module. The relevant display changes its status from "Full" to "Empty1". The request is simultaneously transmitted to SAP and is the signal for the warehouse control centre that a new (full) container is needed. The requirement is converted into a transfer order. The material is picked and driven to production. On site, the container is then delivered to its storage location. To do this, the material logistician scans the barcode on the box and at the storage location. After a successful match check on the dv side, the Speedypick display changes the status from "Empty1" to "Full".

Speedypick AIR on Kanban shelves. The replenishment request is triggered simply by pressing the acknowledgement button on the module. Afterwards, the worker receives feedback on the delivery status.

With this solution, demand peaks are cushioned (there is always a full material container in stock). The previously existing sources of error have been eliminated.

The current status is always visible for production and logistics via the "Full", "Empty1" or "Empty2" text on the Speedypick display.
The implementation of the process logic was carried out by the in-house IT. Since Speedypick discloses the interface data, Brüggen was able to control the modules themselves and integrate the system into SAP WM without any problems.
Speedypick AIR was also able to make full use of its advantages on the assembly side. Thanks to powerful magnetic brackets, the effort required for positioning the displays is reduced to a minimum. In addition, thanks to wireless communication, no wiring is required for the displays. Peterberns continues: "We can install the displays at any time in just a few seconds; adjustments and conversions are very easy and can be carried out extremely quickly. We retain maximum flexibility and can react quickly to changing conditions."
The application runs error-free and contributes to a serious process improvement.
System acceptance is good and virtually no training is required. The benefits have been positively recognised and received by the staff.