Smartlog to automate the Bilstein Group’s warehouse
Smartlog is to automate the Bilstein Group's warehouse in Zaragoza, with a pioneering solution that includes Autostore together with other systems and features never before used together, which will enable the client to grow sustainably.
The total solution designed by Smartlog is the result of personalised study and analysis, and joint work by professionals from both companies.
Autostore is a robot-based storage and order preparation system based on bins, that allows storage and management of picking tasks in a fast, optimal way. It is designed to handle large volumes of items with fast and slow movement, for a rapid rate of picking and operations requiring high-density storage. Autostore smart robots process orders, locate the bins containing the items required and transport them to people’s work stations for final preparation.
To achieve even greater efficiency in logistics operations, Smartlog will be complementing this solution with a range of systems that work together to ensure much more efficient, error-free operations. It will also be supplying Galys, its own warehouse management software to make it possible to control and manage processes, always seeking higher availability, productivity and enhanced service.
Thanks to these technologies, Smartlog will transform the logistics and delivery processes of the Bilstein Group, taking better advantage of spaces in its existing warehouse, optimising the placing of more different items, boosting productivity and adapting to future growth with no need to build new warehouses.
In the words of General Manager Joan Lanaja, “We’re going to be pioneers in the group. The Autostore pilot trial is taking place in Zaragoza, and once it’s working here (the idea is to have it in operation by November), warehouses of the same kind will be set up at the other subsidiaries. Solving the space problem and boosting productivity are therefore a differentiating factor.”
Xabier Zubizarreta, CEO of the Smartlog group, adds, “We are proud to become logistics partners of the Bilstein Group, of supporting them in their sustainable growth and of giving them high added value in terms of availability, efficiency and the best use of space.”
The Bilstein Group is a German distributor and manufacturer of mechanical and electrical parts for cars and industrial vehicles. Its Zaragoza subsidiary distributes parts to domestic spare parts operators, who in turn sell to multi-brand stores and workshops. It currently works with 42,000 different items and hopes to reach 45,000.
Smartlog is an international business group supplying innovative smart intralogistics solutions tailored to the client’s operational needs.
It offers an extensive catalogue of smart technologies and equipment to provide a unique, total solution to meet every need: smart AS/RS and storage systems, robotic order preparation, sorting and transport solutions, AMRs and AGVs. It has its own warehouse management (WMS) software and opts for data-based mobile robotics to automate the warehouses of the future.
With its headquarters in Urretxu (Basque Country, northern Spain), Smartlog today has a presence in Europe, Central and South America, the Middle East and North Africa. Smartlog is positioned as a top company in sectors including hardware and DIY, fashion, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food, industrial goods, electronics, logistics operations and aeronautics, working in e-commerce micro-fulfilment environments.