Autoteilewelt is automating its small parts warehouse at two locations with ultra-modern AutoStore storage systems. A robot now takes over storage and retrieval at lightning speed. This photo report provides a look behind the scenes at the Kassel site.
As an expert in the wholesale of spare parts, Emil Frey Autoteilewelt is committed above all to two virtues: high speed and great delivery reliability. Extensive stocks in the company's own eleven logistics centres ensure delivery capability at the high level for which Autoteilewelt is known. But growing parts inventories must remain under control. Robot-supported automation with AutoStore is therefore the next development step for Emil Frey Autoteilewelt for even more speed, precision and reliability in the supply of spare parts.
Colleague Robot is new to the Emil Frey Autoteilewelt team. In fact, there are 26 new helpers who started work at the two Autoteilewelt sites in Lehrte and Kassel in autumn 2024. Their mission is to make the small parts warehouses fit for the future. On the one hand, these small parts have many variants, and on the other, these products are often in demand. The result is a challenging combination of a large number of items that need to be moved with a high turnover rate.
A clear case for a computer that never loses track of this mammoth task. At least as important as the removal robots is the sophisticated routing software, which always stores all parts in such a way that they can be removed again by the shortest route and in the shortest time. The intelligent system therefore places frequently used goods at the top and rarely requested products further down. Although there are 16,000 square metres of warehouse space available in Lehrte and around 9,000 square metres in Kassel, the growing volume of spare parts that are kept permanently in stock means that not only the floor space but also the volume of space must be used efficiently.
The robots handle thousands of stackable crates and never lose sight of the big picture. The machines are about the size of a deposit beverage crate and have eight motorised wheels, two on each side. This allows them to move in all four directions and whizz across the facility on rails. The AutoStore robots move on the top level, on the roof of the system, so to speak, the so-called ‘grid’. The boxes (‘bins’), in which the spare parts are stored, are located below in stacks the height of a house. Small packaged bags or boxes containing spare parts are particularly suitable, as all goods must fit perfectly into the bins.
The boxes stacked on top of each other bring a huge efficiency gain. This is because the storage containers are packed extremely tightly, much tighter than you could achieve with a conventional small parts warehouse. No walking routes are required for employees, boxes do not have to be picked up by hand and height is hardly an issue. Once the robot has reached the correct storage location at the top of its travel path, it lifts the correct box from the bottom to the top of the stack using special container conveyor technology that resembles a lift.
It then continues directly to the sorting workstation, the so-called ‘picking ports’. There, the employee can remove the part from the container and process it further, i.e. either add it to a larger order or dispatch it directly. The container with its remaining contents is moved back to its storage location. When new goods arrive, the process is reversed. The employees place the products in the inventory boxes, which are then registered by the system and added to the warehouse.
State-of-the-art technology means that Emil Frey Autoteilewelt is able to deliver a large number of orders with a high level of reliability, even when demand is high, for example in seasonal business.
The AutoStore system uses proven technology with high reliability even at maximum capacity utilisation. Our customers therefore benefit from a stable delivery service, even in seasonal business or during order peaks.
The system reduces picking times, i.e. the time required to remove an item from storage. This means that even short-term or small order quantities from car dealerships or garages can be handled.
Automation ensures high precision and avoids incorrect deliveries, for example with an electronic assistant that monitors parts picking.
Facts about the AutoStore system at Emil Frey Autoteilewelt
On average, an employee makes a pick-out/pick-in every 15 seconds.
The battery-operated robots consume just 0.1 kW/h of energy.
270,000 small parts are stored on average at the Kassel site in the AutoStore facility there.
100 % more parts can be stored in the new small parts warehouse compared to before.
‘Emil Frey is making targeted investments in automation in order to fulfil two promises to our customers: On the one hand, we want to always be able to deliver with our own extensive stocks. On the other hand, we also want to ensure the fastest possible delivery. Modern robot technology brings both goals together thanks to high-tech.’
Christoph Fleck, Head of Sales Emil Frey Autoteilewelt
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