Storage and order picking for welded parts
Various storage systems – one software. HänelSoft® manages the Hänel Lean-Lifts® as well as the narrow-aisle storage area.
Paul Meijering Metalen has been delivering pipes, metal sheeting and components to customers worldwide since 1989 – these products are made of stainless steel and special alloys.
The petrochemical and food industries, as well as the building construction and offshore industries, are among the company’s customers.
Hänel Lean-Lifts® for storing fittings and accessories
In addition to pipes, Paul Meijering Metalen also produces a wide range of welded fittings and flanges of various sizes and shapes. For storage and order picking processes, Paul Meijering Metalen keeps these items in eight Hänel Lean-Lifts® installed in a new warehouse. The systems have a height of over twenty nine feet and are configured compactly.
The Hänel systems are in two rows facing each other, with four systems installed in each row. Four orders can be picked and packaged simultaneously with support from a central workplace in the middle of the aisle.
The displays on the lift systems show the order pickers precisely what needs to be retrieved and packed.
The storage position on the container is defined by the compartment and sub-level indicator. The shipping boxes at the packing station are identified using a Put-to-Light system. A narrow-aisle storage area with 11,000 pallet spaces is located directly next to the Hänel Lean-Lifts®. This is where large and bulky parts are kept. The Hänel Lean-Lifts® are also replenished from this area.
HänelSoft® – the WMS package from Hänel
All data is stored in the PRO/Staal ERP software package from Datamex. A special interface connects HänelSoft® to PRO/Staal. ”We have fine tuned HänelSoft® to match our specific requirements. We manage the Hänel Lean-Lifts® as well as the narrow-aisle warehouse area with HänelSoft®. For example, if inventory drops below a specified minimum amount, the employee is automatically notified to check the inventory status of the lift systems and the narrow-aisle storage area.”
In addition to organizing pick processes, HänelSoft® also efficiently manages the buffer storage of remaining quantities. For example, if a customer orders 80 pieces, and 100 pieces are contained in a package, the remainder in the package does not go back to the narrow-aisle storage area – it goes instead into the Hänel lift as resupply inventory for future order picking.
„We have optimized the Hänel systems over the years so that they function exactly the way we want them to. To keep up with growing demands, we purchased two new Hänel systems to complement the six existing Hänel Lean-Lifts® that we moved to our new warehouse. Right now we have about 320 tons of fittings stored on the containers in the new parts depot.“
Paul Meijering