The young Swiss startup Avancon SA (www.avancon.com) has set itself the goal to revolutionize the unit handling systems in distribution and logistics centers. They offer now a new modern and very innovative conveying system. This will be distributed worldwide by manufacturers of conveyor systems and logistic system integrators. The system has been developed by Dieter Specht, the founder of the Interroll Group.The car industry, the computer industryand even the machine industry presentevery few years new and moderndesigned models. Why? To be able toattack new markets and new customers.However, it is hard to see somethingnew in the conveyor industry. 

Most ofthe unit conveyor systems weredeveloped 15, 20 or even 50 years agoand are still sold today in a construction,which remembers on the patents of theBritish toy manufacturer Frank Hornby,who has already registered his patent ofa “Meccano” kit in 1901.Now, the two young founders of the start-up Avancon SA are ready to revolutionize the conveyor industry with thisnew and streamlined concept. It’s full of innovative and functionalideas and has been patented worldwide.

Originally, Dieter Specht had developed this systemfor Interroll. But it didn’t fit to their philosophy. So hefound two enthusiastic entrepreneurs, Denis Ratz,he has a bachelor of science in business informaticsand Dr. Daniele Gambetta, who has a PhD inelectric machines. They established inTicino/Switzerland a new start-up under the name Avancon SA (from Avant-garde and Conveyor).

The CEO, Denis Ratz showed the new conveyor system to some large and important manufacturers of conveyor- and logistics-systems and got a very positive response.

“Of course, we wanted to see the reactions to our completely new and very modern designed conveyor concept,” says Denis Ratz. “Most were positively impressed about the outstanding design. I could  answer all their questions about the functions and requirements of the  market. After these meetings with CEOs and technical managers of  big and well-known companies I was highly motivated. Now we are ready. Everything is finished and tested. We can deliver.  Several potential customers will visit our large test facility here in Ticino. We believe that the functions and the many advantages of this  innovative system will convince them.” 

Avancon SA invested heavily into development, in machines, in molds, patents and in the production. With a clever marketing concept enables an exclusive group of Conveyor Manufacturers and System Integrators worldwide to promote the system under their own label/brand and house color to the final market, the operators of logistics and distribution center.

Denis Ratz explains: “We want to offer something avant-garde to the manufacturers of conveyors and intralogistics systems. But we don’t want to interfere with the market of our customers and we will not offer to distribution- and logistics-systems directly to operating companies. Even though this modern system will catch the eye of every manager of this industry.”

The partner and head of technique, Dr. Daniele Gambetta, is an experienced specialist for electronic control and DC-motors. He has patents of completely new DC-motors, which will also be integrated in the future in the Avancon Conveyor System.

“Today – in the digital age of ‘industry-4’ – the electronic connectivity is of enormous importance. I was very fascinated by the ideas of Dieter Specht, so I have joined this young start-up,” says Dr. Daniele Gambetta. “I have never seen such a convincing new concept in the conveyor industry. Everything is completely different, new, safer and much better. We believe that about 80 % of all goods up to 50 kg weight, which have to be transported millions of times worldwide every day, can be handled with this new system.”

Meanwhile, the design has been awarded by the internationally well known “Red-Dot” price in Germany and also by the very coveted  throughout Asia, “Good-Design” award in Japan. 

The two partners have a lot of courage to break into such an  established market today. But who would not want to offer their  customers something very aesthetic, even revolutionizing, which differs  to all previous designs?  

Why aesthetic? Well, ask yourself: would you buy today a machine,  which is not modern covered? Now you can offer your customers  something extraordinary that combines innovation with emotions. 

Denis Ratz says: “We are very positive about the future. We have just moved into a newly built modern factory, which corresponds to our  DNA. Here we have a daily capacity production of up to 400 meters  conveyor tracks of our new ZPC- system. Anyone who builds conveyor  systems by himself can obtain all individual elements from us and so use the patents free of charge. Several customers want to exhibit the new system at one of their upcoming trade fairs.  

That’s fantastic!” 

‘ZPC’ system means “Zone Powered Conveyor” system, in which each zone is controlled and driven separately. The system is extremely flexible and  adaptable. It is capable of slow or fast transporting in  any desired line and, where necessary, can  accumulate without pressure. The system can also communicate with  higher IT or Bus system very easily and at significantly reduced  installation cost.  

Of course it transports goods in all directions, with all the functions an  engineer wants for logistics systems. 

Last but not least it seems to be much cheaper than it looks. 

The UK’s leading football teamwear supplier saves £200,000 on manpower, floorspace and labour in its first year of using an AutoStore solution from Element Logic.

A series of firsts

Based in Dundee, Scotland, Direct Soccer is a family-run business and one of the UK’s leading football teamwear suppliers that offers in-house personalised printing and embroidery. By switching to online trading as early as 2002, it became the first company in Britain to take fully personalised orders on mobile devices.

Direct Soccer achieved another first nearly 20 years later – it became the first AutoStore user in Scotland and the second in the UK, placing it at the forefront of advanced warehousing. In its first year of using AutoStore, the company has saved approximately £200,000 in manpower, floor space, and energy savings .

The sportswear business’ growing customer base prompted its owners, husband-and-wife team Bryce and Joyce Gibson, to triple the floor size of the company’s warehouse in 2019.

“While our racking system worked well up to that time, we knew we had to find a warehouse solution to optimise the floor space fully and improve the overall efficiency of our operations,” explained Bryce.

Joyce continued: “Our online business caters for both clubs and individuals, so when the taps got turned off on the club side during the initial Covid-19 lockdown, we shifted our marketing focus to the individual. Using the mantra ‘stay safe, stay home, keep training’, we started supplying more leisurewear to this market through Express Football Kits, the sister site of Direct Soccer. The site offers next-day delivery with limited personalisation and grew quickly.”

Bryce added that they initially considered a mezzanine system for the additional warehouse space, “but the number of floors made it impractical for our needs at the time.”

The road to automation

Bryce and Joyce discovered Element Logic after searching for warehouse automation solutions on YouTube.

“We contacted the UK sales team, who came through the very next day,” says Bryce. “They assessed our needs and setup, and a week or two later, we went to Norway to see the AutoStore solution they specialise in, in action. We were thoroughly impressed with how straightforward the system was and how it could integrate with our current warehouse management system.”

Element Logic’s proposed solution appealed to Direct Soccer in several ways. The AutoStore system could utilise both height and floor space, and it would meet the company’s objectives of reducing lead times and increasing throughput. The system design also allowed for easy scaling in terms of performance and capacity.

Direct Soccer and Element Logic signed the contract in July 2020, and 16 weeks later, the system went live with seven robots and 8,000 bins, just in time for Christmas.

“The implementation process was well organised and took the concern out of what was a massive investment for us. The implications of it going wrong were immense, but we had complete trust in the Element Logic team from the outset,” Joyce emphasised.

“The team were knowledgeable, transparent, and quick to make and act upon their decisions. We couldn’t have asked for a better partner. The implementation took place in the extended section of the warehouse, so there was no interruption to existing operations.”

With an entirely manual operation, Direct Soccer needed to use approximately 1,133m2 of floor space, but with an AutoStore solution just 210m2 – or less than a quarter of the existing space – is required. The company plans to expand the system to 16,000 bins in the future, which will be made easier due to the floor space savings. 

High productivity and ease of use

“A major plus point of the system is its ease of use,” added Bryce. “We currently have 40 staff and regularly increase headcount – training can become a major problem when you’re scaling up. However, because of the systems seamless integration with our WMS, there’s a short training window. Everyone knows where to go and what to pick.”

Prior to the installation of AutoStore, order pickers in the Direct Soccer warehouse averaged 10 orders despatches per hour. Now, they achieve 40 order despatches per hour.

Apart from building a multi-skilled work team for added flexibility during peak times, Direct Soccer also has five AutoStore superusers to do fault-finding if there are any issues with the system. However, regular services and strong remote support from Element Logic’s UK team ensure high reliability, so there had been little to no need to use the superuser backup.

“The peak period for Direct Soccer is July to September when the new football season gets underway,” said Joyce. “The automated solution allows us to manage these peaks, even with added stock volumes. It also enables us to introduce more stock-keeping units (SKUs) and reduce turnaround times.

“Currently, we have two conveyor ports and one carousel port, with most of the picking done from the latter. Sometimes we pick dispatch from the carousel port and production stock from a conveyor port. This flexibility means we can do jobs simultaneously, whereas before, we could only do it back-to-back.”    

Picking orders at Direct Soccer with an AutoStore solution

With AutoStore, Direct Soccer’s staff can despatch orders four times faster.

Enhanced customer experience

For the owners, the high throughput and ability to clear orders quickly are significant strategic benefits, since better customer service drives more sales.

“We no longer have to put several people on orders. One operator can set up the whole process. And now we’re fulfilling 100% of fulfilment of in-stock orders for next day delivery,” explained Joyce.

In fact, because Direct Soccer are shipping orders direct from the AutoStore system, it has eliminated the need for these picks to move to a dispatch area. Plus, the putaway process is significantly faster and can match the pace of online orders, eliminating a build-up of stock waiting to be put away. This has saved the business the need to hire two additional staff members.

The speed and ease of use have encouraged Bryce and Joyce to look forward to the next stage of their automation journey. Currently, they’re considering automating the bagging machines in the dispatch area.

“We can now focus on other parts of the business that need improving. Every evening around five or six, I get excited when I hear the robots getting jobs ready to go out the next morning. It’s tremendously reassuring to know the operation keeps running while everyone else goes home,” Bryce concluded.

Key stats:

Installed in December 2020

Seven robots and 8,000 bins

£200,000 savings on manpower, floorspace and energy in the first year

AutoStore system uses less than a quarter of available floorspace (210m2)

Average of 40 order despatches per hour compared to a previous target of 10 per hour

Saved the need to hire two additional staff members

At Sport Conrad, located in the region of the Bavarian Alps, an automated storage and retrieval system will reliably handle steadily growing order volumes in the future. Optimally adapted to the spatial conditions on site, intralogistics expert Kardex is implementing a future-proof and highly efficient AutoStore solution with state-of-the-art components.

Since its foundation 125 years ago, Sport Conrad has developed into a leading, international multi-channel retailer in the outdoor & winter sports sectors. Today, the success of the family-run company is driven by 220 employees.

Sport Conrad’s logistics center is located in Iffeldorf, south of Munich. All online orders are shipped from here, and products are transported between the warehouse and the four Sport Conrad stores several times a day. About half of the items stored here are sold online, the other half in-store. The storage area in Iffeldorf covers 5,000 square meters. During the order picking process, employees were previously traveling 25-30 km in the warehouse every day manually picking orders – but not anymore. To optimize efficiency and ergonomics in the warehouse, Sport Conrad’s existing logistics center is now being expanded and automated by intralogistics expert Kardex. The Kardex solution includes a highly efficient AutoStore system with adjacent conveyor technology.

“With traditional warehousing, it was becoming increasingly difficult to meet the growing demands on our small parts logistics,” explains Thomas Janker, Purchasing Manager at Sport Conrad GmbH. “Our new AutoStore system from Kardex offers extremely high storage capacity on a very small footprint, as well as maximum flexibility. This will enable us to process orders even more quickly.”

AutoStore Roboter

Compact, efficient and future-proof

With the best storage density ratio of any automated storage system, AutoStore achieves ultimate space efficiency. Storage bins are stacked high and tight in an aluminum cubic grid system that can be assembled in any shape and around obstacles. Greater capacity and storage density allows for four times the storage capacity in the same footprint when compared to traditional storage solutions. Sport Conrad’s AutoStore solution provides space for 18,791 bins, each with an external height of 425 mm. The system will be installed on a footprint of 700 m². 65 percent of Sport Conrad’s items will fit in the AutoStore bins – ranging from sportswear, climbing harnesses and backpacks to helmets and shoes.

For the handling of storage bins, 16 battery-powered AutoStore robots of the latest type “R5+” are used, which move along the rails of the grid. The high-speed robots pick up the bins, rearrange them and present them to ergonomically designed workstations – three Conveyor Ports and four Carousel Ports – for picking and replenishment. In addition, Kardex’s customized AutoStore solution includes four Transfer Ports for storage and retrieval of bins via conveyors, as well as a folding box erector and a volume reducer. The modular design of AutoStore allows future expansion to accommodate throughput and storage capacity increases at any time without impacting ongoing operations.

“We were convinced by the Kardex team because of their consulting expertise, their quick reactions at all times and the uncomplicated and cooperative partnership,” Janker continues. “AutoStore is certainly the right solution for our needs. The system enables us to significantly increase efficiency, as travel times are eliminated. With the best possible utilization of the available storage space, this also means a noticeable relief for our employees in the pick & pack process.”

Visualization of the AutoStore solution planned for Sport Conrad

More sustainability with AutoStore empowered by Kardex

For Sport Conrad, sustainability and environmental responsibility have a very high priority. Thus, the company is actively committed to implementing resource-saving processes and sustainable solutions in all areas. This is exactly where the highly efficient AutoStore technology as the heart of the logistics center will make an important contribution in the future.

Compared to classic automated storage systems, AutoStore requires only a fraction of the energy. Ten AutoStore robots consume no more power than a standard vacuum cleaner. Whenever robots lower a bin or reduce speed, energy is returned to the batteries. AutoStore’s compact design also requires no aisles, significantly reducing areas that need lighting. With a global average availability of 99.6% and redundant components, AutoStore is the most reliable and efficient storage system in the world.