Efficient and flexible warehouse management
Searching for the WMS solution that fits you best?
Searching for the WMS solution that fits you best?
Throughput rate, cycle time, storage density, and material flow stability – intralogistics must monitor and manage a multitude of metrics to ensure efficient material flow. MISUMI Europe, the world market leader for mechanical components in custom machine building, has therefore chosen the LFS warehouse management system from EPG (Ehrhardt Partner Group) for the automation of its European central warehouse in Frankfurt am Main. As part of the recently completed expansion of warehouse automation through the modular WMS, additional solutions from the EPG ONE Supply Chain Execution Suite were also implemented. Moving forward, MISUMI will benefit from the automated multi-carrier shipping software EPG ONE ISS and gain a fully aggregated overview of the highly efficient material flow with the all-in-one dashboard TIMESQUARE.
MISUMI specializes in configurable components for custom machine construction. From a portfolio of over 20 million items, customers can, for example, order linear shafts with the desired number of thread turns, as well as matching ball bearings and the corresponding screws. Typically, the company, founded in 2003, ships the complete assembly on the same day the order is placed. From the central warehouse, MISUMI supplies all of Europe and large parts of the African market—with an average of around 1,500 shipments leaving the warehouse each day. A growing order volume in B2B e-commerce is now prompting the machinery construction specialist to further optimize its already highly automated logistics.
LFS as a Central Component of the MISUMI Supply Chain
In addition to a manual area featuring a four-story shelving system with 240,000 storage spaces and 1,000 additional pallet positions for very heavy, large items, MISUMI operates a shuttle warehouse on nearly 1,800 square meters of floor space. This automated warehouse includes ten aisles and 22 levels, providing up to 250,000 storage locations. For the sometimes tiny components, MISUMI uses around 56,000 reusable containers and employs a goods-to-person picking system. “Integrating this highly automated technology would never have been possible without LFS,” says Mathias Schmidt, Operations Manager and Stock Management at MISUMI.
Modular. Flexible. Vendor-Independent.
When the shuttle warehouse was integrated into inventory management, MISUMI opted for a highly flexible solution: Thanks to the modular architecture of LFS, integration via third-party software was seamlessly implemented. “Due to the intelligent networking of LFS and its individual adaptability with appropriate interfaces, expansion and integration were effortlessly achievable,” says Mara Matthieß, Logistic Consultant at EPG. The software specialists at EPG ensured a swift implementation and deployed a transparent, efficient, and modularly expandable warehouse management system. “LFS is flexible enough to be easily connected to our self-programmed ERP system and also offers a standard interface in case we want to use a different ERP system in the future,” Schmidt explains. “As a result, the logistical processes have become much more transparent with LFS. In the old system, there were only occasional checkpoints, so we could never precisely see the current status of each individual item.”
Smarter Connected Logistics – Additional EPG Solutions in Use
The smart WMS is optimally complemented by additional solutions from the EPG ONE Supply Chain Execution Suite. In the Frankfurt warehouse, EPG’s International Shipping System (ISS) ensures efficient multi-carrier management. By integrating more than 250 carriers, MISUMI benefits from, among other things, a track-and-trace function, a flexible selection of the best courier, express, and freight service providers, and automated printing of shipping labels. At the same time, the Supply Chain Control Tower TIMESQUARE provides important insights into the now highly efficient material flow. The all-in-one dashboard visualizes all relevant key metrics, thereby offering greater flexibility in daily warehouse operations.
Overall, MISUMI is thoroughly convinced; “The commissioning and expansion have gone so smoothly is by no means a given and only possible because the individual project teams have worked very well together in recent years,” concludes Schmidt.
