Thanks to the robotic solution that SCALLOG has set up with its partner Vanas Engineering, TRANSALLIANCE has a logistics solution for the preparation of retail parcels tailored to the requirements of e-commerce players and manufacturers!
At the heart of its warehouse in Dudelange, TRANSALLIANCE relies on the Goods to Person SCALLOG solution to speed up and make multi-customer retail preparations more reliable. A high-performance and scalable automation that meets the challenges of speed, availability and reliability required by e-commerce players and manufacturers!
A family business recognized for its operational expertise and know-how, TRANSALLIANCE is positioned as a designer and manufacturer of “tailor-made” logistics and transport solutions on a European scale. Its Logistics Business Unit, which represents 1000 employees and 110 million in turnover, is distinguished by its sectoral expertise in its three businesses, warehousing, handling and contract packaging. Since the summer of 2024, TRANSALLIANCE has been using the SCALLOG Goods to Person solution – 283 shelves transported by 14 robots to two picking/restocking stations – at the Dudelange logistics platform in Luxembourg, to speed up its retail preparations in order to meet tight delivery deadlines. This project, carried out jointly by SCALLOG and its partner in the Benelux sector, Vanas Engineering, now guarantees TRANSALLIANCE’s Logistics BU densified storage, picking productivity multiplied by 3, “flawless” quality control and improved working conditions!
Automation of retail parcel preparation to meet the challenges of responsiveness, productivity and quality of service!
As Emmanuel Louis, Managing Director of TRANSALLIANCE’s Logistics BU, tells us , “The logistics of spare parts and small items is complex, requiring the optimal management of stocks of products of various sizes, weights and characteristics, and preparing and transporting them in a short time. To comply with the carrier’s cut-offs, automation was necessary to speed up the preparation rates and bring even more added value in terms of agility and reliability.” In addition to productivity and flexibility, automation had to address three other key challenges: eliminating preparation errors, improving operators’ working conditions and overcoming recruitment difficulties.
Selected in December 2024, the SCALLOG robotic solution stood out for its flexibility, constant scalability and ease of use – one picker is operational in two hours flat. Emmanuel Louis comments: “SCALLOG’s technological response, small parts stored on shelves transported by robots to operators, ensured that we could really gain in productivity during picking. Before automation, operators spent 70% of their time on the move and only 30% on picking. He adds: “Beyond the technological choice, the French company SCALLOG “on a human scale”, which combines listening and understanding of needs” and its partner Vanas shared the three values advocated by TRANSALLIANCE, performance, pragmatism and proximity. »
The project was structured in two main phases: sizing and installation in the summer of 2024 and production in September 2024, i.e. in less than a quarter.
More intuitive and fast automated picking for many benefits!
Today, 80% of the retail order picking flow comes from the 950 m² SCALLOG automated area , which includes 283 mobile shelves transported by 14 robots to two picking and restocking stations. As a result of the densification of storage, the SCALLOG automated area includes more than 20,000 references of category A and B items, from multiple customers. In this fenced and secure area, stock management is “flawless”, there is no inventory discrepancy. Category C items are managed in vertical storage cabinets and in a manual picking area.
Picking operations are 100% reliable and optimized. In concrete terms, the SCALLOG solution supports operators at all stages by indicating the parts to be picked from the shelf via the Pick to light, as well as the bins where to deposit them via the Put to Light. They are also informed if the order is complete or needs to be consolidated. More than 24 orders can be carried out simultaneously quickly and easily. This acceleration in production rates has enabled TRANSALLIANCE’s Logistics BU to multiply its productivity in retail preparations by 3.
Another benefit, and not the least, is the optimization of working conditions offered by the SCALLOG Goods To Person solution, by freeing operators from the arduous factors of their tasks such as travel, load carriers and stress. They use a resolutely modern and innovative solution, which enhances their skills and improves their quality of life at work.
Emmanuel Louis, Managing Director of TRANSALLIANCE’s Logistics BU, concludes “The success of this project to robotize retail preparation once again demonstrates our commitment to an innovative approach, to develop our processes and practices. Regardless of the automated solution implemented, innovation within TRANSALLIANCE opens up the field of possibilities in the design of increasingly “tailor-made” and value-added sectoral logistics solutions to grow and conquer new markets. »
