With the SCALLOG “Goods To Person” solution, PCM boosts the logistics of its components and spare parts

Accelerating the availability of spare parts for its assembly workshops and customers from its historic site in Champtocé-sur-Loire (Maine et Loire) is PCM’s main challenge. To meet this demand, the SCALLOG “Goods to Person” robotic solution “shaped” according to PCM’s constraints and requirements, spearheading a new logistics organization!

Founded in 1932, PCM, a subsidiary of the French group Gévelot, is one of the world leaders in solutions and equipment for the treatment of complex fluids in the energy, food and industry sectors. Its specialty is to develop and manufacture pumping systems “shaped” according to the needs of its global customers for the transfer of abrasive, fragile, hot, corrosive products, etc. As such, PCM operates in more than 100 countries, represents more than 750 employees and a turnover of around 140 million euros. In order to accelerate the availability of its parts at its main site in Maine et Loire, PCM has been relying since the summer of 2024 on SCALLOG’s Goods to Person robotic solution, “shaped” according to its requirements and constraints. A robotization project, spearheading a new logistics organization, which guarantees PCM many gains in efficiency and Quality of Life at Work, in line with its values such as excellence, commitment and innovation.

Bertrand LE PODER, Purchasing & Supply Chain Manager at PCM, said: “In an extremely competitive international environment, a European manufacturer like PCM, recognized for the quality of its design and manufacturing, must meet the challenges of availability and lead times of its products and spare parts in order to remain competitive. In our world, we are now talking in hours and no longer in days, automation and robotics in spare parts logistics are essential to meet the needs and requirements of our global customers, whose consumption patterns have evolved under the effect of e-commerce.”

A “tailor-made” configuration of SCALLOG according to the challenges and especially the constraints of PCM!

In its central warehouse equipped with vertical storage towers, comprising more than 12,000 references of a wide variety, PCM wishes in 2023 to accelerate the availability of its parts to its workshops and end customers, the challenge of this logistics automation project is to streamline and optimize the flows that have become complex in current industrial buildings, initially built before the war, and having undergone multiple extensions over the years.

The design of the SCALLOG solution made the difference with PCM in the summer of 2023, which saw it as an opportunity to optimize its logistics and gain additional m². SCALLOG and PCM have developed – after many scenarios – a “Goods to Person” robotic configuration on the mezzanine with the aim of integrating as well as possible into the constrained logistics environment – limited height, metal beams, etc., without extending or modifying the current buildings. Bertrand LE PODER of PCM, adds: “We were seduced by the added value of the technological response, the proximity and the co-development approach of SCALLOG, a French company in our image.”

The contract was signed in the summer of 2023. The implementation was managed in project mode. The major highlight was the release of 60% of the logistics area during the winter of 2023 in order to be able to install the mezzanine without interrupting logistics activity. Spearheading a new logistics organization, the project mobilized the Supply Chain and IT teams of PCM and SCALLOG, to carry out all aspects of this strategic project, from the optimization of the interfaces with the ERP to the involvement of operators in the “design” of the solution, including the optimization of flows and the training of operators. From the very beginning of the project, PCM has been working on change management to lead a seamless robotic transition. The SCALLOG solution has been operational since the summer of 2024. Bertrand LE PODER, adds: “With SCALLOG, whose qualities are transparency, intellectual honesty and involvement, we have forged a close relationship in order to build together a “Goods to Person” robotic configuration tailored to our challenges and constraints.”

A new logistics organization to accelerate the availability of parts!

At the heart of the optimization of the preparation flows of components and spare parts, the SCALLOG automated surface area with a surface area of 822 m², located on a mezzanine 3.35m above the ground, includes 249 mobile shelves, transported by 9 robots, to two preparation stations. The logistics operator at the station, guided through all the steps – Pick from & Put to Light, can simultaneously prepare 12 orders, for the pump assembly workshops and customers. The prepared orders are lowered via an elevator to the logistics consolidation station; Spare parts for end customers are then packed and shipped immediately and the components are delivered to the relevant assembly workshops.

In addition to streamlining the availability of parts for the various workshops on the industrial site, the SCALLOG solution ensures that PCM can put its logistics at the service of its customer promise; Any spare part order received before 16:00 is prepared and sent the same day.

Many gains to optimize efficiency and working conditions!

The SCALLOG solution thus allows PCM to densify the storage areas, without extending or modifying the current building. The SCALLOG automated solution on the mezzanine covers 80% of PCM’s references and includes lightweight products, weighing from 1 gram to 8 kilograms. The remaining 20% of references, mainly heavy parts, are stored in Euro pallets and racks.

Accelerating the availability of parts obliges, the SCALLOG solution guarantees PCM significant efficiency gains: order preparation at the SCALLOG preparation station is multiplied by 3, in order to be able to meet an OTD on spare parts at more than 90% on D-Day;

With the SCALLOG solution, there is less travel, poor posture, and heavy load carrying. The SCALLOG preparation station, which is resolutely ergonomic, and the preparation tools such as the Pick from & Put to Light beams, optimize working conditions and quality of life, which are key elements for better recruitment and retention. As Bertrand LE PODER, Purchasing & Supply Chain Manager at PCM, concludes, “In industrial logistics, robotics is a necessary step in order to guarantee optimal working conditions for its operators. Today, the supply chain is constantly under pressure, and logistics equipment must adapt to the needs of operators, not the other way around. »