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Coop & TGW Logistics

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Grocery Logistics

Automating Coop’s Deep Freeze DC & Cold Chain Logistics Processes

Schafisheim, Switzerland

Robust warehouse automation

The Swiss grocery retailer Coop supplies its national retail stores from its central deep freeze distribution center in Schafisheim, Switzerland. Since working in a deep freeze environment is particularly challenging for human workers, Coop's solution boasts our robust warehouse automation. Our technologies allow varied temperature zones for the preservation of different perishable goods. In keeping with the motto "only as cold as necessary," the temperature ranges between -5°C during the depalletizing and palletizing process down to -23°C in the shuttle warehouse. The fully automated solution is compact, energy efficient, and reduces strain on human workers.

Key Benefits

  • Smaller Footprint and Lower Energy Costs: The compact system design results in maximal supply chain optimization. The goods in the deep freeze warehouse are stored in high-density racking, reducing energy costs.
  • Store-Friendly and Volume-Optimized Packing: Automated palletizing robots prepare store orders on ready-to-ship pallets. The robot can palletize based on an optimized, pre-cubed pattern, requiring less space—cutting transportation costs. In addition, the items are stacked in a store-friendly manner, so retail employees require less effort and time to shelve delivered items.
     

Solution and Material Flow

The end-to-end solution provided by TGW Logistics is comprehensive. It depalletizes frozen goods, stores the individual units in the shuttle system, and finally sequences the items for mixed-carton palletizing - all fully automated.

Goods Receipt and Storage

The goods are delivered on pallets from either an external business or the production plant. At -23°C, the items required for retail stores are stored on pallets in a high-bay warehouse measuring 40 meters tall. The multi-aisle pallet warehouse is composed of 17,000 storage locations.

Fully Automated Fulfillment

Splitex robots automatically depalletize pallets coming from the high-bay warehouse. The depalletized cartons are stored in a shuttle warehouse, which is used as a picking buffer. Once the supply of a specific item drops below the minimum inventory level, the pallet warehouse automatically replenishes the shuttle warehouse with goods. Several thousand cartons per hour at -23°C are stored and retrieved from the shuttle system and transported in sequence to robotic palletizing stations.

Palletizing and Shipping

Human workers find manual picking of goods for store orders challenging, especially in a deep freeze area. Therefore, Coop has opted for fully automated mixed-case palletizing: Autostax palletizing robots stack cartons in an optimized and store-friendly manner on roll cages at -5°C. The roll cages are automatically wrapped and forwarded to the shipping area. This has made Coop’s cold chain logistics process efficient and people-friendly. 

Highlights

  • Zero-Touch Picking

    Depalletizing robots allow for fully automated picking (Autostax), significantly reducing employee time in a physically taxing, deep-freeze environment. 

  • Lifetime Services

    TGW Logistics Lifetime Services allows for efficient operations and a high-volume fulfillment capacity. The TGW Logistics On-Site team works closely with the Coop team to virtually eliminate downtime and guarantee that all processes work to specification.
     

Stay ahead of your competition through automation!

Speak with one of our representatives today to learn how automation by TGW Logistics transforms businesses into profitable enterprises that outpace the competition. 

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TGW Logistics is a foundation-owned company headquartered in Austria and a global leader in warehouse automation and warehouse logistics. As a trusted systems integrator with more than 50 years of experience, we deliver end-to-end services: designing, implementing, and maintaining fulfillment centers powered by mechatronics, robotics, and advanced software solutions. With over 4,500 employees spanning Europe, Asia, and North America, we combine expertise, innovation, and a customer-centric dedication to help keep your business growing. With TGW Logistics, it's possible to transform your warehouse logistics into a competitive advantage.