VBH Nederland BV, Oosterhout, NL

Central small parts storage in the Hänel Lean-Lift®

VBH offers a complete line of hinges and locks for installation in doors and windows. Three Hänel Lean-Lifts® are used for the central storage of small parts in the warehouse located in Oosterhout. 

The Hänel Lean-Lift® cluster is more than five meters high and fully utilizes the vertical space available in the warehouse. All of the small parts needed for VBH products are stored within a small footprint directly next to the pallet storage area. 

Inventory levels and storage positions are managed with HänelSoft®. The Navision host ERP system sends pick lists – sorted according to customer names – to HänelSoft®. These pick jobs are processed at once, with the containers moving automatically within the systems to find the specified items. 

Order picking is fast, accurate and safe thanks to the Pick and Drop to Light system. When an order is confirmed the three Lean-Lifts® bring the ordered items to the retrieval point.

The Hänel Pick-o-Light® system shines a beam of light on the article to be picked, and the controller display indicates the item quantity required for the order. A roller conveyor is positioned directly opposite the retrieval point and has boxes ready for the orders. The correct box for each order is also identifiable thanks to an LED indicator. 

One operator working at three storage systems simultaneously can process large order lists within a short period of time. Each week between 1,000 and 1,300 orders, containing up to 20,000 items, are processed with the Hänel system. This is equivalent to about one-third of the entire picking capacity of the site. 

The Pick and Drop to Light system ensures that order picking is error-free. 

Short distances for operators, more efficient picking thanks to HänelSoft® and easy integration in existing ERP systems – plus performance and space-savings – are among the distinguishing features of Hänel Lean-Lifts® that make them the optimal automated systems for effective intralogistics solutions.