WesTrac, one of the world’s largest authorised Caterpillar® equipment dealers, has successfully implemented a Dematic Automated Piece Picking System for Industrial Supplies solution at one of its Australian warehouses.
It says this solution is transforming operations and enhancing efficiency and productivity at its Tomago warehouse in New South Wales (NSW).
“WesTrac is one of the largest authorised Caterpillar dealers in the world and our Tomago warehouse in NSW has an essential role to play in this, as it is the central distribution centre for our 17 regional branches, as well as our seven main workshops here on site,” explains Natalia Trewin, Warehouse Operations Manager, WesTrac.
“The Tomago facility is a high-volume operation, storing 80,000 SKUs and we pick 40,000 lines a week here.”
WesTrac provides customers with a wide range of machinery and equipment, along with comprehensive whole-of-life management solutions aimed at making equipment ownership and operation as easy, profitable, and safe as possible. This support covers the mining and construction industries in Western Australia, NSW, and the Australian Capital Territory.
The previous WesTrac warehouse was constructed a decade ago. It was operated manually and over time WesTrac had seen a 30 per cent increase in inventory and customer base growth, resulting in a surge in orders to fulfil.
“When customers place their orders, the WesTrac warehouse management system software sends those orders to the Dematic warehouse control system software,” says Seth van Dijk, Business Development Manager at Dematic.
“The WCS then directs the robots for maximum efficiency to retrieve all the items needed to fulfil those orders, and the robot delivers those items to the GTP workstations. Screens at the workstations instruct WesTrac operators which items to place into the order totes.
“Operators place completed totes on the conveyor, which brings them to a sorter. At the end of the sorter, orders are packed and dispatched for delivery.”
The system features an AutoStore™ automated storage and goods-to-person picking system, powered by intelligent Dematic Software. It significantly streamlines warehouse operations, with one picker achieving the work of four to five manual pickers.
For more information on Dematic, click here.
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