Following a partnership with Pepsico, global leader in convenient foods and beverages, Dematic has integrated automation as a central feature of Pepsico’s expanded production and logistics facility.
The Rojana facility is a critical regional hub that produces a variety of products. With a growing demand for its products in Thailand, PepsiCo recognised the necessity to build capacity in both production and logistics.
“Rojana is one of our biggest plants, and it also has several different product platforms,” says Colin Matthews, Supply Chain Senior Director – IndoChina Foods, PepsiCo.
“We have potato chips, we have Stax-brand chips, and we have Fry Pack in extruded products as well. Those products are made at Rojana and are not only distributed nationally across Thailand, but also internationally to Vietnam and other neighbouring countries.”
To support PepsiCo’s growth and address space constraints and labour challenges, Dematic worked closely with PepsiCo to develop an automation solution to address its storage, throughput capacity, and productivity needs in its logistics operations. The solution centres around an Automated Storage and Retrieval System with a direct link to both the production and order fulfilment areas.
“We foresee a manpower shortage being a major challenge for our local operations in Thailand,” explains Charan Techapattaraporn, Logistics Manager, PepsiCo. “Automation, therefore, is the perfect solution to take on this challenge, whilst also improving our facility operations across the board.”
The AS/RS stores pallets within five aisles of double-deep, high-bay racking with a total of 16,520 pallet locations.
A network of pallet conveyors and Rail-Guided Vehicles (RGVs) receives pallets automatically at the end of the production lines and transports them for storage, then directs them from storage to despatch docks or to automatically replenished pick locations for full-case order picking.
The solution includes Dematic Warehouse Control System software to manage all the automation, the material flow, and the inventory as well as to provide real-time tracking and visibility of all transactions.
“The AS/RS is at the heart of PepsiCo’s strategy to enhance its production and logistics efficiency at the Rojana facility,” says Phamondate Rukdee, Sales Manager, Dematic Thailand.
“It provides an extremely space efficient way to store products between when they are manufactured and when they need to be assembled and despatched for delivery to customers.”
To learn more about the pivotal role automation is playing within PepsiCo’s Rojana facility visit dematic.com to view a video case study and to explore the technologies used in this project.