About the customer
The Hammer Group is a merger of logistics companies based in Aachen. The group has 300 vehicles at its disposal, employs 700 people and has an annual turnover of 135 million euros. The company is a forwarding company in the traditional sense and supports its customers holistically, economically and quickly with precise processes in the field of traditional forwarding, flexible logistics solutions and is based exactly on the wishes of customers. With traditional values, the company offers transportation solutions from cutting-edge technologies to comprehensive logistics strategies throughout the supply chain. The company also has a very strong background around the world.
Logistics Service Provider Hammer GmbH & Co. KG, which belongs to the Hammer Group, established a new logistics center in Bedburg near Cologne in 2015. With a center of 103,000 square meters, which operates a small parts warehouse, the company provides support primarily to large DIY chains.
Customer requirements
- The logistics service provider needs approximately 60,000 boxes for an automated small parts warehouse.
- The boxes must be very stable and suitable for automated systems.
- Noise pollution in an automated warehouse should be as low as possible to create a pleasant and less stressful work environment for employees. Therefore, it is desirable that the new boxes work in the automated system as quietly as possible.
- Only small parts can be stored in the boxes
- A large number of different small parts should be selected efficiently.
- The boxes must have the largest possible internal volume in order to store a maximum of small parts.
- The space in the existing shelves should be used as efficiently as possible thanks to the boxes.
The BITO solution
XL-Motion noiseless boxes
» BITO delivered 60,000 XL-Motion plastic boxes, suitable for automatic use.
Especially quiet operation
» XL-Motion has a new bottom type. The smooth construction of the box and the smooth bottom ensure a low coefficient of friction when passing the conveyor belts, which significantly reduces noise when transporting the box.
Particularly stable bottom sandwich construction
» The bottom is connected to the box structure by means of diagonal supporting ribs. This sandwich construction prevents the bottom from bending under heavy load.
Large internal volume
» The box measuring 600 x 400 x 320 mm has an internal volume of 53 liters
Wide bottom
» XL-Motion has a bottom 25 mm wider than conventional stackable Euro boxes.
High durability
» XL-Motion can load up to 50 kg. When stacking multiple boxes on top of each other, up to 250 kg can be loaded on the bottom box.
Transverse and longitudinal dividers for storage of small parts
» Boxes can be divided using narrow and very stable transverse and longitudinal dividers.
Holes with good ergonomics for a comfortable grip
» There are holes for ergonomic handling on the front of the box.
Bar codes
» The boxes are equipped with barcodes that can be machine read and stored in the system.
Box made of 100% recycled material
» The quiet XL-Motion box is made of 100% recycled material.
Customer application
- BITO XL-Motion boxes are used in the small parts warehouse. The warehouse works on the concept of a double shuttle transporter.
- Small parts are stored in a warehouse with high shelves. As soon as the minimum stock for reaching the order of small parts is reached, the system recognizes it and generates an order to replenish material from a high-bay warehouse. Small parts are picked up from cardboard boxes into XL-Motion boxes and transported to the small parts warehouse by means of a conveyor.
- The warehouse consists of five aisles of 20 levels, each level is served by a shuttle carrier. Shuttle containers store boxes on both sides of the aisle in free positions.
- The boxes are constantly in circulation.
- The boxes are divided into quarters for economical storage of parts in the box.
Customer benefits
- XL-Motion is extremely quiet on conveyors. The result is significantly lower noise levels in the lobby, which will provide employees with a huge reduction in workplace stress.
- A more pleasant working atmosphere, thanks to the quiet operation of the boxes, ensures greater employee satisfaction with work, with fewer stress-related absences.
- Thanks to the work environment with reduced noise, employees are less exposed to stress and thus the error rate is reduced.
- The high stability of the box withstands extreme loads during handling in the warehouse.
- Thanks to the unique internal volume, XL-Motion boxes can hold many more goods.
- The more goods fit in one box, the less continuous refilling is needed.
- The high utilization rate of each individual box means that fewer boxes are needed to transport the same amount of goods, which leads to a significant increase in the efficiency of the entire system.
- Reduction of implementation costs: Due to the wider base of the box, much narrower supports are needed in the small parts warehouse. This leads to savings in material and thus savings in the entire system design.
Customer rating
"Thanks to the quiet operation of XL-Motion, working in a small parts warehouse is much less stressful. We get very good feedback from employees and everyone likes their job. The pleasant environment even encourages employees from other departments to be interested in working in a small parts warehouse. The quiet operation of containers also increases concentration and reduces errors."
Lutz Harde,
CEO Logistikzentrums Hammer GmbH & Co. KG
