2 key solutions to speed up the put away in your DC

Put away is one of the key processes to automate in Distribution Centers due to the amount of time and personnel involved. However, in most Distribution Centers, we find this process continues to be carried out in a conventional way.

For this reason, in this blog we share two solutions that will considerably speed up the put away in your DC:

 1. Automated Guided Vehicles (AGV’s)

AGVs are an ideal technology to carry out put away within a DC, since they can work 24 hours, 365 days a year.

One of the main benefits that this type of technology provides is that there is the possibility of configuring solutions where the AGV can take the product directly from the trailer and take it to the correct storage position.

There are also other types of AGV applications and configurations, among the most outstanding: the forklift type, in which the AGV takes the products at the pallet level within the receipt area and transfers them to their corresponding location in the rack system.

If the presence of the product is required in another area of the DC, the AGV itself allows you to take the product from the rack and take it to that position (i.e. the picking or shipping area). In this way, your operators can allocate their time to more productive tasks that generate value.

In addition, a great plus that AGVs offer is that they do not interfere with the circulation of personnel or even with that of other AGVs within DC, due to their software with algorithms that control the traffic between them.

 2. Uniloads & Conveyors 

Uniloads together with conveyors have the disadvantage that they represent a greater investment compared to AGVs, but they allow different kinds of combinations to be made with other solutions, such as elevators, for example.

Depending on the type of movement used in the DC, the ideal conveyor system is designed to bring the products closer to the storage area, offering the option of being complemented by an AS / RS to store them directly. This way, you get higher storage density compared to traditional solutions where the forklift is used.

However, a disadvantage that this type of solution can present is that, by having completely fixed positions in the trajectory of the receipt of the merchandise, they can interfere with DC operations (especially in circulation issues).

That is why the implementation of these technologies requires a widely experienced and specialized provider to achieve the expected results in increasing operational productivity and maximizing your return on investment (ROI).

At G.I.Eicom we have more than 35 years of experience in the design and successful installation of conveyor systems, AGVs and other intralogistics engineering solutions.

By carefully analyzing the requirements of your DC, we select the correct application of the AGV or Uniload / Conveyor that maximizes the value of your solution. Get up close with the experts!