Power is the electronics giant of the Nordic region with almost 268 stores spread across four countries. As it takes over all Mediamarkt stores in Sweden, the company has reviewed its increased needs and is consequently expanding its automation solution from Element Logic.

At POWER, the aim is to stay ahead with well-considered, efficient solutions, keeping prices low while providing customers with the best shopping experience. Therefore, the company invested in automation early, building their current AutoStore in 2017. In 2020, they did a renovation of their storage ports for better ergonomics and in 2021, they added two more ports. After five years of successful operation, they expanded in April 2022 that doubled Power’s AutoStore.

New market demands new solutions

As Power takes over all former Mediamarkt stores, their warehouse and logistics solution needs to keep up with the new conditions in the Swedish market. The expansion is linked to an expected growth increase through the establishment in Sweden, but also an organic growth in the other countries.

Power already has an AutoStore with roughly 46,000 bins, 54 robots, and 13 ports. They are making room for an additional 40,000 bins, installing 10,000 initially, in addition to 24 new R5 robots, 7 new conveyor & carousel ports, and a picking tunnel. This means they have nearly full automation, from when the order comes in until the order is dispatched, except for the manual picking process.

Development Manager at Power, Casper Ödeen, says that over the past six years, Power has invested in automation and digitization of their processes. In addition to AutoStore, peripheral equipment has also been in focus for box erecting, sealing, and labeling. A robot for pallet building has been invested in, but it would not have been possible without AutoStore’s efficiency and scalability, which allows the automation to grow with the organization, he says.

All our investments, which we make in cooperation with Element Logic, mean that our employees can have a better working environment and we can spend our time on what creates value for the customeru0022

Casper Ödeen, Development Manager at Power.

“Power is far ahead in their automation. They were early with AutoStore, and they have chosen to invest in extended automation to be efficient, secure a stronger delivery to their customers, while also achieving improved ergonomics,” says David Olsson, Account Manager at Element Logic, Sweden.

Power’s expanded AutoStore facility went live in May 2023.

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After implementing AutoStore in 2018, Solar’s picking productivity skyrocketed. Now they are the first customer to put the robotic piece-picking unit eOperator into a production environment.

In 1919, a young visionary from Denmark predicted how industrialization and electrification would create a need for electrical components and created Solar. The company is now listed, counts 3.000 employees, and has subsidiaries in five countries.

Over a hundred years after the startup, Solar still embraces that same visionary spirit and is a firm believer in adopting new technology. With this attitude, combined with Solar’s major selling point in having fast and precise deliveries, it is natural for them to become the first to connect their existing AutoStore solution with Element Logic’s robotics piece-picking technology, eOperator. This makes Solar one of the world’s first to automate piece-picking this way.

Modernizing with eOperator

“The demands for efficiency and development are high, and at Solar, we wish to be a part of the robotic and technical development,” says Sondre Ressem, VP Operations at Solar.

eOperator, Element Logic’s robotic piece-picking unit, has now been in operation at Solar’s warehouse in Norway for a couple of months. It picks customer orders from the carousel port in AutoStore directly into packages ready to be sent out to customers.

The demands for efficiency and development are high, and at Solar, we wish to be a part of the robotic and technical development

Sondre Ressem, VP Operations at Solar.

“We wanted eOperator to keep up with the developing trends in society. Our goal is to keep growing while also focusing on costs, efficiency, sustainability, and digitization. To do this, we need to adopt new technology – new technology that can help us in our daily work and production,” Ressem says.

A milestone installation

“The pressure on supply chains today is massive. That is why we created eOperator to help our customers be even more efficient through automation,” says Henrik Berglund, business developer at Element Logic.

Berglund has been responsible for the development of eOperator and explains that the Solar installation is a milestone.

“Now it is at work in a real warehouse, in a production environment, handling real customer orders, and operated by Solar’s warehouse staff. The numbers of pickable products and picking performance are also exceeding our expectations”, Berglund says.

Scalability, and giving customers the ability to grow with the system is a major reason for choosing Element Logic as your automation partner.

“eOperator provides us with another tool in the scalability toolbox. For many customers this will be the next natural evolution of their automated warehouse“, Berglund explains.

The pressure on supply chains today is massive. That is why we created eOperator to help our customers be even more efficient through automation

Henrik Berglund, business developer at Element Logic.

eOperator – the next level of automation

“We were the first to implement AutoStore in warehouses, and now we are the first to successfully integrate the eOperator”, Niklas Top Aanesen, key account manager in Element Logic Norway, explains.

The addition of the eOperator makes Element Logic able to create even more efficient and reliable automation solutions for customers across a wide range of industries and sizes. It allows customers to increase order capacity, goods handling, and fulfillment speed.

We were the first to implement AutoStore in warehouses, and now we are the first to successfully integrate the eOperator

Niklas Top Aanesen, key account manager in Element Logic Norway

“The robotic arm can see a new product and attempt to pick it up without any preprogramming for that specific item. In other words, our customers do not need any preparation work to expand their product portfolio,” Aanesen says.

Automated picking – integrated with AutoStore

eOperator helps Solar in their daily production, explains department manager Dan Espen Kvale.

“The installation was plug and play, and the feedback from the warehouse workers is that it is easy to use,” Kvale says. “With this robotic arm, we are further developing the AutoStore solution and are at the technological forefront of our industry.”

The robotic arm works at a carousel port in a tunnel under the AutoStore grid, blending right in between warehouse workers on other picking stations. It is surrounded by conveyor belts transporting packages to the entrance of the warehouse.

“It works really well. We are interested in further development and to see if we can include even more robot arms in our production,” Ressem says.

Warehouse workforce initially skeptical

“A few employees were skeptical in the beginning, worried whether the robotic arm would take over their tasks. However, after working with it for a while, they see that it improves their daily work,” Kvale says.

“Getting access to new technology and developing new skills does something with our employees. They think it is exciting to work with cutting-edge technology,” Ressem adds.

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The investment in AutoStore has provided Kitron with satisfied employees, improved competitiveness, as well as more efficient production and distribution. The unique solution has been in operation for six years – with no downtime.

There were several reasons why Kitron chose to automate with Element Logic, and one of them was that the industry they operate in is very competitive and characterized by a lot of outsourcing abroad for cheaper labour.

Due to the ability and willingness to automate our processes, we are now in a situation where we are hiring more employees

Tone Helle, Production Planning Manager at Kitron.

“The fact that we are competitive means that we staff up, not down. The employees have been enthusiastic about automation from the very beginning and understand that it is necessary to be able to continue operating from Norway”, says Tone Helle, Production Planning Manager at Kitron.

Automated solution produces and distributes electronics.

Kitron is a contract manufacturer of electronics for the professional market. The history of the Norwegian company goes back to the 1960s in the Arendal area south of Norway. Since then, they have experienced several mergers and changes in the company. Until 2015, Kitron had two production sites in the Arendal area, but when the renting contract expired on one of the sites, they chose to move all operations to the remaining production site.

“This warehouse was too small for us and we had to optimize the warehouse solution to get enough space. After a couple of internal rounds of discussions, the natural choice naturally was AutoStore from Element Logic”, says Helle.

Developed tailor-made AutoStore solution.

The components Kitron uses to produce electronics are getting smaller and smaller in line with technological development. Kitron needed AutoStore to be able to efficiently retrieve small components for production and put the superfluous parts back in stock. The solution became a custom AutoStore system where some of the boxes are designed to be divided into as many as 30 locations.

“Kitron was our first customer in need of picking for production and returning the remaining parts in the storage bins. We designed a new solution with custom-built dividers in the bins that simplified the process and significantly reduced storage space. The effective solution picks between 2,000 and 2,500 transactions daily”, Arnold H. Nielsen, Key Account Manager at Element Logic Norway, explains.

We designed a new solution with custom-built dividers in the bins that simplified the process and significantly reduced storage space

Arnold H. Nielsen, Key Account Manager at Element Logic Norway.

“As this was the first time such an integration was carried out, it required some extra resources to get it in operation. As an AutoStore specialist, this gave us valuable insight that we have benefited from since”, Nielsen explains.

From 6300 to 7000 storage bins

Service technicians from Element Logic perform three regular service intervals a year at Kitron. In addition, Kitron can easily contact the experts in the support team whenever needed during the year.

“We experience that Element Logic responds quickly when challenges arise or when software upgrades are needed”, says Helle and adds:

“We are very pleased with the efficiency our AutoStore solution has given us, and we have not had downtime since starting six years ago.”

Kitron has increased the number of bins from 6,300 to 7,000 bins in recent years, but still has good opportunities for further expansions when the time is right.

“The best thing about AutoStore is that it is reliable, flexible, and easy to scale. As soon as the design is clarified, integration and installation go very smoothly”, Helle concludes.

The post Automation in production gives a competitive advantage appeared first on Element Logic US.

After only two years, the growing company, Elektroimportøren, achieved a return of investment (ROI) on its AutoStore system. Now, it is time to prepare for further growth.

Elektroimportøren is a supplier of all electrical equipment for both B2B and B2C segments. With an enormous growth in recent years, the turnover has gone from 20 million Euros in 2014, to 100 million Euros in the last twelve months.

With this impressive growth, it became clear that there was a need for a new warehouse, and to streamline the existing processes. Hence in 2017, the choice to automate was made, and already two years later, Elektroimportøren had a return of its AutoStore investment.

“We have been focusing on the cost, and not increasing it in line with our turnover”, says André Swensen, Logistics Director at Elektroimportøren.

Compact and smart warehousing

As Elektroimportøren had already decided to expand operations with a new warehouse, it became natural to involve Element Logic in the entire construction process to optimize for AutoStore.

People think you have to build a completely new warehouse to automate with AutoStore. However, this is only a myth, and we always find a solution that suits your building and your needs

Niklas Top Aanensen, Key Account Manager at Element Logic Norway

“People think you have to build a completely new warehouse to automate with AutoStore. However, this is only a myth, and we always find a solution that suits your building and your needs”, says Niklas Top Aanensen, Key Account Manager at Element Logic Norway.

It was a big decision for Elektroimportøren to automate its warehouse, but with thorough guidance from Element Logic, the process went quickly, and the result was above all expectations.

“It hurts a little when you hear the word automation in the logistics industry in terms of risk. However, now that we have become familiar with the robot system, it is clear that AutoStore primarily is a system for compact and smart storage”, says Swensen.

Expands the AutoStore system in 2020

The growth of Elektroimportøren does not seem to stop soon, and as a result, the decision to expand AutoStore further was made. The expansion consists of 9.600 bins, a picking tunnel, 4 port frames and 8 new robots. This is virtually twice the current system.

“Elektroimportøren is thinking ahead with the expansion of its AutoStore system. As it is today, there is still room for more bins, and the warehouse is thus well equipped for further growth”, says Aanensen.

The decision to expand for future growth came after thorough discussions with experts from Element Logic.

“Expanding AutoStore comes with costs, but by implementing a larger extension of the warehouse that provides space to grow, Elektroimportøren saves money and time on separate expenses such as electricians and installation”, says Aanensen.

ROI and growth

When Elektroimportøren first invested in AutoStore in 2017, cost and ROI were top priorities. It was estimated that it would take between three to four years before the investment was returned, but in reality, it ended up taking only two years.

“During the planning of the extension with Elektroimportøren in 2020, ROI was not a topic any longer. It was unquestionable”, says Aanensen.

For other companies in a growth phase, the advice from Elektroimportøren is clear:

Take into account a possible expansoin. If you are a growth company, things go very fast and the key is to be prepared to handle it

André Swensen, Logistics Manager at Elektroimportøen

“Take into account a possible expansoin. If you are a growth company, things go very fast and the key is to be prepared to handle it”, says André Swensen, Logistics Manager at Elektroimportøen

Take a closer look at Elektroimportøren’s AutoStore solution in this video:

The post Achieved ROI on AutoStore in record time appeared first on Element Logic US.

The Danish webshop Proshop has hired 15 new employees since the company introduced its AutoStore system in the spring of 2018. Proshop is a good example of robots and humans being able to work side by side and thereby create increased profitability.

At Proshop, the introduction of robot technology in the warehouse has not reduced the number of jobs. On the contrary, Proshop has hired 15 more employees since the company implemented its AutoStore system from Element Logic in the spring of 2018.

“If we had not introduced robot technology at Proshop, we might have gone from 140 employees to maybe 0. That is great, and we are very proud of our robotic warehouse,” says Ivan Jæger Christiansen, CEO of Proshop.

Improved efficiency and better top line

Proshop’s AutoStore system is 3.000 m2 – using just over 1.000 m2 of floor space – and has a capacity of 1.000 items per hour. In the autumn of 2019, the original 40 robots were supplemented with another ten, which brings the total number to 50 robots. This makes the system one of the largest AutoStore installations in Denmark.

The AutoStore solution was implemented after a period of great pressure on Proshop’s manual warehouse as a result of a large Black Friday and Christmas sale in 2017. Thanks to the robot solution by Element Logic, Proshop has improved its inventory efficiency and increased its top line by 30 percent.

“Price competition is extremely fierce in the electronics market. You simply make a few bucks selling an iPhone or a laptop. So if we are not efficient enough, we can not sell the product cheap enough, and if you can not sell it cheap enough, you will not sell it at all, ”says Ivan Jæger Christiansen.

Relieves employees

Proshop’s employees are also very satisfied with their robotic colleagues.

“They help us to get ready to lift our Christmas shopping without having to run faster and work longer,” warehousing and Logistics Manager Ronnie Stormfeldt says.

We expect to handle up to 30.000 orders in one day, which is 10 times as much as usual. Without these robots, our logistics would collapse, adds CEO of Proshop, Ivan Jæger Christiansen.

Learn more in the video above from TV2 Østjylland

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