TELOGS modernizes ALTERNATE logistics center

The mail order company ALTERNATE maintains two logistics locations at its headquarters in Linden, including an automated small parts warehouse built in 1999 with
connected order picking and container conveyor technology. In order to ensure the service especially for the online trade, ALTERNATE modernized
GmbH has teamed up with intralogistics specialist TELOGS to develop its storage and retrieval systems (SRM). Over several weekends, the maintenance and retrofit expert equipped the
converted the entire drive and control technology to PLC-S7 and expanded the user comfort of the plant.

Upgrading the drive and
Control technology on SPS-S7

Nowadays, it’s a matter of course to order shoes, photo books or consumer electronics on the Internet with just a few clicks – at best, the letter carrier rings the doorbell the very next morning. The mail-order company ALTERNATE from Linden was an early adopter of this online trade. As early as the mid-1990s, the growing demand for hardware and software as well as home and consumer electronics was met via the Internet – today, the product range includes around 50,000 items. To ensure smooth operations, ALTERNATE GmbH built an automated small parts warehouse with connected order picking and container conveyor technology back at the turn of the millennium. The two-aisle high-bay warehouse provides space for 5,720 bins storing different packaging units with electrical components. In the meantime, however, the plant had become outdated, and the drive and control technology no longer met the increased requirements, resulting in an increasing number of malfunctions. To bring them back up to date, the company commissioned
the intralogistics specialist TELOGS from Wettenberg with a retrofit.

Maintenance and retrofit expert TELOGS
ALTERNATE has been working with the intralogistics specialist TELOGS for over 10 years. “In TELOGS, we have not only found a good maintenance partner who also reacts excellently in the event of plant malfunctions, but above all a specialist who can convert existing technology into future-proof concepts,” reports Markus Bau. Before getting started, TELOGS presented various modernization options to the plant operator. In a subsequent workshop, the participants jointly decided on the appropriate modernization concept. In the process, the challenges became clear to the partners, as the higher-level, undocumented S5 control system proved to be an unpredictable project risk. In addition, the work had to be carried out during ongoing operations. TELOGS was only able to retrofit and replace from Friday evening until 6:00 a.m. Monday morning. There was little time for much work. Another challenge for the TELOGS team was that the former plant manufacturer no longer existed – making it difficult to obtain complete technical documentation or even descriptions of the interfaces in the installed control technology.

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Play it safe with Test scenarios
Due to the short implementation time, a detailed test scenario was run before the first changeover weekend. All components to be installed and newly supplied components were coupled together in-house and commissioned in advance as part of a test setup. To be on the safe side, the test setup took place not only at TELOGS in Wettenberg, but also at ALTERNATE in Linden. After all, successful pre-commissioning was a prerequisite for risk-free deployment at the customer’s site.

Throughput of goods increased by 15 percent increased
After the successful test runs, TELOGS realized the conversion of the stacker cranes in one weekend each. “The entire project team rose to the task and really dug in,” says Jürgen Dönges, Managing Director of TELOGS GmbH, describing the course of the project. “Today we look back on a successful modernization project”. The condition of the stacker cranes is quite comparable with new stacker cranes. ALTERNATE can be sure that any spare parts needed will be easier to obtain in the future. Logistics manager Markus Bau is also satisfied with the modernization. “TELOGS has also made the system more productive and user-friendly for us. The modern drive technology as well as the process optimization lead to a higher performance of the storage and retrieval machines. The clear masks of the operating panels enable our employees to operate the system easily and safely,” sums up Bau.

Results at a glance

  • Increase in plant performance
  • Reduction of the risk of malfunctions due to long-term availability of the installed components
  • User friendliness was increased

Press contact:

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Sascha Troge Key Account Manager
TELOGS GmbH Im Ostpark 25 35435 Wettenberg

Phone: +49 641-944649-78 Fax: +49 641-944649-20 Mail: s.troge@telogs.de

Press contact

Sascha Troge Key Account Manager
TELOGS GmbH Im Ostpark 25 35435 Wettenberg Tel.: +49 641-944649-78 Fax: +49 641-944649-20 Mail: s.troge@telogs.de

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