Austrian intralogistics specialist TGW recently celebrated the world premiere of its new OmniPick pocket sorter at the LogiMAT 2019 intralogistics trade fair in Stuttgart, Germany. This new and innovative product is based on research from the fields of artificial intelligence and smart robotics – and offers solutions for omni-channel and e-commerce challenges.
As a targeted response to the challenging motto of "Mastering the Unpredictable", the new pocket sorter solution was featured at the very center of TGW’s trade-fair booth. From 19 to 21 February 2019, numerous international attendees and media representatives had the chance to take a close look at the demo set-up in Hall 5.
“With complex solutions, it’s of particular importance to provide hands-on access to new products, that way giving people the opportunity to literally get a grasp of things”, says Christoph Wolkerstorfer, CSO of TGW Logistics Group. “This approach was confirmed in the course of many discussions with attendees. Logistics managers and supply chain managers are facing the huge challenge of having to cope with more and more unpredictable scenarios. OmniPick offers the right answer to this uncertainty issue.”
Transporting, buffering, sorting, and distributing
This is how OmniPick works: Individual articles are each placed in a pocket – whether it's clothing, shoes, electronics, toys, or cosmetics. Garments on hangers can also be processed in between single pockets. This dynamic system allows for goods not only to be transported, but also buffered, sorted, and distributed efficiently and quickly. Of particular importance for dealing with increasing levels of e-commerce is the fact that returns can simply be buffered and quickly removed when a new order is placed – thus eliminating the need for order picking.
Unlike other systems, OmniPick features automatic loading by robot as well as automatic unloading. “This design makes OmniPick a zero-touch system. Users can adapt quickly and flexibly to different business scenarios and changing order structures. And, OmniPick comes with consistently high efficiency, productivity, and dynamics,” Wolkerstorfer underscores. Hence, primary target groups for this innovative solution are not only fashion retailers, but also pure e-commerce players and specialists for omni-channel fulfillment in other industries.
Automatic order fulfillment
With OmniPick, TGW is automating order fulfillment from receiving to shipping. “This has great benefits for performance – as well as total cost of ownership,” Wolkerstorfer emphasizes.
OmniPick will be featured at ProMat in Chicago in order to introduce TGW's innovative solution to companies all over North America. With more than 1,000 exhibitors, ProMat is considered to be the most important intralogistics exhibition on the American continent and will take place from April 8 to 11 in Chicago.
