Heart Transplant in the Ljubljanske Mlekarne Warehouse

11. 04. 2023

At the premises of our long-time client, the dairy company Ljubljanske Mlekarne, we upgraded Atlas WMS, which takes care of their entire automated internal logistics, without halting production. Those who love Ljubljanske Mlekarne dairy products had no idea of the major changes taking place in the company’s warehouse.

Ljubljanske Mlekarne is the largest Slovenian dairy company, processing around half a million litres of milk daily. Most of their milk is purchased from Slovenian farmers, thus making transport routes from milk producers to production very short. Thanks to the company’s efficient supply chain and reliable logistics, customers can have their products in their refrigerators just a few days after the company has collected the milk from a farm.

Taking Care of Smooth Production for 16 Years
The beginnings of our cooperation with Ljubljanske Mlekarne date back to 2006, when, together with them, we co-created their modern automated warehouse in Ljubljana with the Atlas WMS solution. With system adjustments and security updates in the meantime, Atlas WMS has been providing excellent up-time and smooth production for 16 years.

Atlas WMS is the Heart of the Warehouse
Atlas WMS ensures the flow of pallets from production or purchase to the high-rack warehouse, the cooling tunnel or the remote warehousing unit, the so-called ‘tent’. It also delivers pallets from the warehouse to the picking area and the dispatch routes. "Atlas WMS is the heart of our warehouse. It ensures the automatic flow of pallets from production to the high-rack warehouse, and from the warehouse to the dispatch routes. Several departments depend on the smooth operation of the system, from production and warehousing to transport," says David Predovnik, Head of Warehouse Management.

Despite the reliability of the existing system, new available technologies and other changes created the need for an upgrade.

How Did the Transplant Go?
The heart transplant of the Ljubljanske Mlekarne warehouse and distribution centre was tackled in a well-thought-through and carefully planned manner. We were aware of the challenge of having only 36 hours available to switch from the old system to the new one. Within this timeframe, the old system would have to be stopped, all of its data migrated, and the switch made to the new version, which would need to be tested, as well.

Before making an incision into a sensitive and vital system that the client operates 24/7, we used five Saturdays for extensive intermediate testing of the new system, enabling us to make the required changes and adjustments. When D-Day arrived, we implemented the Atlas WMS upgrade within the deadline and without any major problems, using the hot-swap system. Lovers of Ljubljanske Mlekarne milk and dairy products therefore had no idea of the changes taking place in the company’s warehouse.

Customised Solution for Ljubljanske Mlekarne
The company now has a new version of Atlas WMS that is supported by modern software offering many advantages:

  • The overall performance and information security of the system have been improved. 
  • The new version of Atlas WMS communicates in the language of a user, who can choose between Slovenian, Croatian, English and German. 
  • Creating and authorising user groups is easier.
  • With one click, data from Atlas is exported to *.xlsxa, *.csv.
  • Online visualisation is easier to use and facilitates the monitoring of events more clearly through the dynamic display of information on devices. Operators have the necessary information for supervision; any errors are detected in a timely manner and can be eliminated quickly. Visualisation is accessible through a web browser anywhere on the customer's network with operator or user credentials.

With its well-defined interfaces, the Atlas WMS solution integrates ERP and MES systems and subsystems for the management of the high-rack warehouse (lifts, conveyors). Our excellent customer knowledge and the flexibility of the solution allowed for adapting and implementing the specific features the customer requested.

Timely Implementation Despite Time Constraints
100% transport traceability, our 24/7 support and the highly qualified Ljubljanske Mlekarne staff are a guarantee that the company’s logistics department will do everything in their power to make their products available to customers at all times.

At the end of the project, Tadej Pojbič, Supply Chain Director, expressed his satisfaction: "Despite the complexity of the project and the limited time window for testing (only at weekends and during certain hours when production processes had to be adjusted), the dedicated Epilog team completed the upgrade without any major challenges and within the agreed time. I would like to thank their entire team for the state-of-the-art upgrade implementation."

Heart Transplant in the Ljubljanske Mlekarne Warehouse
Back