Danfoss Trata Chooses Atlas WMS for Its Entire Internal Logistics Digitalisation

20. 11. 2020

Last year, Danfoss automated their raw materials warehouse with the MINILOAD warehouse system designed by the company Riko, d.o.o., Slovenia. The entire warehouse is managed by Atlas WMS, which is integrated with Danfoss’s single global ERP One system (SAP Hana). Based on their excellent experience with Atlas WMS in the raw materials warehouse, Danfoss decided to make Atlas WMS one of the key pillars of the digitalised information infrastructure of Industry 4.0.

This year, we signed an agreement to upgrade Atlas WMS to manage all internal logistics processes – from the receipt of raw materials, storage in manual and automated warehouses, picking processes and production logistics processes, to all of the processes running in the final product warehouses and dispatch.

Why did Danfoss choose Epilog?

  • We have KNOWLEDGE: because we provide consulting and engineering regarding the installation of Atlas WMS in complex IT and automated environments.
  • We have EXPERIENCE: because we are the strongest Slovenian team with global references in production and warehouses.
  • We are FUTURE PROOF: because we are masters of IT support to automated warehouses, robots and automated guided vehicles (AGV); because we are part of the KNAPP group, which is ranked among the top global technology companies in the field of automated internal logistics.

Solutions Tailored to Production Supply
The key challenges of modern production lie in logistics. Logistics operations represent 80% of all military operations. The same applies to production, as 80% of all operations in the production process are of a logistic nature. The challenges are the same: how to deliver the right material to the right place at the right time.

In Danfoss, the classic solution for the supply of material in advance, i.e., "just in case" (push), was replaced by a modern concept of lean logistics called the pull system. Every production cell on the production line uses triggers in Atlas WMS to report the need for raw material movements from warehouses to production. The introduction of the pull system has improved the punctuality of deliveries (on-time) and the reliability of the entire supply chain in production.

The advantages of pull internal logistics for lean production supply are:

Atlas WMS also ensures that stocks in supermarkets are supplemented regularly (e-kanban). It manages the supply of packaging material and takes care of urgent requirements for supplementing raw materials due to extraordinary events. It also manages the logistics of the transport of products from work cells to the final products warehouse.

A unified, transparent and electronically guided internal logistics process
The entire internal logistics process in Danfoss Trata has thus become a unified, transparent and electronically guided process. There is no longer a need for shortcuts in the form of putting out fires here and there and making urgent phone calls. Atlas WMS has become Danfoss’s unified logistics and information backbone. All data on stocks in micro-locations and the traceability of all movements are located in one place, which is an excellent starting point for further optimisation aimed at introducing Industry 4.0. By way of artificial intelligence based on the data collected, it will be possible to further improve logistics processes. Since the stocks in work cells are minimum and uniformly managed, we have also significantly decreased the total stocks and thus reduced waste to a minimum.

A unified Atlas WMS information system is an excellent starting point for the evolutionary introduction of automated guided vehicles (AGV) and robots into individual logistics processes, which is Danfoss’s next logical step. Without such a backbone, the introduction of AGVs is not worthwhile, as island solutions do not bring flexibility, which is one of the key factors in favour of their introduction.

Smooth "Go-live"
The transition to a new IT solution (go-live) does not need to be stressful. We prepared thoroughly for the launch of the Atlas WMS in advance and together with our client tested the solution extensively in a testing environment. During the implementation phase, we provided Danfoss Trata with an experienced team in the field, who responded swiftly to any unforeseen difficulties that needed to be solved and thus eliminated any teething problems quickly. Just three days after the launch, work in Danfoss was proceeding without any major difficulties that might have affected work efficiency. Through this project we have acquired valuable new experience in the field of managing production supply.  

We wish Danfoss Trata a lot of success in the further digital transformation of the company.

Danfoss Trata Chooses Atlas WMS for Its Entire Internal Logistics Digitalisation
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