L.I.T. AG

The L.I.T Lager & Logistik GmbH in Bremen proved recently that a medium-sized business is also ready for the digital future. L.I.T. was so convinced by the innovative truck concept of the iGo neo CX 20 after intensive tests in its Bremen Distribution Centre that the company acquired three trucks. An initial review has shown that the new intelligent order-picking trucks not only have the potential to make processes sustainably more efficient as defined in Industry 4.0, but also to considerably reduce the employees’ workload due to their outstandingly good ergonomic design concept.

L.I.T Lager & Logistik GmbH belongs to L.I.T. AG, headquartered in Brake, and offers integrated logistics solutions covering the entire supply chain – from network-controlled material flow, procurement and internal production processes to customer delivery including customs clearance. Among other things, merchandise for a well-known gifts and home accessories supplier is stored and order-picked in their new Bremen Distribution Centre built in 2013. The storage building was designed as a classical order-picking warehouse and covers an area of 21,000 m2. It comprises narrow-aisle, wide-aisle, block and order-picking storage areas. Depending on the season, a total of up to 6,000 articles are held in stock here. The heart of the warehouse is a high-rack installation with 30 shelf aisles each 100 m long and with an average shelf load of 3,200 kg, where a total of approx. 40,000 pallets can be stored. The warehouse operates one or two shifts, depending on the workload.

L.I.T.’s biggest challenge is to coordinate goods flows and processes in the warehouse with one another so as to minimise throughput times, reduce rejects and avoid wastage in every area. Thimo Schulz, Commercial Director/Authorised Signatory for L.I.T. Lager und Logistik GmbH, explains that “The intralogistics flow of materials in our warehouse is organised in such a way that individual areas and processes are interdependent. This means that, under certain circumstances, one area must make allowances for the others. That has an adverse effect on goods handling performance. The need to design our processes to run more efficiently compelled us to make an accurate analysis of the individual processes to allow them to be coordinated with one another. This should also include utilising synergies wherever it is appropriate and possible. We also wanted to improve working conditions for our employees and the industrial safety and security in our warehouse at the same time.”

An important part of the task was to acquire additional industrial trucks in the order-picking area. This is where STILL came into the picture. The Hamburg intralogistics specialist recommended the iGo neo CX 20 to the logistics company. Rolf Frerks, Project Manager at the Bremen site of the L.I.T. Lager & Logistik GmbH, explained that “We relied on STILL again on this occasion, because STILL has always been a competent partner in giving us advice, and also we already use a large number of STILL products, beginning with the rack systems and extending through several MX-X order picking stacker trucks, FM-X reach trucks and CX 20 horizontal order pickers to the EXU-S electric low lift pallet trucks in the HGV loading area. We had confidence not only in the technology of STILL’s products but also in the personal and reliable advice from STILL’s sales representatives. Based on our many years of positive experience with STILL, particularly with regard to service, we again wanted to rely on a proven all-round, worry-free package.”

The STILL iGo neo CX 20 is now a permanent planning factor for medium and large order-picking jobs when order-picking goods in the order-picking warehouse operated by L.I.T Lager & Logistik. The articles that need to be order-picked comprise an extremely heterogenous packaging structure, i.e. staff also often need to order-pick very large, heavy loads as well as smaller articles. This task has now become considerably easier with the STILL iGo neo CX 20, because the latter interacts with the operator by following him or her every step of the way during order-picking. The employee is able to concentrate fully on order-picking and can work without hindrance. The time-consuming need to climb on and off the truck while working through orders is also eliminated. According to Rolf Frerks, Project Manager for the L.I.T. Lager & Logistik GmbH: “We attach great importance to employee satisfaction. Now, with the STILL iGo neo CX 20, our staff can not only concentrate more on their work but also experience a perfect reduction of their workload.”

L.I.T. uses not only the iGo neo CX 20 but also a large number of additional STILL products. Beginning with the rack systems and extending through several MX-X order picking stacker trucks, FM-X reach trucks and CX 20 order pickers to the EXU-S electric low lift pallet trucks.

L.I.T. uses not only the iGo neo CX 20 but also a large number of additional STILL products. Beginning with the rack systems and extending through several MX-X order picking stacker trucks, FM-X reach trucks and CX 20 order pickers to the EXU-S electric low lift pallet trucks.

The machine drives ergonomically to the first or second pallet position, as required by the operator. The employee now needs to walk only very short distances while carrying the load him or herself. Thanks to “Automation on Demand”, he or she can decide freely at any time whether to use the truck manually or autonomously to increase order-picking performance. The personal protection device (PSA) integrated into the truck guarantees that both the surroundings as well as persons in the truck’s vicinity are protected at the same time. The built-in laser scanner’s 180° panorama detection ensures anticipatory driving and thus early recognition and intelligent assessment of obstacles, with smooth, adapted driving behaviour. This avoids damage to the goods carried on the forks due to abrupt emergency braking. The truck has a kind of short-term memory through which it notices the obstacles it has already passed. It distinguishes between static and dynamic obstacles at the same time. Automatic access to the truck, controlled by a FleetManager card, also ensures a high level of security. Consequently the truck can only be used by employees who are authorised to use it.

Thimo Schulz says “We were able to integrate the STILL iGo neo CX 20 into our procedures very well, and to design our processes significantly more efficiently as required by Industry 4.0. STILL gave us constructive support to integrate the trucks into our warehouse structure, and wherever necessary they prepared software updates that take our specific warehouse layout and our individual processes into account.”

Background: L.I.T. AG

L.I.T. AG with its headquarters in Brake started its freight forwarding business operations in 1988. Today the group acts as a logistics services provider serving the whole logistics chain from warehousing, transport and customer-specific services to on-time delivery. The focus in all of this is on developing integrated logistics concepts matched to the individual client’s needs. These originate from the automobile industry and its upstream suppliers and from trade and industry, among others. In this respect, L.I.T AG is divided into three autonomous business divisions: L.I.T. Speditions GmbH, L.I.T. Cargo GmbH and L.I.T. Lager & Logistik GmbH. With 1,600 employees, the Group generated revenues of EUR 230m in 2016. In addition to the headquarters in Brake, the company operates locations in Bremen, Minden, Rinteln, Holzminden, Lübbenau, Worms, Cologne and Münster as well as in Poland, the Netherlands and England.