Becoming More Efficient with Cube Storage Systems

High real estate costs are increasingly becoming a challenge for logistics companies, especially in fast-growing sectors like online retail. In 2023, rents for logistics spaces have risen by almost ten percent. Companies therefore need to make do with less new space and better utilize existing locations. Peter Bimmermann, Managing Director of AutoStore in Germany, demonstrates how robotics and cube storage systems can help improve efficiency and achieve cost savings.

(Mönchengladbach) In addition to rising rents for logistics spaces, companies in the industry are facing further price increases. According to an AutoStore survey, the three biggest current challenges for companies are rising energy costs (32 percent), labor costs (27 percent), and constraints in the supply chain and transportation (26 percent).

In response, warehousing must become smarter and more efficient. Smart warehousing primarily focuses on automating labor-intensive tasks, relieving employees, and reducing errors. Picking, sorting, and packing are accelerated by robots and automated guided vehicles (AGVs). They can navigate through the warehouse and transport goods autonomously, while robots can perform redundant tasks with precision and speed. At the same time, automated systems save costs and energy.

Optimized space utilization plays a special role. Smart warehousing utilizes the most advanced technologies to make the best use of space. Machine learning and predictive analytics help strategically position frequently needed items. Intelligent shelving systems and automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) enable high-density storage and a level of productive space utilization that purely manually operated warehouses cannot achieve. Cube-based systems like Cube Storage offer the highest possible density.

The Grid Forms the Heart of the System

In a warehouse organized as Cube Storage, all goods are stored in so-called bins – containers of standardized size. These are stacked in a grid made of aluminum profiles. The grid forms the heart of the system and can be expanded and adapted according to local conditions, even built around columns, pipes, and other structural elements in a hall. Thanks to standardized modules, the setup remains simple.

On the grid, there are drive rails on which robots can move in the x and y directions. When a specific bin is needed, a robot travels to the corresponding coordinate and can lift the containers from the grid with a lift arm. If there are other containers above the required bin, they are automatically relocated. Intelligent algorithms ensure that frequently needed goods are kept in bins as high up as possible, minimizing the need for ‘digging’ in the grid.

A selected bin is then transported by the robot to a port (workstation), where it is presented to employees who, according to the instructions from the warehouse management system, remove items from the container and place them in a designated target container or shipping box. Depending on the specific application, the ports can be designed differently.

Ideal Conditions for Growth in Highly Competitive Markets

The shortage of skilled workers is also felt in logistics, and especially physically demanding tasks like picking in the warehouse take a toll on the health of the understaffed personnel. By implementing a cube storage system, this task is eliminated, allowing companies to deploy staff for more meaningful tasks. For example, an international logistics service provider was able to double its storage capacity and increase throughput by a factor of 18 by using an AutoStore system. Thanks to such efficiency gains, companies that automate their warehousing make better use of existing logistics spaces and protect their workforce. These are ideal conditions for growth in highly competitive markets like online retail, even under challenging conditions.

Photo: © AutoStore