SMB builds XXL compact warehouse

11/15/2023 News

Reliability, speed and efficiency are the be-all and end-all when it comes to supplying clinics and hospitals.

The Asklepios Clinics Group also has this requirement: the Group has invested 40 million euros in a highly automated, innovative central warehouse in Bad Oldesloe. As the general contractor for the software and plant technology, SMB supported the project from A to Z: from the mechanical and electrical design of the machines and plant technology to the software, assembly and handover to the customer's operations.

The result is Germany's largest and most modern logistics center for medical products and the supply of clinics and healthcare facilities.

The project in brief

Around 1.8 million order items and 3,000 different articles are processed annually in Asklepios' new logistics center - whether for university hospitals, medical practices or private end customers
In the high-tech warehouse realized by SMB, eight different warehouse types interlock - a rarity and innovation at the same time
Highlights include the fully automated pallet and small parts storage systems: fully automated and digitally controlled warehouses including warehouse robotics and picking machines
Consideration of cubic capacity: This calculates the expected volume of all items for an optimized and ecological shipping size

Video: Customer example Pöppelmann GmbH & Co. KG

Implementation of the SMB Automated Pallet Warehouse at the leading manufacturer in the plastics industry in Lohne.

Provision of clinical material - a logistical challenge

Ensuring the constant availability of clinical material and other basic medical equipment is essential for hospitals.

A huge logistical challenge: for optimal processes of this magnitude and a safe supply, a sophisticated system is required to ensure that medical products and clinical material reach their destination as quickly as possible. We are not just talking about the clinics in general, but rather the individual hospital wards, as the ward-specific supply of materials requires a much smaller and more complex logistics process.

Where medical products worth around one billion euros per year are handled, errors must be avoided.

Ready for transport: truck in front of the logistics center in Bad Oldesloe © Asklepios Kliniken

The supply bottlenecks during the coronavirus pandemic have shown us all how important excellent logistics and the competent stockpiling of consumables for medical needs are in order to ensure the safe care of patients.

Kai Hankeln, CEO of the Asklepios Clinics Group

High-tech warehouse for the Asklepios Clinics Group

As one of the largest private hospital clusters in Europe, the Asklepios Clinics Group provides healthcare for more than two million patients per year.

In 2005, the family-owned hospital group took over the former "Landesbetrieb Krankenhäuser" of the City of Hamburg. Due to the rapid development of the company and the operation of numerous hospitals, there was a need for a new, state-of-the-art central warehouse.

The goal: a new XXL compact storage system was to centrally supply 160 German Asklepios clinics from the coast to Lake Constance
- as well as external facilities if required - with medical goods.

The go-ahead for the largest and most modern central warehouse for medical products was given in 2020.

Start of construction in 2020

In 2020, SMB was commissioned by the Kliniken Group to fully equip the new, fully automated central warehouse in Bad Oldesloe on 65,000 square meters.

A high-tech warehouse that is unparalleled in terms of efficiency, speed and safety. From construction consulting and sizing in the initial planning phase to mechanical, electrical and software engineering and the turnkey handover, we supported the project and worked closely with the Asklepios team at every stage.

The ground-breaking ceremony for the new high-tech warehouse took place on 20.06.2020. After just 23 months, we were able to be there live when the first hospitals were supplied and the new automated warehouse replaced the previous manual warehouses.

The linchpin of around 8 million order items per year

The new central warehouse sets new standards in the industry with its equipment, dimensions and technical complexity.

The intelligent logistics center is designed so that external clinics and medical practices can also be supplied with consumables of all kinds. Centralization at the Bad Oldesloe site means that orders can be bundled in a sensible way to save time and energy.

The clocks never stand still in the new central warehouse, as deliveries are made around the clock. Almost 3,000 different products are stored here - from syringes and cannulas to FFP2 masks, protective gowns and bandages - everything is immediately available for onward transportation. "The exceptionally high level of digitization and automation for our industry is essential," explains Alexander Pollklesener, Managing Director of Asklepios Großhandelsgesellschaft mbH.

The central warehouse concept is designed to cover the double demand of the Asklepios Group in order to guarantee the clinics several months of supply security in the event of supply chain bottlenecks. Nevertheless, it is not possible without people.

From plant control to electrical engineers and logistics, new jobs have been created for highly qualified professions.

The biggest challenges: Complexity, space and coordination

In a major project of this kind, the threads of many trades have to be held together on the construction site.

This requires close cooperation between project, construction and installation management. But the requirement for the most space-saving solution possible also poses challenges. For this reason, some of the conveyor technology was positioned suspended under the hall roof.

It was also necessary to implement order-related picking of several items via different picking zones. Strategists from Asklepios' order picking department and software engineers from SMB put their heads together.

The result: an optimal storage system tailored to the customer.

Conveyor technology in front of the picking zone

One central warehouse - eight different warehouse types

The 15 meter high SMB compact storage system in Bad Oldesloe has over 20,000 pallet spaces for thousands of medical products.

In addition to the pallet warehouse, the XXL central warehouse is an interlinked system consisting of various innovative components. The logistics center includes an AutoStore small parts warehouse, pick-by-light systems, various conveyor technologies and, of course, an automated high-bay warehouse and combines these components in an optimal way.

A total of eight different warehouse types interlock here:

In the cross-docking area, goods with a short dwell time are collected from incoming goods, labeled and prepared for onward shipment.

This is where goods are temporarily stored, for example for quality checks.

Up to 3,000 items on pallets are automatically stored and stocked here.

In the automated small parts warehouse, very small items or items in small quantities are stored in 15,000 boxes. The system is managed by 10 robots, which store and sort the goods and make them available to employees for order picking.

This warehouse is equipped with 1,300 shelves and just as many electronic display panels. The displays use color codes and quantities to inform employees which products they should pick, in what quantity and to which order they should assign them.

Order-related original cartons are dispatched from this storage area.

The hazardous materials warehouse houses and picks water-polluting and highly flammable goods.

Goods that have to be removed from outer packaging for order picking and are intended for operations, for example, are handled separately here due to high hygiene requirements.

High picking speed and traceability

All warehouse types are networked in line or in a row and can be accessed automatically one after the other, which brings decisive advantages.

This eliminates long walking distances in order picking, which significantly increases picking speed and traceability. The reduction in walking and forklift routes and the intelligent, space-saving use of conveyor technology enable maximum storage density in the smallest of spaces. The storage systems used by SMB, for example, impress with 95% space utilization on the smallest footprint thanks to tailor-made truck shuttle storage technology. Ultimately, the construction costs of the hall were reduced in this way and operating costs can also be minimized.

The PLC-based automation ensures high-performance, durable and reliable control technology. This allows fast, flexible and energy-efficient operation - which also means lower personnel and operating costs.

Thanks to the modern compact storage system and fully automated conveyor technology, all volume requirements can be easily covered, from container loads and cross-docking to small parcels.

Janis Gadanac, Head Buyer at Asklepios, proudly reports: "We have deliberately created a learning system. The system recognizes which products are frequently requested and in what quantities. "The system sorts the goods accordingly so that items that are frequently required are at the front of the list," he explains.

Other special features of the project

The new central warehouse is equipped with additional features:

The intelligent and organized batch (order) compilationis responsible for combining and directly bundling shipments.
Cubage consideration: This calculates the expected volume of the total items in a load for an optimized and ecological shipment size. In this way, transport vehicles can move the largest possible load and transportation costs and emissions are saved.
Thanks to the sorting technology, all products are already sorted by recipient at goods issue and ready for onward transportation, saving time and human resources.
An oxygen reduction system is installed in the high-bay warehouse for fire protection , which nips even the smallest source of fire in the bud - eliminating the need for sprinkler systems.
A washing line is also part of the Asklepios central warehouse concept. This is where the reusable transport boxes are cleaned before they are returned to the picking cycle.
In terms of sustainability , the new Asklepios central warehouse is second to none: The approx. 16,000 m² roof area is to be equipped with a photovoltaic system to supply the warehouse with electricity. There are also several charging points for electric vehicles in the parking lot.

Why SMB?

SMB International plans, develops and produces tailor-made system technology at one location and thus creates individual system solutions together with the customer.

Thanks to our comprehensive know-how and our high level of vertical integration, we can reliably implement individual requirements. See for yourself. Our technical sales team will be happy to answer any questions you may have about your intralogistics task.

Feel free to contact us about your specific requirements.

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XXL Compact Storage System: SMB and Asklepios revolutionize the supply of medical devices

Cross-docking area with pick-by-light system

Locking bearing

Automated compact storage system from SMB

Autostore (small parts warehouse)

Pick-By-Light warehouse

A-parts warehouse

Hazardous materials storage

Hygiene storage