INDUSTRY 4.0 ARRIVES AT EUROTUBI

To overcome our limits and take on new challenges have always been part of our DNA. That’s why this year we have decided to invest in an as innovative as unique project. “Industry 4.0” makes the smart factory a reality, setting the pace for innovation and efficiency in industrial environments.

In January 2021, the building of a new logistic center whose beating heart is the automation has begun. Building a new warehouse doesn’t mean to simply put up a new establishment, but by contrast, implement a plan of smart and automated management of our products, from the manufacturing to the sales department.

Our new logistic center is an impressive building of about 5000 m², which has a weight capacity of about 1,800 tons and can store up to 3000 items. The warehouse is equipped with shelving made of 10 levels each to storage our tubes up to 10 m height! But the real revolution of this project is the implementation of the Warehouse Management System (WMS).

If this project aroused your curiosity, keep reading the article to find out more!

The WMS is an advanced software able to control, coordinate and optimize warehouse operations. It helps to administer all stages from the time goods or materials enter the warehouse until they move out in the most efficient and cost-effective way. A WMS is synchronized with ERP systems and handles many functions, including inventory tracking, picking and receiving of raw materials or stock management.

The rationale behind this great investment is the stock rotation according to the First In First Out principle (FIFO). This software understands and suggests to the operators where to put the products in the most efficient way. In other words, the most sought-after products will be placed in a more accessible area of the warehouse to have them nearby, while all the products with a lower stock rotation rate will occupy the higher levels in the shelving. This will enable us to streamline our processes by optimizing times and storage spaces. By so doing, we will avoid product stagnation, and we will offer only outstanding quality items.

This storage system is one-of-a-kind. Even in this case, Eurotubi broke with the past by adopting a distinctive and innovative solution. Up to now, we weren’t able to check our stocks, map our warehouses and be aware of the exact position of products stored in them. Actually, our warehouse workers were used to place our items in free areas of the establishment, without considering the issue of space optimization.

From now on, all our products will be labeled with an identifier barcode, which warehouse workers will be able to scan though a palmtop. Then, the new WMS will indicate to the operator the warehouse, the level and the exact position in the shelving in which the product should be placed. If before even the ground could represent a storage location, now thanks to the new logistic center we can enjoy a shelving as height as our building, where our tubes won’t be in contact with the ground anymore.

To make the entire system work, we had to install several Wi-Fi hot spots, which guarantee the complete coverage of our company of about 32,000 m². Surely, this was a significant investment but crucial for our project to be successful. All the warehouse and logistic employees have attended some training courses to make the best use of the WMS system, all the tools and the new handling equipment linked to the project.

Clearly, storing our tubes according to this new rationale implies new needs in the manufacturing department. Therefore, the acquisition of new trilateral forklifts, complying with the Industry 4.0 concept, became part of the project. These new handling equipment will support our employees in the store management activities.

Our new trilateral forklifts can easily move between different shelving, reaching up to the higher level. Since they can move in every direction, they are the perfect solution for going in narrow aisles by easing the loading and unloading operations. All of it in complete safety.

Their technology enables us to load tubes up to 6 m length and store them in the new logistic center according to the FIFO principle, their weight and the quality of the materials. Moreover, they have been designed to increase the wellbeing and the comfort of the employees engaged in the storage activities for many hours during the day.

To complete this incredible annual project, we have introduced a new way of packing our products. Starting from September, we are using more stable, efficient and eco-friendly packaging, which enabled us to reduce wood consumption of about 20%. We have already talked about this topic in another article on our blog that you can find here.