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Westfalia Technologies, Inc. Automated Pepsi Bottling Group
Technology Category
- Functional Applications - Warehouse Management Systems (WMS)
- Automation & Control - Automation & Process Control Systems
- Robots - Robot Application & Programming Software
Applicable Industries
- Food & Beverage
- Consumer Goods
Applicable Functions
- Warehouse & Inventory Management
- Logistics & Transportation
Use Cases
- Warehouse Automation
- Inventory Management
- Predictive Maintenance
Services
- System Integration
- Software Design & Engineering Services
The Challenge
The Pepsi Bottling Group needed a warehousing solution that would maximize their storage space and increase efficiency at peak times. Without this, production wouldn’t be quick enough to keep up with the increasing demand of their products. Turning to automation would allow the company to keep up with their customer needs and maintain their title as one of the most successful Pepsi Beverage Groups.
About The Customer
The Pepsi Bottling Group is the largest manufacturer, seller, and distributor of Pepsi beverages, with over 100 plants worldwide and 545 distribution centers. Among the brands they handle are Pepsi, Aquafina, Aqua Minerale, Tropicana, Lipton Iced Tea, Starbucks Frappuccino, Dole juices, Mountain Dew, Sierra Mist, and the SoBe line of beverages. The company is known for its extensive product range and significant market presence, making it a key player in the beverage industry. Their operations span globally, ensuring that their products reach a wide audience, and they are committed to maintaining high standards of quality and efficiency in their production and distribution processes.
The Solution
PBG selected a flexible, high-density AS/RS for their Tampa facility to meet their need for maximum storage, high throughput, buffers for handling peak production from their bottling plant, and aids in preparing various types of pallets to ship to customers. It was decided that a multiple deep system made the most sense, along with Westfalia’s other beverage manufacturing customers. Westfalia’s Savanna.NET WCS manages and controls all product flows throughout the facility from receiving to order fulfillment. It is a complex system as PBG requires full layer and mixed layer palletizing in order to have ‘store ready’ pallets loaded onto their straight and bay trucks. The company needed the system for product arriving from their own facility as well as outside bottling operations. Among the technologies controlled via Savanna.NET® WCS are the two Storage/Retrieval Machines (SRMs) of the AS/RS, conveying systems for pallets and cases, five KUKA robots for layer picking/palletizing, pallet squaring stations, stretch-wrapping, and print & apply labeling. S/RM Satellite technology allows each S/RM to handle 2 pallets at a time, which makes for lower energy consumption and lower system maintenance for the company.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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