WORLDTECHExotec commissions two Skypod warehouse systems in Japan for Mitsubishi Shokuhin and Trusco Nakayama
Warehouse robotics company Exotec has announced that it has brought two new Skypod systems into operation in Japan, one for the food distributor Mitsubishi Shokuhin and one for the industrial distributor Trusco Nakayama. According to the report, the installations were carried out in partnership with IHI Logistics Industrial Systems.
Mitsubishi Shokuhin's Soka distribution centre
Mitsubishi Shokuhin has put Skypod into service at its new Food Service Distribution Centre (FSDC) in Soka. The site covers roughly 89,000 square metres and manages almost 13,000 product references, among them food products, alcoholic beverages and professional supplies.
Faced with labour shortages and the need to improve conditions in its warehouses, the company turned to Skypod to cut the distances operators walk, speed up picking, automate operations at ambient temperature and keep customer service at a high level. The site was also built to handle a growing number of stored product references, which is expected to pass one million SKUs in the coming years.
Skypod for tools and industrial supplies
At Soka, Skypod automates order fulfilment for tools, consumables, safety equipment and industrial supplies. The deployed system comprises nearly 32,000 bins, 37 robots and four picking stations, which are meant to improve productivity, picking accuracy and use of storage space.
The project forms part of a wider strategy to build logistics infrastructure able to support the company's growth through 2040. The report describes it as the first implementation of Skypod in Japan's food distribution sector.
Trusco Nakayama's Planet Aichi centre
Trusco Nakayama has also expanded its industrial logistics capacity. According to the report, the Exotec Skypod system is fully operational at the group's new Planet Aichi logistics centre, its largest facility.
The report states that the system at this site includes nearly 32,000 bins, 37 robots and four picking stations, intended to lift productivity, picking accuracy and storage space use.
Open questions
- Will the Planet Aichi system reach the same scale of expansion planned at the Soka site?