Automation of an Archive and Logistics Center for a Major Bank

Our client is one of the largest banks in Europe, occupying 53,000 square meters. The client has embarked on one of the biggest warehousing automation projects on the Continent.

First Line Software was selected to automate the Client’s Archive and Logistics Center (ALC).

The Challenges

It is one of the largest warehousing automation projects in Europe. One of the many significant challenges is that the ALC employees have no physical access to the storage areas and that the entire process of archive operations should be fully automated.

The client wanted to create a consolidated Archive and Logistics Center to process and store the bank’s documentation packed in archive boxes. Special climate conditions were required in the storage zone – a reduced oxygen supply to protect the warehouse from fire, rodents, and insects. The ALC is designed to significantly reduce the Bank’s expenses for archive data storage and processing. First Line Software was a provider of viastore WMS customization in this project.

The Solution

viastore WMS, the warehouse management system by German manufacturer viastore WMS systems GmbH., was selected by the client. viastore WMS’s software controls all of the automation equipment in the Archive and Logistics Center. The project included the optimization of all logistics processes and document storage security to improve overall performance.

First Line Software technology specialists were responsible for customizing the viastore WMS and meeting the client’s specific requirements for optimal archive box storage – based on expected access frequency. As a result, both the time for document delivery and power supply costs for stacking cranes were significantly reduced. In the future, the WMS will be able to automatically re-organize the warehouse for storage optimization based on the ABC characteristics of the boxes (ABC-analysis – classification of resources in order of their importance).

The Results

• Dramatic reduction in the amount of time it took to receive documents from the  bank’s ALC – from 3 weeks to a couple of hours 
• The amount of required storage space decreased to less than 25% of the original space
• The headcount for the ALC was reduced by over 50% 
• Data storage costs were lowered by 70% 

The Technology

WMS system of viastore WMS.