Goods-to-person system provides tech company with room to grow

PHOTO COURTESY OF BECKHOFF AUTOMATION

Automation technology company Beckhoff USA is stocking more inventory and shipping faster than ever thanks to the implementation of an automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) from Opex Corp. Completed last fall at the company’s Minneapolis-area warehouse, the project is helping Beckhoff keep up with soaring demand for its components and controls—revenue grew 26% in 2021 and 33% in 2022, and the company expected another 30% increase in 2023, Beckhoff USA President Kevin Barker said in a video describing the project last year.

The AS/RS expands the warehouse’s capacity by 60% and also provides room to grow.

“With this and other strategic investments, we have returned to pre-pandemic leadtimes, which is a game-changer for customers across industries,” the company said in a separate statement describing the 2023 project.

INFINITE POSSIBILITIES

A subsidiary of Germany-based Beckhoff Automation, Beckhoff USA provides PC-based controls for all kinds of industries, from automotive to marine to warehousing and logistics. The Minneapolis warehouse is Beckhoff’s distribution hub for the United States, and as business grew, the facility was quickly running out of space, according to Barker and Wayne Schmeichel, Beckhoff USA’s director of operations. On top of that, they said, warehouse associates were spending too much time walking up and down aisles with carts in order to pick products. To maximize space and help associates be more productive, managers decided to install the Opex Infinity AS/RS, which Opex introduced in 2022. 

The next-generation goods-to-person (G2P) system combines wireless “Infinity iBOT” robotic vehicles, triple-deep tote storage, and Opex’s Cortex order fulfillment software platform to deliver the right stock-keeping unit (SKU) to the right workstation every time, according to Opex. Unlike traditional AS/RS solutions—which use shuttles that travel horizontally on a set row, ferrying inventory to an elevator for vertical delivery to workstations—the Infinity iBOTs are compact multidirectional vehicles that can access all inventory in the system’s storage grid, traveling both horizontally and vertically throughout the system. The iBOTs can also leave the storage grid, which allows them to deliver inventory to detached workstations for various pick, pack, and ship tasks. The system’s modular racking design makes it easy to customize and scale the solution as well. 

One of the greatest improvements since implementing the AS/RS? Higher productivity and happier workers.

“Before implementing the Opex Infinity system, we were running out of room in our warehouse, not to mention personnel bandwidth to meet customer demands,” Schmeichel said in the statement. “It’s always refreshing to see technology make people’s jobs easier. By automating processes, we can work smarter instead of harder, and rather than eliminating jobs, we continue to grow our warehouse team headcount to ensure the best possible customer experiences.”

The U.S. upgrades coincide with Beckhoff Automation’s efforts to boost its manufacturing and logistics capabilities around the world, including new production and warehousing facilities at the global headquarters in Germany.

“We expect to keep growing at the same rapid pace for years to come—at Beckhoff USA and globally,” Barker said. “With our automated warehouse upgrades in Minnesota, we are taking a monumental step forward, but this certainly won't be the last step in that journey.”