Grocery Picking at ASKO

ASKO Oslofjord AS faced a foreseeable capacity bottleneck at its existing logistics site due to strong growth in the Norwegian food trade. The existing infrastructure was no longer able to efficiently handle the future expected volume of goods. A simple expansion of the existing warehouse was not an option, as it would neither meet the required performance nor the company's strategic future goals. At the same time, the food trade placed high demands on logistics: different temperature zones for dry and frozen goods (Ambient from 5 – 35 °C and Freeze from -30 – 0 °C), high throughput speed, absolute sequencing, and store-friendly pallets for the trade. In addition, there were very ambitious sustainability goals, as ASKO wanted to work not only more efficiently but also significantly more environmentally friendly and achieve climate neutrality in the long term. The central challenge was therefore to combine growth, efficiency, automation, and sustainability in a holistic logistics solution.

In response to these requirements, ASKO Oslofjord AS, together with SSI Schäfer and fpt robotics, decided to build a new, highly automated, future-proof distribution center. SSI Schäfer, as the general contractor, was responsible for the complete development of the logistics concept as well as the planning and realization of the turnkey facility. The result is a modern logistics center with separate temperature zones for ambient and frozen goods, extensive pallet racking, and highly automated storage, conveying, and order picking systems. The Layer Master from fpt robotics ensures efficient handling of goods. Through the combination of vacuum and mechanical gripping mechanisms, the robot can reliably pick up and place a wide variety of products. In the background, real-time packing pattern generation runs. This calculates the sequence of objects in advance for each mixed pallet – just like the robot's path planning. This technology ensures maximum flexibility and stable, consistent quality. In the palletizing process, rates of up to 600 picks per hour are handled; in the depalletizing process, 300 layers per hour. The result is store-specific pallet assembly, while a continuous material flow and a multi-stage shipping buffer ensure efficient and reliable processing. The entire system is controlled by SSI Schäfer's WAMAS logistics software, which ensures transparency, controllability, and optimal utilization. The technical solution is complemented by a consistently sustainable building concept with energy-efficient technology and heat recovery, through which ASKO has created a powerful, scalable, and at the same time ecologically exemplary logistics platform for the future.

Photos: © SSI SCHÄFER