CIM & RAMSEIER Suisse AG: Efficient intralogistics – digital, automated, future-proof

RAMSEIER Suisse AG is one of the largest beverage manufacturers in Switzerland, producing fruit juices, soft drinks, mineral water, cordial and beer. Their head office is located in Sursee with production facilities in Hochdorf, Elm and Oberaach. With around 300 employees, the company processes an average of 50,000 tons of fruit each year, producing well-known classics under the traditional brands of Ramseier, Sinalco, and Elmer. The facility in Sursee features a 5,500 m² fully automated high-bay warehouse with a capacity of 16,500 pallets and an integrated conveyor system – key elements in terms of optimizing warehouse operations.

Initial situation

The collaboration between CIM GmbH and RAMSEIER Suisse AG began when the beverage producer commissioned a new logistics facility at its headquarters in Sursee, with the aim of enabling further growth and creating additional production capacity. The new central beverage delivery platform is partially automated and unlocks additional production capacity to ensure smooth handling of rising volumes.
CIM’s warehouse management software PROLAG World is responsible for the central control of all processes – from putaway and picking with NIMMSTA’s smartwatch to seamless integration of the conveyor system and automated high-bay warehouse. The software is fully integrated with the SAP R/3 ERP system via a dedicated interface, ensuring smooth and transparent material flows throughout the warehouse. Malfunctions are visualized in real time to enable quick and targeted intervention.

Warehouse layout

A 31-metre conveyor bridge seamlessly connects the warehouse to the bottling plants. RAMSEIER Suisse AG uses a conveyor system to transport finished beverage pallets on to the high-bay warehouse. The warehouse spans 5,500 m² across nine levels, offering space for 16,400 beverage pallets and operating almost fully automatically. Five automated storage and retrieval machines supply the ten-deep shelving system across ten aisles, handling both putaway and retrieval.

Goods receipt

In the goods receiving area, a carousel system distributes incoming beverage pallets to their designated storage locations within the high-bay warehouse. Automatic checks are carried out before putaway with fixed scanners monitoring pallets for contour, weight and barcode readability, and removing any defective or excessively heavy pallets from circulation. Problems can be solved on the spot, since the programmable logic controller (PLC) transmits the results of the checks straight to the warehouse management system. The specific issue is displayed to the employee along with a brief explanation, enabling a fast and targeted response. The software then assigns the pallets to the best storage location, taking account of the A, B or C criteria, equal distribution, batch grouping and field load requirements.

Optimized route planning and picking with the NIMMSTA backhand scanner

RAMSEIER Suisse AG in Sursee prepares between 1,200 and 2,000 pallets for delivery each day. PROLAG World’s UltraFlex technology ensures continuous material flow and timely replenishment throughout the warehouse. The system manages both picking and replenishment of the picking zone: Full pallets are retrieved directly from the high-bay warehouse by PROLAG World, while mixed pallets are prepared for picking by the staff at the picking area.

PROLAG World consolidates customer orders for picking and pre-sorts them based on the scheduled delivery tours. Each truck at the dock is responsible for one tour. PROLAG World ensures that beverage pallets are removed from the high-bay warehouse in the correct sequence and loaded efficiently onto the truck: The orders to be delivered first are positioned at the tailgate of the truck, ready for unloading.

Upgrade to NIMMSTA and Vaadin

Pick-by-voice was replaced by NIMMSTA in 2023: The advantage of the NIMMSTA industrial smartwatch is that it bypasses potential language issues with clear visual, acoustic and haptic feedback. Using the smartwatch, warehouse staff are guided efficiently through the picking process, allowing them to pick quickly, following optimized routes and avoiding errors.

Additionally, all templates have been upgraded to Vaadin, making the PROLAG World user interface compatible with all major web browsers. Given the use of handhelds and wearables in the logistics sector, PROLAG World’s compatibility with all common web browsers brings a number of benefits. The responsive interface design means that it doesn’t take a specially programmed app to use the software, just a web browser – by any provider. This requirement is met by almost every common wearable device.

PROLAG World’s UltraFlex technology ensures continuous material flow and timely replenishment throughout the warehouse

Outcome

Implementing PROLAG World has helped to significantly optimize logistics processes at RAMSEIER Suisse AG. The number of incorrect deliveries has dropped considerably, while the fill rate in the high-bay warehouse has increased despite the low number of channels. Malfunctions can now be identified and rectified more quickly. What’s more, logistics costs have been reduced, processes standardized and numerous optimizations successfully implemented.