Tradition meets material handling innovation in Europe
Fulfillment goes lights-out in Parma, Italy, where Italian food company Barilla is on the leading edge of robotic automation and sustainable distribution.
Victoria Kickham, an editor at large for Supply Chain Quarterly, started her career as a newspaper reporter in the Boston area before moving into B2B journalism. She has covered manufacturing, distribution and supply chain issues for a variety of publications in the industrial and electronics sectors, and now writes about everything from forklift batteries to omnichannel business trends for Supply Chain Quarterly's sister publication, DC Velocity.
Italian food companyBarilla is steeped in history, but company leaders are focused on the future when it comes to managing its material handling operations. The 144-year-old maker of pasta, sauces, breads, and more embarked on a supply chain transformation in 2012 that has produced a state-of-the-art distribution center in Parma, Italy, featuring integrated robotics systems and a 24/7 lights-out operation—a showcase of how automated material handling systems can improve operations and contribute to a more sustainable distribution and supply chain network.
“Barilla has always been committed to environmental and social sustainability. A sustainable food supply chain can be achieved only by looking at the entire supply chain in its overall dimension and [the] integration between the individual steps,” says Alessandro Spadini, plant director for Barilla’s headquarters and flagship production facility in Parma, which houses the DC. “An integrated factory, therefore, has a meaning that goes beyond the efficiency of the factory but is rather, a fundamental element [in making] the supply chain more sustainable.”
The 430,000-square-foot fully automated distribution center is equipped with more than 100 laser-guided vehicles and 41 robotic systems—including high-density automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS), palletizers, labelers, and stretch wrappers—and handles 320,000 tons of pasta per year. Designed, manufactured, and installed by Italy-based automation solutions provider E80 Group, the facility’s flexible automated systems not only streamline throughput and allow for volume fluctuation through the plant but also are energy-efficient, contributing to Barilla’s overall environmental goals.
“The transformation of the Parma plant was a fundamental step on the path that we have undertaken, together with E80 Group, to develop flexible systems capable of significantly … improving how we work and distribute,” Spadini adds. “This important project is consistent with the commitment that our group has [made] to contribute significantly to achieving theUnited Nations Sustainable Development Goals, along with the help of theBarilla Center for Food and Nutrition Foundation, which studies food in its environmental, social, and economic dimensions. We keep working together to [deliver on our] claim: Good for you, good for the planet.”
INTEGRATED AND ENERGY-EFFICIENT
Spadini says flexibility of design was the key to developing a DC that would address Barilla’s productivity and sustainability goals. A DC filled with rigid conveyor systems, for example, simply wouldn’t work.
“Any distribution system that is not sufficiently flexible, that is based on a rigid scheme, sooner or later, will become an issue,” according to Spadini. “The solution in trying to separate the various distribution processes—like high-density storage, transport of pallets, palletizing, stretch wrapping, and staging pallets at loading docks for shipping—comes from these processes ideally having flexible, adaptable solutions.”
With that in mind, E80 Group designed an integrated system that includes laser-guided vehicles (LGVs), robotic palletizers, and other end-of-line robotic systems that are adaptable and energy-efficient. The use of LGVs was an important part of the equation.
“One of the main reasons [for our decision] to move forward with this renovation of Parma’s distribution [center] was the desire to get away from conveyors and adopt laser-guided vehicles for pallet transport within the facility,” Spadini explains. “Traditional conveying systems are sized for production peaks and [are] not flexible enough to manage variations in throughput, in terms of both flow and volume. Therefore, pallet conveyor systems are typically highly inefficient.”
The Parma DC uses three main types of LGVs: those that carry a single pallet, those that carry two pallets at a time, and LGVs that carry four pallets at a time. The LGVs interact with floor-positioned pallets and AS/RS induction stations, picking up and dropping off pallets between the various stations throughout the facility: receiving, palletizing, stretch wrapping, labeling, finished-goods warehousing, and staging for shipping.
The LGVs are also a driving force for energy efficiency. The battery-powered vehicles use the latest in lithium-ion battery technology, according to both companies, and offer low toxicity and more consistent performance—the constant discharge voltage of the battery allows it to deliver virtually full power until it is discharged, for instance, reducing downtime and improving performance. The batteries also utilize wireless induction charging, with charging stations placed directly in the production area, which helps reduce vehicle travel in the facility, among other advantages. All told, the battery-powered vehicles have helped Barilla reduce energy consumption in the DC by more than 30% compared with a more traditional, conveyor-based system, Spadini says.
Barilla’s use of high-density storage within the facility helps with overall energy-reduction strategies as well. By storing more product within the DC, Barilla has eliminated about 3,000 truck trips per year to outside warehouses it previously used for storage, a strategy that has lowered carbon dioxide emissions and cut 40% of its lighting and 20% of its heating costs, Spadini says.
“These factors contribute to Barilla’s initiatives to reduce our carbon footprint,” he adds.
SUSTAINABLE AND SELF-SUFFICIENT
Barilla’s supply chain transformation is producing results: Since 2010, its Parma-based business (which includes manufacturing as well as the DC and is purportedly the largest pasta-producing plant in the world) has reduced its carbon dioxide emissions by 31% and cut its water consumption per ton of finished product by 23%. On top of that, it now purchases 64% of its electricity from renewable sources.
The facility’s “lights out” operation has been a prime contributor to those milestones. Receipt of products from manufacturing through staging of palletized units for shipping is completely automated. The facility’s high-density warehouse uses E80 Group’s AS/RS Store system, which uses stacker cranes equipped with automatic product-handling devices for double-deep storage. Six stacker cranes support 47,000 pallet locations, and there are an additional 50,000 pallet locations that allow drive-in LGV access. Palletizing is automated, as are stretch wrapping and labeling. Aside from loading and shipping, there is only a small team of employees who enter the facility for planned maintenance or unscheduled repairs, and the plant is supervised and controlled from a separate location.
“The DC was conceived as a lights-out facility [from] the very beginning,” says Spadini, emphasizing its contribution to the company’s larger effort to create a more sustainable supply chain.
Those goals are ongoing, as are improvements and upgrades in Parma that leaders at both Barilla and E80 say will continue to improve production and reduce energy consumption. Similar automation projects are planned for other Barilla facilities around the world as well.
Supply chain planning (SCP) leaders working on transformation efforts are focused on two major high-impact technology trends, including composite AI and supply chain data governance, according to a study from Gartner, Inc.
"SCP leaders are in the process of developing transformation roadmaps that will prioritize delivering on advanced decision intelligence and automated decision making," Eva Dawkins, Director Analyst in Gartner’s Supply Chain practice, said in a release. "Composite AI, which is the combined application of different AI techniques to improve learning efficiency, will drive the optimization and automation of many planning activities at scale, while supply chain data governance is the foundational key for digital transformation.”
Their pursuit of those roadmaps is often complicated by frequent disruptions and the rapid pace of technological innovation. But Gartner says those leaders can accelerate the realized value of technology investments by facilitating a shift from IT-led to business-led digital leadership, with SCP leaders taking ownership of multidisciplinary teams to advance business operations, channels and products.
“A sound data governance strategy supports advanced technologies, such as composite AI, while also facilitating collaboration throughout the supply chain technology ecosystem,” said Dawkins. “Without attention to data governance, SCP leaders will likely struggle to achieve their expected ROI on key technology investments.”
The British logistics robot vendor Dexory this week said it has raised $80 million in venture funding to support an expansion of its artificial intelligence (AI) powered features, grow its global team, and accelerate the deployment of its autonomous robots.
A “significant focus” continues to be on expanding across the U.S. market, where Dexory is live with customers in seven states and last month opened a U.S. headquarters in Nashville. The Series B will also enhance development and production facilities at its UK headquarters, the firm said.
The “series B” funding round was led by DTCP, with participation from Latitude Ventures, Wave-X and Bootstrap Europe, along with existing investors Atomico, Lakestar, Capnamic, and several angels from the logistics industry. With the close of the round, Dexory has now raised $120 million over the past three years.
Dexory says its product, DexoryView, provides real-time visibility across warehouses of any size through its autonomous mobile robots and AI. The rolling bots use sensor and image data and continuous data collection to perform rapid warehouse scans and create digital twins of warehouse spaces, allowing for optimized performance and future scenario simulations.
Originally announced in September, the move will allow Deutsche Bahn to “fully focus on restructuring the rail infrastructure in Germany and providing climate-friendly passenger and freight transport operations in Germany and Europe,” Werner Gatzer, Chairman of the DB Supervisory Board, said in a release.
For its purchase price, DSV gains an organization with around 72,700 employees at over 1,850 locations. The new owner says it plans to investment around one billion euros in coming years to promote additional growth in German operations. Together, DSV and Schenker will have a combined workforce of approximately 147,000 employees in more than 90 countries, earning pro forma revenue of approximately $43.3 billion (based on 2023 numbers), DSV said.
After removing that unit, Deutsche Bahn retains its core business called the “Systemverbund Bahn,” which includes passenger transport activities in Germany, rail freight activities, operational service units, and railroad infrastructure companies. The DB Group, headquartered in Berlin, employs around 340,000 people.
“We have set clear goals to structurally modernize Deutsche Bahn in the areas of infrastructure, operations and profitability and focus on the core business. The proceeds from the sale will significantly reduce DB’s debt and thus make an important contribution to the financial stability of the DB Group. At the same time, DB Schenker will gain a strong strategic owner in DSV,” Deutsche Bahn CEO Richard Lutz said in a release.
Transportation industry veteran Anne Reinke will become president & CEO of trade group the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) at the end of the year, stepping into the position from her previous post leading third party logistics (3PL) trade group the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA), both organizations said today.
Meanwhile, TIA today announced that insider Christopher Burroughs would fill Reinke’s shoes as president & CEO. Burroughs has been with TIA for 13 years, most recently as its vice president of Government Affairs for the past six years, during which time he oversaw all legislative and regulatory efforts before Congress and the federal agencies.
Before her four years leading TIA, Reinke spent two years as Deputy Assistant Secretary with the U.S. Department of Transportation and 16 years with CSX Corporation.
Serious inland flooding and widespread power outages are likely to sweep across Florida and other Southeast states in coming days with the arrival of Hurricane Helene, which is now predicted to make landfall Thursday evening along Florida’s northwest coast as a major hurricane, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
While the most catastrophic landfall impact is expected in the sparsely-population Big Bend area of Florida, it’s not only sea-front cities that are at risk. Since Helene is an “unusually large storm,” its flooding, rainfall, and high winds won’t be limited only to the Gulf Coast, but are expected to travel hundreds of miles inland, the weather service said. Heavy rainfall is expected to begin in the region even before the storm comes ashore, and the wet conditions will continue to move northward into the southern Appalachians region through Friday, dumping storm total rainfall amounts of up to 18 inches. Specifically, the major flood risk includes the urban areas around Tallahassee, metro Atlanta, and western North Carolina.
In addition to its human toll, the storm could exert serious business impacts, according to the supply chain mapping and monitoring firm Resilinc. Those will be largely triggered by significant flooding, which could halt oil operations, force mandatory evacuations, restrict ports, and disrupt air traffic.
While the storm’s track is currently forecast to miss the critical ports of Miami and New Orleans, it could still hurt operations throughout the Southeast agricultural belt, which produces products like soybeans, cotton, peanuts, corn, and tobacco, according to Everstream Analytics.
That widespread footprint could also hinder supply chain and logistics flows along stretches of interstate highways I-10 and I-75 and on regional rail lines operated by Norfolk Southern and CSX. And Hurricane Helene could also likely impact business operations by unleashing power outages, deep flooding, and wind damage in northern Florida portions of Georgia, Everstream Analytics said.
Before the storm had even touched Florida soil, recovery efforts were already being launched by humanitarian aid group the American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN). In a statement on Wednesday, the group said it is urging residents in the storm's path across the Southeast to heed evacuation notices and safety advisories, and reminding members of the logistics community that their post-storm help could be needed soon. The group will continue to update its Disaster Micro-Site with Hurricane Helene resources and with requests for donated logistics assistance, most of which will start arriving within 24 to 72 hours after the storm’s initial landfall, ALAN said.