In order to provide more agility in deliveries to the aftermarket sector in Brazil, ZF Aftermarket has started the installation of a new automated conveyor belt, 100%, in its Distribution Center installed in Itu, SP. The equipment, also called “sorter”, is used to classify and separate products based on specific criteria, such as destination, route or customer orders.The main function of the new conveyor is to streamline and optimize the flow of parts, ensuring that the right products are directed to the destinations in a more efficient way and 30% Silva more efficient.
According to the executive, the new feature is gradually expanding capacity and is expected to reach its full operating potential by the end of this year.
The new equipment is installed in an area of 300 square meters and its application is intended for 85% of the parts stored in the CD 5 Distribution Center, since the parts of larger formats and above 11 kilos are not inserted in this process, such as transmissions and axes. Currently the Itu CD stores a total of 23 thousand items of the brands ZF, Lemforder, Sachs, Varga and TRW. The company has one of the largest operations of the replacement market in Brazil, moving monthly about five million auto parts. It is important to mention, that this number also includes the ZMarF, which also belongs to the brand, ZMarf, which is also owned by the brand, WAB.
The new sorter was entirely developed in Brazil after months of research. These surveys had as reference the largest logistics players in operation in the country. After the evaluation of the equipment in operation, ZF decided to import part of the equipment to prevent the parts from accumulating when passing through the curve of the selector belt, correcting imperfections of mats already existing in the country and delivering to the process even more agility.
For the operation, four tugs are used to feed the sorter. When it reaches its full capacity, the new selector belt can classify three thousand volumes/hour, meeting a daily need for handling of 20 thousand volumes in one shift, which will follow in its entirety to the spare parts market. With this, the operation will be optimized in more than 30% to meet the growing demand for parts, both domestic and foreign.
All the movement of the sorter is guided by barcodes of the products, ensuring efficiency and accuracy. According to Bruno, all employees were trained to operate with the new system. “A new line is flexible and allows adjustments to meet different logistics requirements. There is total reliability in the new process, which includes two types of automated conferences, in addition to being integrated into the RFID system 'Radio Frequency Identification”.Therefore, the labels fixed on the packaging allow products to be tracked throughout the entire spare chain.
“Digitalization has profoundly transformed the logistics operation of ZF Aftermarket and, in addition to agility, has brought intelligence, operational efficiency and greater ability to respond quickly to challenges and changes in the” market, he concludes.
