Business need
VMS Group offers a comprehensive list of services to clients in the maritime, offshore, power plants and wind industries.
These services include repair and maintenance, spare parts delivery, sales of complete propulsion systems as well as engineering projects.
They also act as a 3PL by offering storage facilities for items that are waiting to be repaired and for those that have been repaired and are waiting for ongoing transmission.
VMS Group is a result of 3 companies merging, and this created a need for new warehousing to streamline the operation and to optimize capacity.
With so many items of different sizes and shapes to be stored and a requirement that the warehouse be fully operational 24/7 – 365 days to service ships worldwide, VMS Group wanted three different storage solutions: a storage machine for small parts, pallet racking for both storage of semi-finished goods and customer articles and a mezzanine for space-consuming articles.
They asked Constructor to make it happen.
Constructor solution
The Constructor team started by listening to the client to find out the particular storage challenges that the newly merged company had.
This was followed by carrying out research that included visits to the old warehouse to establish how things could be improved.
The team quickly established that a Tornado storage machine, which is ideal for the storage of small items, could transform 190 sq. m of shelving down to a footprint of just 12 sq. m.
They then moved on to the challenge of storing semi-finished goods. The best way of storing and protecting these are with pallet racking.
As the new warehouse has a roof which is 8 meters high, the team configured the installation to make use to this invaluable space by recommending narrow aisle P90 pallet racking.
This was accepted and the installation consists of three double racks, two for VMS Group's own semi-finished products, and one for customer articles.
Handling is done with a narrow aisle truck equipped with a camera facilitating handling on the upper levels, and also to enhance security which is very important to VMS Group.
Adding a mezzanine floor into the equation made good sense. This is used for storage of the most space consuming and bulky items. Handling can be done with the narrow aisle truck, so no special truck was needed for the space under the mezzanine.
A further benefit of the mezzanine is that it can be used for displays for example by the marketing department.
The final element that brings everything together is the ERP (C5).
This uses the chaotic principle, also known as random location system. This enables goods to be located in any available empty slot, which increases flexibility and therefore efficiency.
The result
“With these storage solutions VMS Group is able to store anything coming their way. The solutions all make optimum use of the space, even providing more space.
the machine has given us a better management of our small parts storage with bar code scanning providing secure storage. Also we have obtained space. What used to be stored in pallets and on shelving is now stored in only 12 square metres.- VMS Group has obtained an extra 100 square metres by choosing a narrow aisle pallet racking solution instead of standard wide aisle pallet racking
- the mezzanine provides the flexibility to store items that cannot be stored in a pallet racking, like a battery or an engine.”
- Bo Greve, Warehouse Manager.
About VMS
VMS Group covers all aspects of service, such as repair and maintenance, spare parts delivery, sales of complete propulsion systems and engineering projects within the maritime industry, the offshore industry, power plants and wind industry.
The company has service facilities in Denmark, Norway and Brazil and employs more than 175 people https://vms.dk