Semi-automatic Pallet Shuttle at the Red Cross warehouse in France

About the Red Cross

This humanitarian institution originated in 1859, during the battle of Solferino (Italy), when Henry Dunant called for the creation of a volunteer corps to help the war casualties, regardless of the side they belonged to. This appeal led to the founding of the International Red Cross in 1864, when its headquarters were established in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Red Cross movement helps and assists people affected by armed conflicts and natural disasters. It is known for promoting an ethic of tolerance and dialogue, as well as working to prevent political unrest.

High-density storage with Pallet Shuttle

Croix-Rouge insertion – Logistique has unveiled a new 3,500 m² logistics warehouse in a town just north of Paris. With this centre, the company expects to manage only 22 different SKUs, but in a very high number of pallets per SKU. This warehouse stores basic foodstuffs (especially milk, rice, pasta or cooked dishes, among others) targeted at helping people at risk or suffering from social exclusion.

It was clear to the company that it needed a system that harnessed the available floor space to maximise capacity and, also, ensure massive product inflows and outflows.

Mecalux has equipped the warehouse with a block of high-density racks with the semi-automatic system. The racks are 6.5 m high and 62 m long.

Each channel can hold up to a maximum of eighteen pallets deep. As a result, it can accommodate a large number of pallets and SKUs. Furthermore, within the compact storage systems, the Pallet Shuttle is the most agile for pallet inputs and outputs. It requires minimal operator involvement, since it is the automatic shuttle that carries out the movements inside the channels.

Workers deposit the Pallet Shuttle in the corresponding channel. Soon afterward, they insert the goods in the channel’s first position and the motorised shuttle moves it directly up to the first open location that it finds. Operators use a tablet with a Wi-Fi connection to interact with the shuttles and organise the insertion and extraction of the pallets.

Advantages for Croix-Rouge insertion – Logistique

• Storage capacity: the Pallet Shuttle system makes the most of all available warehouse space to provide a capacity for 2,322 pallets with staple foods.
• Quick in-and-out: operators do not enter the storage lanes with the load, but rather the automatic shuttle is in charge of inserting and removing the pallets from their corresponding locations.
• Merchandise control: operators have access to all SKUs from a single working aisle, so they can view stock statuses effortlessly.