Woolworths Fashion and Apparel

October 2024

One of South Africa’s leading retails companies,  Woolworths, selected Neptek to implement changes to their conveyor automation to streamline their order fulfilment processes.

Neptek worked together with supply chain consulting engineers, Relog, to design a system for Woolworths that improved efficiency and reduced handling.

The system NEPTEK supplied consisted of the following technology:

• TRANSPORTATION INSIDE AND BETWEEN THE WAREHOUSES
  • Powered Roller Conveyors.
  • Incline/Decline Belt Conveyors.
  • In-line 5-sided SICK Scanning.
  • Automatic Switch Divert (Routing to the different areas in the dispatch warehouse).  
• STOCK REPLENISHMENT (ORDER FULFILLMENT)
  • Metering Conveyors (spacing of boxes).
  • In-line 5-sided SICK Scanning.
  • Automatic Switch Diverts to the replenishment zones.
  • 24VDC Powered Roller Conveyors.
  • Powered Roller Mitre Sections and Curves.
• LINE CONTROL
  • SIEMENS S7 1500 PLC Control and SCADA system that interfaces with the clients WMS.
  • In-line bar code scanning.
  • Die back line control.
  • Zero pressure accumulation.
  • Automatic diverting.

The system has full visualisation on the control panels in each warehouse for data acquisition and fault finding. Support on the control system is caried out remotely through a VPN connection to the Industrial PC.

System capacity of 1200 boxes per hour seamlessly and efficiently.