igus in Cologne relies on iFD WarehousePilot

The hidden champion igus, a manufacturer of lubrication-free and wear-resistant high-performance polymers for motion (“motion plastics”) based in Cologne, is relying on WarehousePilot from the material flow experts at iFD to modernise the automated control and management of its high-bay warehouse.

The company operates a 14-aisle high-bay warehouse, in which two aisles have already been successfully automated. These aisles are equipped with two Beewen stacker cranes for handling rotatable stacking containers. The stacker cranes enable both put-away and pick-up operations to upstream locations and also assist with order picking.

iFD’s WarehousePilot not only controls the stacker cranes but also manages all storage locations, performs bin searches and coordinates error handling in the automated aisles. All transport tasks, including put-away, retrieval and order picking, are seamlessly transferred from the ERP system to the WarehousePilot via an interface and executed.

To enable the future automation of further warehouse aisles without any problems and to ensure low-risk operation, it was necessary to replace the material flow computer. The successful implementation of this project was supported by extensive experience gained from numerous completed retrofit projects, as well as the proven iFD migration concept.

igus plans to automate additional aisles in the medium term. With WarehousePilot, it is economically feasible to easily expand the control system to include additional stacker cranes in new aisles with minimal effort. This advanced software solution supports igus in its efforts to continue growing and adapting to changing market conditions.