CCEP Mentone DC expands with 12,000 new pallet spaces

Swisslog Australia has extended its automation solution for Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) in Mentone.

CCEP is one of the largest bottlers of non-alcoholic beverages in the Asia–Pacific region and has partnered with Swisslog to enhance production capacities and deliver efficiencies through automation technology across multiple sites.

To eliminate the need for off-site storage during peak months, Swisslog has installed additional Vectura cranes at the distribution centre (DC). It has also installed an extended, $17.4m automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS) solution to enhance operational efficiency, improve customer responsiveness and allow both software and mechanical upgrades with minimal impact to the DC’s performance.

Colin Macdonald, CCEP Director of Operational Excellence Supply Chain – Asia Pacific, said Swisslog understood the needs of the business and adapted the application to its requirements.

“The expanded automation solution enhances safety, eliminates off-site storage and increases our customer responsiveness, which are all important as we look to further optimise production,” Macdonald said.

Swisslog’s solution is data-driven and robotic, enabling CCEP to optimise operations even in peak periods. The addition of more infrastructure in Pallet Flow Lane (PFL) dispatch lanes and additional Roll On Roll Off (RORO) docks will enable more efficient turnaround times for trucks inbound from CCEP’s production facility at Moorabbin and outbound from Mentone.

The extra wrapper and manual infeed positions will allow for greater flexibility in operation of the warehouse.

Dan Ulmamei, Swisslog Managing Director, Australia and New Zealand, said, “CCEP is clearly committed to improving its operational efficiency, and it saw that further automation could help take it to the next level. Swisslog was delighted to be able to assist as CCEP’s automation partner.”

The new ASRS is joined to the existing one at crossover positions, allowing the entire system to be operated as a whole. A mix of a 3-pallet deep channel on one side and an 8/9-pallet deep channel on the other side creates a good mix of shallow and deep channel storage, with more than 12,000 total storage locations. Overlapping row carrier functionality has been provided as an option to improve storage utilisation.

“The extended automation solution at CCEP Mentone has been designed to allow the flexibility to upgrade any component in the future. The additional three cranes provide further redundancy for the Mentone DC,” Ulmamei said.

The solution can be operated as a standalone ASRS or as a part of an integrated solution with the existing ASRS. With the ASRS capable of functioning as a standalone system, the existing ASRS can be taken offline for upgrades. This will allow CCEP to upgrade existing systems with minimal impact on operations.