KNAPP AG

Günter-Knapp-Straße 5-7 8075 Hart bei Graz | Austria

RUNPICK -Robotic Universal Picker

Fully Automatic Full Case Picking for Flexible Store Delivery

The challenges in the food retail sector are manifold: Consumers’ shopping behavior is constantly changing while the range of items, pack unit types and sizes is growing. Aspects such as the physical strain on employees carrying out manual picking and labor shortages cannot be underestimated either. And, against a backdrop of increasing quality, efficiency and performance requirements for store delivery, each store has different order quantities and order frequencies.

Our new RUNPICK system, short for Robotic Universal Picker, provides solutions for the following challenges:

Shortened delivery intervals and faster order completion

Different store structures

Labor shortage and physical strain

Automated systems for store-friendly delivery

RUNPICK is a system specially designed for the food retail sector. It processes the entire range of groceries fully automatically. The robot picks and palletizes large handling units of fast-, medium- and slow-moving fresh and shelf-stable goods. RUNPICK builds mixed pallets and roll containers and is well-suited for supplying stores with different structures.

Higher performance thanks to multiple picks

With RUNPICK, we are setting new standards in store delivery. The robot’s major advantage over existing systems is its substantially increased performance: The system handles a variety of packaging types and processes them using multiple-item picking. Within a single cycle of movement, the robot moves and deposits several items at the same time, thereby increasing performance. The key to building mixed layers on the load carrier is to combine the items in a smart way.

The groups of items for multiple-item picking can comprise the same handling units or different unit types. RUNPICK is able to place several handling units on the target load carrier at the same time.

Store-specific picking

The stores receiving the goods differ in size, location and layout. So that employees can fill the shelves in as little time as possible, the following criteria play a decisive role in the automatic processing of groceries:

Store-friendly delivery
Customer-specific sequence of items
Packing parameters

RUNPICK meets all of this with its intelligent packing algorithm, selectable picking criteria, and its ability to pack different types of pack units. This way, the system creates order pallets that are perfectly tailored to each store.

Smart combination of technologies for food retail

The software and interplay of all components are key in this solution. Our central OSR Shuttle™ Evo storage and picking system stores the handling units and retrieves them in the ideal sequence. The optimal stacking pattern is already calculated beforehand to ensure that the items are conveyed to the robot in the right sequence for stacking. Thanks to KiSoft Pack Master, our software for calculating packing parameters, RUNPICK knows exactly where to place each item on the pallet or in the roll container – in the perfect sequence for each store. Thanks to the optimal density, stability and composition of the order pallets, food retailers save time and costs.

The scalable and modular system adapts its performance flexibly to future growth and market demands.

The first RUNPICK system to start up in summer 2021

The first distribution center to include our RUNPICK solution will be put in operation in the US this summer. For test purposes, we installed a complete system – the same one we are building for our customer in the US – in Leoben, Austria. The system in Leoben is up and running. Technically speaking, we are testing the original to find potential for optimization in advance and be prepared for startup in the best possible way.

RUNPICK at a glance: