At the end of December 2008,

WITRON was awarded the order

for the design and realization of

a distribution center for the dry

goods assortment for the Spanish

supermarket chain Mercadona at

its location in Leon (North Spain).

Leon is planned to supply up to

170 stores in the future. As with

Mercadona�s three other WITRON-

designed distribution centers,

Leon will also be equipped with

WITRON�s OPM (Order Picking

Machinery) and DPS (Dynamic

Picking System) modular picking

systems.

Mercadona is considered the most

expansive grocery retailer in

Spain. It has 61,500 employees

and operates 1,210 stores, with

an annual turnover of approx.

15.5 billion Euros in 2008.

The system in Leon is composed

of a 28-aisle tray warehouse with

176,500 locations. In the future,

some 146,000 cases will be picked

each day with 16 COM machines

onto load carriers. Picking will be

fully automated without human

intervention, resulting in store-

friendly order pallets free from

any pick errors. A DPS system with

6,800 locations and 6 workstations

will pick an additional 9,000 small

volume trading units. The DC also

includes the unique ability to pick

half pallets for certain stores using

the same AS/RS cranes that handle

CONTENT

WITRON

Press Conference 2008

in Parkstein (Germany)

» P. 2

WITRON's Logistics Day at

... EDEKA Hamm (Germany)

» P. 3

WITRON is awarded

Kroger's (USA) next

distribution project

» P. 4

4th OPM order from MERCADONA (Spain)

standard sized pallets. All orders

from the different picking areas

are consolidated prior to shipping.

An 18-aisle pallet high bay ware-

house with approx. 18,000

locations supplies the OPM and

DPS system with articles. The HBW

allows for the automated picking

of full and half pallets at the same

time. Leon�s entire article range

covers some 5,900 different

products from Mercadona�s dry

goods assortment.

With this project, Mercadona and

WITRON are continuing their

successful partnership that started

in 2004. WITRON has already

realized two distribution centers

Issue Summer 2009

www.witron.com

for Mercadona�s dry goods

assortment and temperature-

controlled products in Ciem-

pozuelos (near Madrid) working

with the OPM and DPS solution.

Another OPM system for frozen

goods is up and running in

Ribarroja (near Valencia).

When Leon reaches productive use

in mid 2010, Mercadona will have

a total of 98 operating COM

machines across 4 DCs handling

dry, fresh, and frozen goods. The

projects realized since 2004 are a

clear message of Mercadona�s

satisfaction with WITRON, and

prove the efficiency, flexibility

and high availability of the OPM

and DPS systems.

MERCADONA and WITRON continue to expand their successful partnership.

Alliance Boots and

WITRON presented the

Store Service Centre (SSC)

in Nottingham (UK)

» P. 3

www.witron.com

WITRON Press Conference 2008

All about innovation and efficiency

The focus of WITRON�s press conference 2008 was not only the second

generation of its �Order Picking Machinery� (OPM), but also its new

fully-automated shelf solution SRS to be used for efficient replenish-

ment inside a store. Moreover, WITRON announced that it will develop

and produce tote conveyor systems in its own german production

facilities in Parkstein and Saarbruecken in the future.

With the Shelf Replenishment System (SRS) for automatic shelf re-

plenishment in the store, WITRON provides a new solution with the

goal of effectively reducing labour costs and optimizing the processes

in food retail stores. Such a solution is important considering the

magnitude of the logistics cost generated at the point of sale due to

high personnel expenditures for restocking the shelves, designing the

facing, and managing the out-of-stock situations.

All sales items in SRS are carried and pushed carefully by means of slat

conveyors, belt conveyors or push-off devices � similar to WITRON�s

OPM system. The goods are silently transported by shuttles in a

replenishment aisle that is directly integrated into the shelf and

therefore invisible to the customer. The sales front consists of passive

shelves without sensor technology with a specific drive system. The

shelf stock is automatically registered by means of a scanner that is

located on the shuttle, allowing the system to directly determine the

replenishment volume in the shelf. Replenishment is carried out by

the system without human intervention, without the customer taking

notice.

The trend in retail is towards larger stores and wider assortments, and

that makes a fully automated shelf replenishment system especially

beneficial.

WITRON manufactures conveyor systems and mechanical components

in their own production facility

Based on the experiences with their OPM and DPS systems, WITRON

has decided to manufacture conveyors and mechanical components

in their own production facility in the future. To accomplish this task,

WITRON integrated FAS FoerderAnlagen Systeme GmbH. Tote AS/RS

cranes, COMs, as well as tray and tote conveyor systems are now being

produced in Saarbruecken and Parkstein (Germany). Driven by the

speed of innovation at WITRON, it became necessary to take up the

development and production of conveyor system elements on our

own. With the expansion of our portfolio, we will now have more

influence on system availability and system performance. The conveyor

system components, especially developed for WITRON solutions, provide

the highest availability without losing sight of WITRON's successful

standardization strategy. WITRON's demand is to provide ideal

mechanical solutions with maximum life cycle.

New OPM Generation with higher performance values

After several years of successful practical experience with customers

like EDEKA (Germany), Mercadona (Spain), and Kroger (USA), WITRON

has improved its fully-automated warehouse and picking system �Order

Picking Machinery� (OPM), increasing its performance by 25 percent.

Our improvements were made by keeping the established OPM concepts

and elements and by re-structuring and simplifying the material flow

process. Our improvements also resulted in a 35 % reduction in the

number of components. The pick performance of the new COM

generation amounts to between 520 and 570 cases per COM per hour,

with clearly reduced energy consumption and operating costs at the

same time. With the new COM-technology, several projects have already

been won.

Walter Winkler: "OPM is the most important innovation in WITRON�s history

so far. The technological advantage over our competitors is measured by

more than 250 sold COM machines within only five years".

The Shelf Replenishment System (SRS) enables the shelf replenishment in

the store without human intervention.

System performance could be increased considerably

with the new OPM generation.

www.witron.de

"We would definitely go for it again"

EDEKA and WITRON welcomed more than fifty high-ranking logistics

managers from retail companies across ten different European countries

to EDEKA�s Hamm warehouse. A tour and panel discussion offered

these visitors an inside look at the processes and material flow within

this highly automated 90,000 square meter warehouse. Throughout

the warehouse tour, the international participants were impressed

with the capability and the practical feasibility of the systems they

saw.

EDEKA Regionalgesellschaft Rhein-Ruhr is the first German company

to have implemented WITRON�s OPM solution (Order Picking Machinery)

for automated case picking. The OPM at EDEKA�s new central warehouse

in Hamm-Rhynern virtually eliminates direct labor for case picking,

while automating handling from receiving through shipping.

The conclusion of Thomas Kerkenhoff, head of logistics and organization

at EDEKA � Rhein-Ruhr, was clear: �Looking back to our experience with

this technology, we can clearly say that we would definitely make the

same decision again. We were aware that our decision for OPM meant

breaking new ground in terms of picking technology�but our

expectations have been met. The entire supply chain, from receiving

through order picking up to the workflows in the stores, has been

optimized thanks to WITRON�s solutions. The individual picking systems

are modular, efficient, and flexible. The use of standardized technologies

has resulted in high system availability. With the distribution center

in Hamm it is now possible for us to provide our 1,000 EDEKA stores

with goods on a daily basis. At peak days some 500,000 trading units

are shipped from the central warehouse. Our approach at Hamm

leads to significant competitive advantages � improved availability,

fewer missing articles at the stores, a higher SKU assortment within

a smaller warehouse footprint, lower costs, improved turnover, higher

market share, and most importantly, more satisfied customers.�

More than fifty logistics experts had a chance to learn about the

capabilities of EDEKA's new central warehouse in Hamm.

EDEKA Rhein-Ruhr and WITRON presented the central warehouse in Hamm (Germany) to logistics experts from 10 european countries.

Boots and WITRON presented the SSC Nottingham (UK)

storage. Even during the busiest time of the year, the second phase

of the SSC began exactly according to the agreed time schedule in

December 2008 with the delivery of the so-called Order Consolidation

Buffer (OCB). Since then the CPS began operation in January this year,

followed by the second DPS phase in March 2009. At present,

approximately half of Boots retail sales stock is despatched from the

SSC. Final acceptance of the complete project is scheduled for autumn

2009.

One of the most challenging tasks during the whole project was the

installation of very modern supply chain technology into existing

warehouse buildings. As a brownfield solution it has been important

to strike a balance between what is technically optimal and what is

possible at the Boots site without affecting existing operations. �WITRON

delivered their promise� is the positive conclusion drawn by the Boots

Supply Chain Director, Gavin Chappell, �we can even say that the results

we expected, in this difficult business case, have been surpassed�.

Around 45 delegates from companies located in the UK, Germany and

the Benelux countries took a close look at the cost efficient and highly

flexible automated central warehouse concept currently being

implemented by WITRON for Alliance Boots in Nottingham (UK).

�Our mission and purpose in the Boots supply chain is to be the best

pharmacy-led retail health and beauty supply chain, and to help our

stores look and feel better than ever thought possible,� said Gavin

Chappell, Supply Chain Director at Boots. He also pointed out that the

Stores Service Centre (SSC) in Nottingham, UK is the key to enabling

Alliance Boots to achieve their future supply chain mission and purpose.

�The WITRON concept is very much aligned with this, which is really

helpful and important for us. We are expecting the completion of the

SSC to produce impressive cost efficiency and sustainable optimization

through the introduction of store-friendly deliveries,� added Gavin

Chappell. "We want our staff to do customer-focused activities for 80

per cent of their time instead of non-customer focused stock counting

and replenishment. The store-friendly delivery features of the WITRON

concept contribute significantly to that.�

In the future, about 2,600 Boots stores will be supplied centrally from

the SSC in Nottingham. The facility can hold up to 30,000 SKUs and has

the capacity to process up to 2.8 million picks, 5,200 inbound pallets,

98,000 outbound totes and 4,640 outbound roller containers across a

20 hour operation. In order to achieve this, WITRON has implemented

the following modular system solutions into an impressive integrated

system: The Dynamic Picking System (DPS) as a tote picking system,

the Car Picking System (CPS) as a roll container picking system, the

Order Consolidation Buffer (OCB) for ready picked totes and a High Bay

Warehouse (HBW) for pallet storage.

The delegates were highly impressed by fully automated picking and

www.witron.com

The participants of the WITRON's Logistics Day at SSC Nottingham (UK).

www.witron.com

KROGER and WITRON - a successful partnership

In an effort to improve distribution efficiency and productivity, Kroger

has once again turned to automation. A new distribution center

supporting the west coast region will be the third automated case

picking facility awarded to WITRON. Kroger�s partnership with WITRON

extends beyond case picking, with two automated piece picking

systems already in operation.

Kroger�s automated case picking experience:

More than 3 million order pallets

This fully automated warehouse will not be the first of its kind. Kroger

was the world�s first implementer of automatic case picking systems

from WITRON. Those systems have shipped a combined total of more

than 3 million order pallets since they went live in 2004 and 2006.

Unlike the first two installations which were integrated inside existing

conventional warehouses, the new site will be a �greenfield� project.

Kroger felt confident embarking on a third automated case picking

facility, as their existing two facilities are delivering more than 4,000

mixed order pallets to over 500 supermarkets every day using WITRON�s

�OPM� (Order Picking Machinery) technology.

After engaging WITRON to improve their piece picking operations in

2003, Kroger recognized that case picking offered even more

opportunities. Kroger worked extensively with WITRON to develop its

OPM system. Fully automated case picking was invented using WITRON�s

material flow expertise, coupled with the operational experience and

grocery industry knowledge from Kroger. When first introduced, OPM

technology was a revolution for the entire retail and distribution world.

The first OPM system in the world was the culmination of several years

of partnership and development between WITRON and Kroger. �We

are very proud of the success of our two existing OPM installations,

which were only made possible with the cooperation and support

WITRON is awarded US-company Kroger's next distribution project

Since end of 2004, Kroger has

automatically produced more than

3 million mixed order pallets using

WITRON�s OPM system.

Kroger�s first fully automated distribution center has been using WITRON�s

OPM technology since 2004. This solution was installed within an existing

conventional facility. It features 16 COMs.

Issuer

WITRON Logistik + Informatik GmbH

Neustädter Str. 21

D-92711 Parkstein

http://www.witron.com

Responsibility

Helmut Prieschenk

co-CEO

Editorial staff

Cornelia Troglauer / Udo Schwarz

Phone: +49-9602-600-227

Fax: +49-9602-600-211

marketing@witron.de

Print

Spintler Druck und Verlag GmbH

Hochstr. 21

D-92637 Weiden/OPf.

Reprint and processing of the information presented, requires the

written permission of the issuer. Despite highest possible diligence,

no guarantee and/or liability is taken over for accuracy of statement.

from the entire Kroger team� comments Karl Hoegen, COO of WITRON

USA. �We look forward to the continuation of our successful partnership

with this third fully automated case picking facility.�

The benefits of an OPM system extend beyond the DC, with a reduction

in effort to fill store shelves as a result of store-friendly pallets. In

addition, transportation benefits can be realized from improved order

pallet density. All in all, the OPM addresses the most significant

challenge facing today�s retailers: improving service levels at the lowest

cost. Those benefits are made possible through WITRON�s innovative

and proprietary COM (Case Order Machine) at the heart of the OPM

system.

WITRON and Kroger, A Partnership In Automation

Kroger�s success with automation is by no means limited to case

picking. In fact, Kroger began its partnership with WITRON several

years ago with a piece picking system. Like the OPM system for case

picking, WITRON�s piece picking system is both innovative and efficient.

Using WITRON�s Dynamic Picking System (DPS), Kroger is able to pick

nearly 1.6 million units per day from a range of approximately 18,000

SKUs. The success of this project has led to the award of a second DPS

for piece picking, marking yet another step in the Kroger/WITRON

automation partnership.

The Kroger Company

Kroger is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio (USA) where it was founded

in 1883. With sales in excess of 70 billion USD and more than 320,000

employees, Kroger is the second largest seller of groceries in the

United States. In addition to its network of more than 2,500 stores,

Kroger operates 42 food processing plants and 27 distribution centers.

Kroger�s stores can be found in 44 major markets under 19 different

banner names across the United States.