Project house for SAP logistics supports BASF Agricultural Solutions Germany in digitizing its intralogistics processes at the Ludwigshafen site
Augsburg, April 1, 2022 – SWAN GmbH successfully realized and implemented an SAP EWM solution for connecting production supply at BASF SE’s Ludwigshafen site. In the Agricultural Solutions division, the company relies on SAP-controlled material flow in 24/7 operation along the entire intralogistics process chain. This is ensured by driverless transport systems and automatic pallet conveyor lines: from the storage of raw materials by driverless transport systems to automatic staging at the filling machines and the transport of finished products to the shipping warehouses.
SWAN’s SAP EWM solution was put into operation at a BASF storage and filling plant for crop protection products. From 2017 to 2021, the project house for SAP logistics accompanied the multi-stage introduction of SAP EWM in conjunction with the use of automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and the extensive expansion of automatic pallet conveyor lines.
The connection of the production supply to SAP EWM took place in a multi-location and extensive warehouse complex at the BASF site in Ludwigshafen. The intralogistics process begins with the fully automated storage of raw materials in the goods receiving area using highly automated forklifts. The raw materials are then supplied to the filling machines in the correct process order sequence. The AGVs are controlled via the material flow component of the SAP EWM warehouse management system. A technical connection of the filling machines to SAP EWM ensures a filling process free of mix-ups.
After the manufacturing process, the finished pallets are transferred by SAP back to the AGV fleet and transported towards various shipping warehouses. Laser-assisted positioning and sophisticated safety technology enable the highly automated vehicles to move through the areas together with people and other forklift trucks. A newly installed conveyor system and pallet lifts with SAP-EWM control are used to move between the building levels.
In the AGV-controlled floor and rack storage systems, the pallets are stacked in accordance with a complex set of rules – naturally taking into account prohibitions on storage together and the physical properties of the products and packaging. In shipping, sequenced staging takes place for loading. This process is also fully automated in the interaction of the AGVs and SAP EWM. Only the transport route into the truck trailer or the overseas container is still handled by conventional industrial trucks.
“With the close integration of man and machine in the storage and staging areas, a solution has been created that ensures an SAP-controlled material flow in 24/7 operation,” says Alexander Bernhard, Managing Director of SWAN GmbH. “As part of our customer
lifecycle services, we also support operations after the project activities and accompany optimization processes,” Bernhard continues.
“We have created a fully, vertically integrated system here in cooperation with the company SWAN, which has been successfully implemented on the part of SAP EWM. With this system, our company is ideally equipped for the future,” adds Timo Ricker, BASF process manager at the filling plant for crop protection products in Ludwigshafen.
The provision of the automated guided vehicles and the rack construction were carried out by Suffel Fördertechnik GmbH & Co. KG, the installation of the storage technology, conveyor lines and lifts by Aberle Körber Solutions.
