KNAPP Automates SICK’s Production Logistics with Open Shuttles and SAP® EWM

KNAPP and SICK have continued to deepen their successful technology partnership by automating production logistics at the SICK plant in Kunsziget, Hungary. Open Shuttle autonomous mobile robots, used in combination with an automated small parts warehouse, deliver to production areas just in time and flexibly transport goods within the factory. An end-to-end SAP^® EWM by KNAPP solution digitalizes the internal production logistics and maximizes the transparency of stock management.

Seamless, automated goods flow in all manufacturing halls

The SICK AG is a world leader in the production of sensor solutions. Their plant in Kunsziget, Hungary, which has around 800 employees and specializes in manufacturing and related processes, forms an essential part of the company’s manufacturing network. In order to lay the groundwork for future growth at the location, SICK significantly increased the Hungarian plant’s capacity by adding three new halls: one for goods-in, one for manufacturing (for a total of four manufacturing halls) and one for the small parts warehouse and picking. These additions form the infrastructure SICK can rely on to handle increasing order numbers. The end-to-end automation solution by KNAPP connects the individual halls seamlessly, optimizes the goods flow and ensures that the location’s production logistics are efficient.

Smart production logistics with Open Shuttles and automated small parts warehouse

The new automation solution supports four central processes: goods-in, storage, picking and production logistics. A total of 27 Open Shuttles form the backbone of the plant’s internal transport logistics. They connect the new automated small parts warehouse directly with the manufacturing halls by dropping off containers at 30 flow racks in the production area and taking the finished parts back for storage. Thanks to the Open Shuttles’ just-in-time delivery, SICK can minimize stock levels while maximizing part availability. The automated small parts warehouse with a stacker crane is the central point of supply for the entire production process. Unfinished and semi-finished goods are stored double and quadruple-deep in three different container types at 52,000 storage locations. Directly connected to the system are two ergonomic Pick-it-Easy work stations, which enable efficient goods-to-person picking. Rounding out the closed, efficient material flow is a conveyor suspended from the ceiling, which connects goods-in with the warehouse. The new solution allows SICK to fully automatically store and retrieve goods, supply goods to manufacturing just in time and to optimize their use of space.

“One of the major advantages is that the system is geared towards the future, with capacity for today as well as tomorrow. We made it possible with the logistics support of KNAPP,” says Laszlo Varga, Supply Chain Manager at SICK Kft.

End-to-end SAP^® system for lasting growth

The decentralized SAP^® EWM on S/4HANA serves as a warehouse management system (WMS) and warehouse control system (WCS). It controls all goods flows and processes the logic of all the automation technologies. To prepare for this part of the project, SICK and KNAPP IT Solutions – the expert within the KNAPP group for SAP^® solutions and services – carried out a pilot project together. The pilot project also served as a training system to introduce the SICK IT team to the new production processes in SAP^® EWM. The new software solution, which includes a material flow system (MFS), precisely controls the load-handling device in the automated small parts warehouse with quadruple-deep storage. Additionally, KiSoft Fleet Control System (FCS), which controls the Open Shuttles, is integrated directly into SAP^® EWM MFS through a REST interface. The well-connected SAP^® EWM controls all storage and retrieval movements, including different methods of supplying goods to production, from planning a complex tugger train path to allocating individual rush orders to individual manufacturing stations. User-friendly interfaces, including the ones on the goods-to-person work stations, round out the SAP^® EWM by KNAPP solution.

From sensors to technology partnership

KNAPP and SICK are two leading technology companies connected by more than just the power of their innovation. SICK sensors have long been an integral part of KNAPP’s automation solutions, providing greater precision and performance. This connection makes the most recent project in Kunsziget, Hungary all the more exciting, as only sensors by SICK will be used in the automation. Integrating the Open Shuttles into an SAP^® landscape is another milestone for the two companies. The entire logistics system is designed so that additional manufacturing halls can be added if necessary, with the foundation for fast, efficient upscaling in the future already laid by the KNAPP automation solutions and the SAP^® EWM system landscape.

The solution at a glance

• Autonomous mobile robots:
  • 27 Open Shuttles for supplying the production areas with goods directly from the automated small parts warehouse
• Flow racks:
  • 22 supply and 8 putaway racks for production
• Automated small parts warehouse:
  • Stacker crane serving 52,000 storage locations across 4 aisles and 28 levels
• Picking:
  • 2 Pick-it-Easy picking work stations
  • 3 goods-in work stations
• Conveyors:
  • Spiral conveyor and conveyor suspended from the ceiling connecting goods-in with the warehouse
• Software:
  • SAP^® EWM on S/4HANA as the WMS and WCS

About SICK

The SICK AG, headquartered in Waldkirch im Breisgau, Germany, is a world leader in intelligent sensor solutions for automating factories, logistics and processes. Since its founding in 1946, the company has become a technology leader that now employs over 10,000 people at 63 subsidiaries around the globe. During the 2024 fiscal year, the company recorded 2.1 billion euros in sales. The factory in Kunsziget, Hungary has manufactured sensors since 1995. Today, the plant and its 800 employees are an essential part of the SICK AG’s manufacturing network.

For more information, visit www.sick.com