Emergence of Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems
Emergence of Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems took place in the 1960s; the commonly cited first, a Demag storage and retrieval machine, went into operation in 1962 at a Bertelsmann book club warehouse in Gütersloh, Germany.
What happened and why it matters
Automated storage and retrieval systems let warehouses build upward and move loads without forklift drivers, which is why high-bay pallet warehouses and today's shuttle and cube systems exist. The 1962 Gütersloh machine was still steered from a cabin on its mast with help from punch cards, but it introduced the idea of a crane running in a narrow aisle to serve racks taller than any fork truck could reach. Over the following decades such systems spread to warehouses in Europe, the United States and Japan. Modern AS/RS projects involve the same trade-off: high capital cost in exchange for denser storage, steadier throughput and less labor per pallet or tote.
People
Related events
Sources
- AS/RS Innovation in Supply Chain (Dematic) dematic.com