viastore modernizes DACHSER warehouse in Herne

The automated high-bay warehouse of logistics service provider DACHSER at the Herne site is 35 years old. The storage and retrieval machines and conveyor technology were no longer up-to-date, the IT infrastructure was inconsistent and outdated - and the risk of failure was high. The company commissioned viastore as general contractor for an extensive and complex retrofit. The new control system and the newly installed viadat warehouse management system went live in mid-October 2024 as the first milestone.

Since its foundation as a freight forwarding company 94 years ago, DACHSER SE has developed into an international logistics service provider with almost 19,000 employees throughout Germany. In addition to its headquarters in Kempten/Bavaria, the company operates 72 locations in Germany and handled around 39 million shipments there in 2023. A reliable infrastructure is essential for such a performance. This was no longer the case for the automated high-bay warehouse at the DACHSER site in Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia: The nine pallet storage and retrieval machines (SRMs) and the conveyor technology have been running for 35 years, the IT infrastructure has grown over this time, and the programming know-how about the previous warehouse management system is now only in the heads of individual people who will soon be retiring. In short, the risk of components or even the entire system failing was very high.

The logistics service provider therefore commissioned viastore as general contractor for a retrofit in May 2023. This included the modernization of the SRMs and conveyor technology, the renewal of the conveyor technology control system, the introduction of the viadat warehouse management system, the viavision system monitoring tool and the connection of the IT to the higher-level DACHSER MIKADO customer system - all during ongoing operations.

After 18 intensive test weekends, during which the viastore team decoupled the existing PLC and WMS and connected the plant to the new systems by Sunday evening, the go-live took place at the end of October. “It went smoothly and the automated warehouse is running at full capacity,” says a satisfied Jochen Rettig, Senior Project Manager at viastore. “The next steps are the expansion of the pallet conveyor system, including safety technology, and the modernization of the nine storage and retrieval machines, and then weʼs done.” The project should be completed by September 2025.