The New Linde V modular impresses at Richter+Frenzel

How can you get the right quantity and right quality of the right product to the right place at the right time for the right cost? For the sanitary and building services experts Richter+Frenzel, the answer to the six Rs of logistics is crystal clear: you need a seventh R – the right truck. The latest member of the fleet is the new Linde V modular vertical order picker.

Modern bathrooms often appear pristine. You do not see any exposed pipes, odour traps or shut-off valves, and everything looks clean, neat and well-designed. If you want to know the unimaginable number of individual parts that make up this kind of “work of art”, you will have to ask someone like the sanitary experts from Richter+Frenzel. The well-known wholesaler of sanitary and heating technology has its Logistics Center South (LCS), its biggest goods handling site in Germany, in the Bavarian town of Reichertshofen.

Here today, there tomorrow

“We operate 30,000 square metres of covered storage area on site and a further 30,000 square metres in the open air”, describes Logistics Manager Thomas Bartels. For the sanitary and building services division alone 30,000 different items are stored here, and there are also 5000 products for the civil engineering and environmental technology segments. So there really is a lot of variety at the site, which was established in 2019. This poses a serious challenge for internal goods handling. “Richter+Frenzel sees itself as the link between industrial companies and trade businesses. The latter order the required products for their end customers and usually have them early the next day at their premises or on the building site – even for orders received up to 8 pm.”

Orders picked at heights of up to 8.50 metres

An ingenious system, in which a total of eleven distribution sites (DS) spread throughout southern Germany are grouped around the Reichertshofen logistics centre, supports Richter+Frenzel's mammoth logistics operations. “On the one hand, our job is to fill up the DS warehouses – for example with quick-moving products such as standard washbowls, however, we also pick customer orders from the DSs”, explains the logistics boss. In addition, the LCS acts as a distribution site for the Ingolstadt region. This means that around 40 truck tours converge in Reichertshofen every day. In order to ensure that the right goods for the trucks are brought together as quickly as possible, among other things the logistics team picks orders in a wide-aisle warehouse with eight levels, which are up to 8.50 metres high.

A fragmented process – with huge potential

Since commissioning the site in 2019, the company has been using four Linde V modular man-up vertical order pickers for this job. “The truck has been a real success for our man-to-goods processes from the third storage level upwards – and allows our people to pick quickly, without putting them under strain. So, we were excited when Linde MH offered us the opportunity to try out a field test truck from the latest V modular generation as part of a live test”, reports Bartels. Anna Keilbach, the Product Manager responsible for this truck category at Linde MH, adds, “order picking is a very fragmented process, in which improving even small details can have measurable effects at the end of the day because picking requires even less effort, you can navigate around corners more safely or enjoy a less obstructed view”.

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The name says it all for the Linde V modular

In the disciplines mentioned, the new generation of the Linde V modular sets new standards, to say nothing of the unrivalled picking heights of up to 14.5 metres. Keilbach goes on to say that the opportunity to adjust the V modular to individual needs in a similar way to a modular system is also crucial. “For example, in the triplex area we offer two different mast concepts: one in which the free lifting cylinder is integrated into the mast profiles, and a new variant without free lift, which allows the mast to be extended quicker. In addition, the redesigned colour information display can be installed both on the mast end and on the load end”, says Keilbach, outlining a small selection of the options.

That’s how it should be, that’s how it can continue

Now, in November 2022, the new Linde V modular has been in use at Richter+Frenzel for around nine months. Robert Heubeck, Head of Operative Logistics, describes how it has proven itself in the three-shift operation: “We know the predecessor inside out and can therefore make a direct comparison. For example, the view through the mast and over the counterweight has been further optimised. There are also new storage options in the cabin. This means that the order picker has even more freedom of movement.” In addition, according to order picker Tobias Hadwiger, the side tilting barriers make you feel safer when working high up. It is therefore hardly surprising that based on the unanimous opinion of everyone involved, the new Linde V modular will be a very welcome addition at Richter+Frenzel, even after the end of the field test …