Vitronic Supplies Number One Electrical Retailer
Currys is a previous customer of PJ Gavin & Sons Ltd, so when it required a new parcel sortation system, it selected the conveyor systems specialist as principle contractor. PJ Gavin & Sons Ltd. enlisted Vitronic, leading supplier of camera systems for warehousing and logistics, as its partner for the project. The result is a sophisticated automated parcel handling system.
Currys is the UK’s largest electrical retailer. The chain, including Currys.digital, has some 550 stores nationwide and sells millions of pounds worth of goods annually. Currys distribution teams manage stock going into stores every day of the week and deliver to nearly two million customers’ homes each year. Currys is renowned for its speedy delivery and first class service. Its distribution centres must operate efficiently to achieve this and automated parcel sorting plays a key role in this process.
The Reverse Logistics Warehouse, located in Nottinghamshire, required a new sortation system for faulty products. Vitronic supplied a single topside camera, mounted on a frame to read the top side of items travelling along a powered conveyor. The camera, a sophisticated Vitronic product called VICAMssi, captures high-resolution images of parcel labels, which the system processes. The sorter controller uses the results to direct the products accordingly. Unlike standard barcode scanners, VICAMssi identifies dirty, damaged or handwritten labels – with a 99.9% successful read rate.
The VICAMssi system at Currys exceeds original performance specifications, doubling the initially required throughput. It incorporates a modem that allows remote diagnostics for faultfinding and software updates, and handles a wide range of parcel shapes and sizes.
With the system running 16 hours a day, seven days a week, Currys’ Reverse Logistics Warehouse is more efficient and cost effective. Dermot Gavin, Systems Engineering Manager at PJ Gavin & Sons Ltd, who helped carry out the installation, said; “Vitronic provided a first class service, from initial specification through to implementation. Its performance exceeded our expectations and we would not hesitate to work with Vitronic on any of our future projects.”
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