Find out more about the Toyota I-Site: http://isite.toyota-forklifts.eu/ As a company with great awareness for environmental sustainability, Toyota Material Handling Europe (TMHE) was delighted to assist logistic provider Rudolph in optimising Alnatura’s material handling process. Alnatura is a German chain store specialising in organic foods. Its logistics centre is located in Lorsch, Germany. Rudolph was looking for a more efficient solution to their picking process, so they contacted TMHE for a solution. A fleet of BT forklifts, including the BT Optio series and the BT Staxio series, now assists in the process, while the Toyota I_Site helps to reduce energy consumption and improve safety.

1. Case Story / Alnatura Distribution / Logistics
Commitment to sustainability
Green Logistics Responsible Material Handling
The topic “Green Logistics” is high on the agenda at Al- When selecting the equipment, we were looking for a
natura. The chain store specialized in organic food busi- supplier whose energy and environmental policies cor-
ness established its own logistic centre at the end of responded with Alnatura’s ideas”, says Erik Duckstein,
2009 in Lorsch (Germany) in order to supply its trading Key Account Manager Consumer Goods at Rudolph Lo-
partners as well as Alnatura stores in a more efficient gistics. “We were particularly convinced by the BT Reflex
and environmental-friendly manner. By grouping the flow reach truck. The device saves resources and therefore
of goods, many kilometres have been saved. For mana- fits perfectly with Alnatura”, he adds.
ging the warehouse and the picking, the company relies
The environmental awareness already played a major
on the services of the Rudolph Logistics Group and the
role in the design of the BT Reflex. The reach truck is
trucks and fleet management solution of Toyota Material
designed for clean and energy efficient operations and is
Handling Deutschland.
characterized by a high degree of recyclability at the end
of its operating life. Ultimately, the reach truck was not the
Rudolph Logistics Group only one to convince. Next to it, Rudolph uses four other
Rudolph Logistics Group was in charge of planning and types of vehicles from Toyota Material Handling in the
implementing the warehouse-processes and the mate- distribution centre. These include electric pallet stackers
rial usage. Now this logistics specialist from Baunatal, and pallet trucks, as well as order pickers and forklifts.
together with 75 employees, operates the logistic inside “In the warehouse we have a fully-owned truck fleet from
Lorsch warehouse. Bio-products are stored and picked Toyota Material Handling,” says Cord Ellerbrock, Branch
within a space of 20,800 m². Cooling and heating coils Manager Lorsch.
make sure to always keep the right temperature. The
warehouse and the office building are designed accor-
ding to ecological criteria: for instance, the façade is Facts about Rudolph Logistics Group
made of larch wood from the neighbouring Oden forest. The Rudolph Logistics Group is a globally active logistics provider
The approximately 3,000 different products from the Al- with more than 2,200 employees at 36 locations in Germany, Eu-
natura range benefit from a high-bay warehouse with rope and the Arabian Peninsula. The Group is headquartered in
Baunatal near the geographical centre of Germany. The company
17,000 pallet positions and a 3,500 m² bulk storage for
develops and provides comprehensive logistics solutions for a wide
fast moving items. To organise the warehouse for all em- range of industries, the focus being on the Automotive, Transpor-
ployees and suppliers in a clear way, the different areas tation, Consumer Goods, Industry and Fulfillment business units.
are indicated by different colours. Thus, the columns for
the incoming goods of the cross-docking warehouse are
orange, and the ones for the outgoing goods in purple.
“We must make sure that we offer the Alnatura custo-
mers first-class services. This includes the use of reliable
trucks as well.
www.toyota-forklifts.eu

2. The Rudolph Logistics Group also chose to use the Toyota I_Site fleet
management solution. It is a dedicated reporting and consultancy ser-
vice that provides businesses with all information they need.
TP - Technical Publications, Sweden — 749689-040, 1211
By using the low-level order pickers BT Optio Series,
most of the Alnatura dry foods are picked at two levels.
To pick an item for a store, three kilometres must be par- The BT Reflex is designed for clean and efficient energy, efficient ope-
tially covered. This requires a lot in terms of productivity rations and is characterised by a high degree of recyclability at the end
and speed. The BT Optio has a platform height of one of its operating life.
meter and allows employees a grip height of up to 2.80
meters. This allows for optimised picking routes by divi- In addition a specialist combines the data from the ma-
ding into half the need for an order picking area. With ap- chines with data from the TMHE service database, ana-
proximately 40,000 daily picks, it produces a significant lyses the data on behalf of the customer and provides
performance gain. The three-wheel Traigo 48 electric se- advice on how to improve productivity, safety and reduce
ries trucks and the electro-stacker BT Staxio series take costs. “This forklift on-board system is very simple to set-
over the discharge of the truck. The BT Staxio is particu- up and does not require complicated software or hard-
larly suitable for the use of double-deck, and therefore ware installation on site,” says Udo Feix, Key Account
also for the handling of the pallets in the truck. Manager at Toyota Material Handling Deutschland.
Toyota I_Site on-board system also includes access con-
Modern fleet management with Toyota I_Site trol for drivers, which helps to improve safety at work.
In order to continuously improve processes in the dis- This gives access to authorized employees of the com-
tribution centre and thus to drive down costs, Alnatura pany only, and the forklift is protected from being used
and the Rudolph Logistics Group also chose to use the by an unauthorized person. Furthermore, it records the
Toyota I_Site fleet management solution. The system number and power of the collisions per driver and device.
measures the performance of the truck fleet and offers The battery monitor supports a better battery manage-
the possibility to monitor and control remotely decisive ment. Thus, the energy consumption is reduced and the
factors like operating costs, productivity and security by battery life is extended. This is how Toyota contributes to
computer. The operating data from the truck fleet are the environment. “It is important for us to keep the energy
transferred using wireless technology to a central data- consumption to a minimum. This is why we opted for To-
base. The data are available via a web interface. yota’s fleet management solution”, says Erik Duckstein.
TOYOTA MATERIAL HANDLING EUROPE, MANAGING THE TOYOTA AND BT MATERIALS HANDLING BRANDS IN EUROPE