Food & Beverage
Food and beverage automation for grocery, ambient, chilled and frozen intralogistics environments
Food and beverage logistics is characterised by high throughput requirements, strict quality standards and increasing product variety. In addition to handling large volumes, companies must process smaller order quantities, shorter delivery cycles and growing customer expectations across multiple temperature zones.
Intralogistics automation enables food and beverage companies to manage ambient, chilled and frozen goods efficiently. From incoming goods and storage to order picking, consolidation and shipping, automated systems help stabilise operations, improve traceability and ensure consistent performance in both warehouses and distribution centres.
Essential Technologies for Food & Beverage Automation
Automation solutions in food and beverage logistics must support different temperature ranges, hygiene requirements and product characteristics. With modular system design, these technologies can be adapted to grocery distribution centres, production-related warehouses and multi-temperature facilities.
Conveyor Systems
Conveyor systems enable reliable internal transport of food and beverage products across ambient, chilled and frozen areas. They connect storage, picking, sorting and shipping zones, ensuring predictable material flow even during peak demand and seasonal fluctuations.
With components such as accumulation sections, merges and diverts, conveyor technology supports high throughput and safe handling of a wide range of load carriers.
Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems
Automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS), including pallet and shuttle solutions, enable high-density storage and fast access to food and beverage products.
These systems support FIFO and LIFO strategies, batch tracking and efficient buffering, making them well-suited for grocery distribution, seasonal products and temperature-sensitive goods.
Picking Workstations and Goods-to-Person Systems
Ergonomically designed picking workstations and Goods-to-Person systems support efficient order picking in food and beverage logistics. Items are delivered directly to the workstation, reducing walking distances, manual handling and error rates.
These systems are particularly effective for high-order frequency, small quantities and mixed orders, which are common in grocery and food distribution environments.
Warehouse Management and Control Software (WMS)
Warehouse management and control software provides transparency and control across food and beverage intralogistics operations. Real-time data enables tracking of inventory levels, batch information and order status across different temperature zones.
WMS solutions also support compliance with regulatory requirements, enable KPI monitoring and integrate with ERP systems, forming the digital backbone of automated food and beverage logistics.
Pallet High-bay Warehouse for Optimum Utilisation of Space
An automatic pallet high-bay warehouse makes maximum use of available space. Automation makes it possible to increase efficiency in warehouse operations enormously and to dispense with a large number of industrial trucks for warehousing and handling. The systems can be complemented by further automation solutions such as robot-based picking and palletising solutions.
Increasing production had made it necessary to expand the logistics centre for the Ostfriesische Tee Gesellschaft's (OTG) Lager- und Frachtkontor Süd (OLF Süd) facility [South Freight & Storage]. GEBHARDT took on this task and established a state-of-the-art logistics centre for OTG in Grettstadt, Bavaria.
Customer-Oriented Order Picking
When supplying end customers, high delivery frequency, error-free order picking of a large variety of articles and the handling of a wide range of containers and packaging units are crucial. Depending on the degree of automation, different order picking systems such as Pick by Light can be used. Paperless order picking leads to enormous efficiency gains.
A drinks wholesaler supplies wine and spirits to restaurants and bars in the south of England from its distribution centre. Several pick tunnels, each with eight order picking workstations, are set up in the distribution centre. A sorter in the outgoing goods department is used for targeted sorting to the various delivery routes and destinations.
Multi-Deep Storage for Optimum Storage Density
Multi-deep storage systems offer a high degree of flexibility because warehouses can be organised on a last-in-first-out (LIFO) as well as on a first-in-first-out (FIFO) basis. This warehousing structure is the ideal solution in terms of space-saving storage for a large number of pallets. The system shows its advantages to the full when the warehouse channels can be filled purely according to type.
Bosch Tiernahrung [Pet Food] produces approximately 80 different in-house products which are exported to over 35 countries worldwide. This family-run company from Blaufelden-Wiesenbach in the Schwäbisch-Hall district not only places an emphasis on the high quality of its products, but also attaches great importance to customer-oriented service and a high level of delivery readiness.
How to Get Started with Food & Beverage Automation
Getting started with food and beverage intralogistics automation follows a structured, consultative approach:
Initial consultation
We discuss your product range, temperature requirements and operational objectives across warehouses and distribution centres.
Requirements analysis
Your existing systems, processes and constraints are analysed to develop an automation concept tailored to your food and beverage environment.
Implementation and scaling
Following solution selection, we support implementation and ensure the automation system integrates smoothly and can scale with changing volumes and product mixes.
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