The "heart" that drives logistics
The control centre ensures that tools get to customers quickly
Lord of the screens: Naim Ajeti of the control centre team keeps his eye on the processes of the entire logistics centre. (Image: Fabienne Böhler).
Naim Ajeti strides swiftly alongside the conveyor belt. Just one minute earlier, a fault message had flashed up on one of his four screens, which the Brütsch/Rüegger Tools control centre team uses to monitor the company's internal logistics centre in Urdorf. "I'll just go and see this for myself", thought Ajeti — and off he marched. It's not long before the problem is discovered: A transport container had shifted slightly out of place in one of the many material lifts. To prevent damage to the goods being conveyed or to the system itself, the lift had stopped automatically. "No problem! We'll have that sorted right away", says Ajeti. He readjusts the transport container with skill and precision before reactivating the system — and the material lift is once again able to perform its duties. This kind of situation can arise in a system of this size every now and then: The Brütsch/Rüegger Tools logistics centre uses a conveyor line that spans 2000 metres and is driven by around 800 electric motors.
Speed, transparency and precision are the main characteristics of a smooth logistics and warehouse management operation. At Brütsch/Rüegger Tools, around 40 people work in the field of logistics and are responsible for ensuring that hundreds of thousands of items are received, processed and shipped correctly every year.
This is achieved not only through human expertise, but also by using state-of-the-art technology. The control centre team plays a guiding role in this process: Its specialists continuously check the flow of goods and carry out both maintenance and minor repairs directly on site. Brütsch/Rüegger Tools customers benefit directly from this.
Certain maintenance and troubleshooting tasks are carried out directly by the control centre experts themselves.
The five-person control centre team is part of the Logistics department at Brütsch/Rüegger Tools, led by Peter Häfeli. "And the control centre plays a key role in the internal flow of goods, external shipping and warehouse management", Häfeli stresses. The control centre acts as the conduit between logistics and management. In other words, it is where logistics, shipping and warehouse management all come together.
Keeping track of everything
As soon as a customer order is received, a requisition is created that indicates to the logistics staff which goods need to be prepared. From this moment on, the order becomes the control centre's area of responsibility. Only when the delivery note has been created and the goods ordered have left the Urdorf site is the task considered completed in the eyes of the control centre. During this time, its team must ensure that all goods arrive in the right place at the right time. Peter Häfeli emphasises:
From picking goods to packaging and shipping, the control centre is responsible for a smooth logistics process.
"It is therefore accurate to say that the control centre makes a significant contribution to ensuring the high level of service quality that is characteristic of Brütsch/Rüegger."
As the actions of Naim Ajeti demonstrate, employees at the control centre are also responsible for keeping the logistics system at Brütsch/Rüegger Tools in good working order. For this purpose, they also make use of the large replacement parts warehouse, which also contains the electric motors used to drive the conveyor belts. These are replaced regularly to ensure that the system consistently operates at the highest level of efficiency possible. But what happens when a fault exceeds the high level of technical expertise found in the control centre? For this scenario, an "on-call service" agreement exists with the plant engineering sector. This means that in the event of a major fault, service employees from this sector are immediately deployed to rectify it.
This multi-layer protection means that you can order tools from Brütsch/Rüegger Tools until 5.30 p.m. and they will arrive at their destination the very next day.