SSI Schaefer opens first China technology centre for intralogistics solutions

When Schaefer Systems International (SSI Schaefer) opened its first technology centre in Kushan near Shanghai this year, it attracted many manufacturers and third-party logistics firms from across China. A world-renowned specialist in intralogistics, the family-owned German company built the technology centre to allow market players to interact and share experiences as SSI Schaefer unveils its latest technologies.

One of the key exhibits is the highly efficient SCS900 goods-to-person picking station. A standalone system that can be easily integrated into existing warehouse systems, the horizontal carousel has a delivery capacity rate of up to 1,000 totes/hour and can handle up to 6,000 stock keeping units.

“What we are offering is to reduce workforce in countries with labour shortages such as Singapore, Hong Kong and mainland China,” says Brian Miles, regional managing director for Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa. “Our systems concentrate on cutting staff movement in the warehouse by bringing the goods to them while ensuring accuracy, speed, product security and ergonomics for warehouse personnel.”

SSI Schaefer draws on 80 years of accumulated expertise in the field, carefully passed down along three generations of the Schaefer family. With its regional headquarters in Singapore, the company has been in Asia for more than 30 years, offering complete turnkey solutions from conceptualisation of bespoke warehouse systems through to staff training and maintenance. Moreover, manufacturing facilities in Malaysia and China allow SSI Schaefer to provide all the necessary hardware from workstations and waste bins to standard industrial storage solutions and racking for automated storage and retrieval systems together with tote conveying systems.

“Key to our success is the support we get from our directors and shareholders in developing new technologies the company can bring to the market,” Miles says. “In particular, we have devoted a huge portion of our capital and engineering hours in developing our WAMAS Logistics Software.”