Project Overview

The AGV project at a raw material warehouse of a daily chemical plant in Mexico focuses on the efficient circulation of multi-category raw materials. By integrating AGVs with intelligent systems, it enables end-to-end automation from suppliers to production lines. Covering a warehouse area of 15,000㎡ and handling over 2,000 pallets of raw materials daily, the project aims to address key pain points of traditional manual handling, including low efficiency, high misallocation rates, and excessive energy consumption.

Project Challenges

1. Dynamic Management of Multi-Category Materials
   There are over 2,000 raw material SKUs with significant size differences (1.2 to 2.5-meter pallets). Manual picking is prone to confusion, and materials need to be dynamically matched with production line requirements in real-time.

2. Path Conflicts in Complex Environments
   The warehouse includes crosswalks, one-way aisles, and elevators, where multiple AGVs running simultaneously can cause congestion. Traditional fixed paths are unable to adapt to dynamic tasks.

3. Equipment Compatibility and Data Silos
   The existing WMS (Warehouse Management System) does not seamlessly interface with the AGV scheduling system, and material traceability relies on manual data entry, leading to inefficiencies.

Project Highlights

High-Level and Low-Level Forklift Collaboration

1. High-Level Forklift:
   Responsible for transporting goods from high shelves in and out of the warehouse.

2. Low-Level Forklift:
   Responsible for delivering materials to the production line.

Intelligent Scheduling System

1. Dynamic Path Planning:
   Real-time congestion avoidance (e.g., time-slot allocation at intersections, reducing conflict rate by 87%).

2. Priority Management:
   Prioritizing material change tasks (when production lines run out of materials) to ensure uninterrupted production.

End-to-End Data Connectivity

1. System Integration:
   The AGV scheduling system seamlessly integrates with the WMS and MES (Manufacturing Execution System), ensuring real-time synchronization of material information (batch, location). Scanning triggers transportation, achieving 100% traceability accuracy.

Project Benefits

Efficiency Improvement

1. On-Time Raw Material Delivery:
   The on-time delivery rate of raw materials improved from 85% to 99.2%, reducing production line downtime due to material shortages by 70%.

2. Emergency Order Production Time Reduction:
   The time required to switch production for urgent orders was reduced from 2 hours to just 20 minutes, enabled by AGV pre-scheduling and flexible path support.

Quality and Cost Optimization

1. Material Misplacement Rate Reduction:
   The misplacement rate of materials decreased from 0.8% to 0.05%, saving over 500,000 RMB annually.

2. Inventory Turnover Rate Improvement:
   The inventory turnover rate improved by 40%, and line-side buffer storage space was reduced by 60%, freeing up 800㎡ of warehouse space.

3. Data-Driven Inventory Management:
   Real-time data recorded by AGVs helps optimize inventory management, reducing stock stagnation and improving turnover rates.