Spare parts delivered to professional kitchens faster than ever

Optimized storage space enables faster and more efficient deliveries

Dieta Oy, one of Finland's leading suppliers of complete professional kitchens, helps its customers thrive. When service needs arise, fast spare part deliveries contribute to achieving this goal.

Dieta Service's central warehouse in Helsinki holds over 6,000 original spare part items, which are delivered to various locations in Finland within 24 hours if needed. The extensive assortment ensures successful and fast service actions.

Challenge: We needed more space and faster deliveries

As after-sales operations expanded rapidly, the company had to find a new solution for spare parts storage. "We needed more office space for after-sales operations and workshop areas but had to stay within the same walls. A traditional shelving system would take up significantly more floor space and wouldn't allow us to utilize room height," says After-Sales Director Jyri Lankinen.

Today's customers require faster spare part deliveries, so there was more pressure to improve the company's operational efficiency.

Solution: Spare parts are always readily and efficiently available at Agilon

In 2017, Dieta ordered a Konecranes Agilon material handling and management system, which included one robot and two access stations.

Previously, the spare parts storage occupied 168 square meters of floor space. Now, Agilon occupies only 39.6 square meters, along with some additional space around the access stations. This change frees up 100 square meters for other uses. The savings from this reduction in space equals 100 m² multiplied by the rent per square meter in Helsinki, calculated monthly. In spring 2019, the system was expanded by 25%, bringing its current dimensions to 12 meters in width and 5.6 meters in height.

The area designated for storing spare parts also includes Dieta's outlet, which now showcases a clean and professional appearance for customers shopping there. Agilon is integrated into Dieta's Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system and manages approximately 4,500 spare parts.

Ensuring real-time inventory management 

Agilon streamlines the process of collecting spare parts, eliminating the need to search the warehouse. You can quickly check stock levels at the portal or access station. When Dieta's service staff requires spare parts, they are always available in the warehouse, ensuring no waiting time.

By pre-picking parts and placing them close to the access station doors, Agilon accelerates the picking and delivery process. While Agilon picks one product, other spare parts can be packed and labelled simultaneously. Using Agilon to collect parts significantly saves time daily.

Incoming parts are stored in Agilon through a single access station, streamlining inventory management and enabling easy reorganization. 

Promoting good work ergonomics with the automated Agilon warehouse system

Before Agilon, we arranged shelves based on established principles, but accommodating new suppliers' products or updated models from existing suppliers was challenging. With Agilon, Dieta saves significant time on stock maintenance and rearrangement—an estimated equivalent of one full-time employee's daily workload.

Now, spare parts are available faster for service visits since service representatives and on-call subcontractors can pick up parts directly from the system without searching or asking the spare parts staff for help.

Additionally, the system has streamlined occupational instructions and guidance, making it easier and faster for new and temporary employees and team members to understand their roles.

A significant drop in the inventory need

Information about any person who has removed a spare part from or put one into Agilon is registered into the system, contributing to correct real-time balances and avoiding sudden critical spare part shortages. Inventory need has decreased. The inventory includes only large parts that do not fit into Agilon. Earlier, it took four people one weekend to do inventory, whereas now it takes three less than one day.

User safety and ergonomics have improved, as the ergonomic access stations remove the need to reach up for high shelves or crouch to reach low shelves. Seldom-used parts no longer collect dust.