Inside the Warehouse: When the Material Comes to the Operator
During our customers’ visits to COSMIC, there is one reaction that comes up time and time again.
They enter the production area and observe the departments, the people at work, the technologies, and the way everything is organized.
And at some point, a sentence almost always comes up:
“We didn’t expect all this.”
That sense of surprise is where the questions begin.
- How do you organize production?
- How do you manage materials?
- How do you control the manufacturing processes?
- Which technologies do you use in the different departments?
These are the questions that made us realize that, to truly tell the story of COSMIC, you have to step inside COSMIC.
And that is how COSMIC Insights was born: a journey through our departments, starting from our customers’ questions and finding the answers in the people who experience production every day.
The first chapter begins in the warehouse, together with Giuseppe Stoppa, Logistics Coordinator, who has been with COSMIC since 2019. He explains how the digital vertical warehouse, integrated with dedicated management software, communicates with the company’s ERP system and coordinates, within a single system, both automated storage locations and those in the physical warehouse. The result is a more efficient way of managing picking, materials, and their supply to production.
“How long does it take to find an item and bring it to production?”
This is one of the first questions that comes to mind when looking at our automated vertical warehouse.
Giuseppe explains it very simply:
“Before, it meant physically moving around the warehouse and looking for the material. Today, I enter the item code and, in about 10 seconds, the corresponding drawer arrives directly at the picking station.”
It may seem like a simple difference, but in day-to-day operations, it reduces movement and makes the flow of components to the production departments faster.
Because the time saved in the warehouse is not just about the warehouse: it also means being able to supply production more quickly.
“How do you know exactly how much material you have available?”
Speed, however, means little without control.
“Having certainty about stock levels is essential. I can quickly check the availability of an item, also relying on automated processes that support replenishment management. During picking, the system also indicates the quantity to be picked, while the pointer helps identify the exact location.”
Every movement is therefore recorded and associated with the material that has been picked or stored.
For those managing the warehouse, this means having a more accurate view of stock availability. For those working in production, it means reducing the risk of errors in the materials received.
“And where did you find all this space?”
When looking at the vertical warehouse, one of the most frequent observations is precisely about space.
The answer lies in its structure.
“Making use of vertical space allows us to manage many more items without taking up the same floor area that a traditional warehouse would require. The drawers allow us to organize materials more effectively while also freeing up space within the company.”
“And what about the materials that don’t fit in the vertical warehouse?”
Materials that cannot be stored in the vertical warehouse may be kept on shelves or in other dedicated areas.
However, these storage locations are also mapped within the same logistics software, making it possible to know where a material is regardless of its physical location.
For Giuseppe, though, the most noticeable change is the one that has become part of every working day:
“After working in a traditional warehouse, the difference in finding materials is significant. Today, I can locate and make an item available much more quickly, speeding up the work both when the material is needed for production and when it needs to be managed for sales.”
The Warehouse Is Just the Starting Point
Faster material supply, greater stock accuracy, fewer errors, and better use of space.
Behind a seemingly simple question such as “How do you manage your warehouse?” lies a part of the way COSMIC organizes its work.
And that is exactly the spirit of COSMIC Insights.
Stepping into the departments, starting from the questions that arise when observing them at work, and letting the people who experience them every day tell the story of what really happens inside COSMIC.
