Industry
Mechanical Engineering & Metal Processing
Maggio Srl: SILO² in the assembly department for agricultural machinery, +25% picking speed, zero inventory errors
- Mechanical and metallurgic
- SILO²
- Spare parts MRO
Automation at the heart of the shop floor: SILO² alongside the assembly lines
To eliminate inventory discrepancies and speed up production order preparation, Maggio Srl, a southern Italian manufacturer of professional agricultural machinery for specialised crops, installed an ICAM SILO² Vertical Lift Module directly in its assembly department, bringing picking right to the assembly lines and eliminating production stoppages caused by warehouse errors.
Product
SILO²
Key results
+25% order fulfilment speed
+50% storage capacity, same footprint
– Zero inventory errors
Key features
– Integration with INTEGRY ERP via ICON and guided picking with IRIDE
– Real-time pick and deposit validation via WMS handheld
Maggio Srl: professional agricultural machinery for specilised crops
Maggio Srl was founded in 1972 in Rutigliano (BA), southern Italy. The company designs and manufactures professional agricultural machinery for specialised crops (sprayers, seeders and inter-row cultivators for vineyards, orchards and greenhouses) distributed through a network of agents and dealers covering both the domestic market and international markets as far as Australia.
With a team of 15 people operating on a single shift, Maggio manages a complete production cycle: from frame fabrication through to assembly, testing and dispatch. A lean structure where any logistical inefficiency translates directly into production delays.
With a team of 15 people operating on a single shift, Maggio manages a complete production cycle: from frame fabrication through to assembly, testing and dispatch. A lean structure where any logistical inefficiency translates directly into production delays.
The logistics challenges
Around 2,000 critical SKUs on wall-mounted racking: nearly half the usable space inaccessible, inventory data unreliable.
Maggio’s production model generates seasonal and structural logistics pressure: agricultural machines are sold and serviced at precise points in the growing cycle, and any component unavailable at the right moment translates directly into a delayed order. Speed of access to the right part is the condition that determines the reliability of the entire production operation.
Before automation, five structural constraints defined the operation:
- inaccessible storage area: wall-mounted racking left the inner half of every shelf unreachable by hand, around half of the total storage capacity effectively wasted
- slow manual picking: operators using ladders and forklifts, 40 minutes to fulfil a standard pick list of 30–50 SKUs
- frequent inventory discrepancies: mandatory pre-checks before starting every production order
- annual physical stocktake: 3–4 weeks of dedicated labour
- production stoppages from discrepancies: 2–3 days lost per incident, up to a week in the worst cases
- sensitive components exposed: PCBs, on-board computers and precision nozzles stored on open racking
SILO² three-column VLM in the assembly department: 38.63 m³ for over 2,000 critical SKUs in 20 m²
A SILO² Vertical Lift Module was installed directly in the assembly department, right alongside the production lines. The system is 6.1 metres in height, configured with 3 storage columns and 2 side-by-side picking and refilling stations, delivering a useful volume of 38.63 m³. This space holds over 2,000 SKUs selected from the most critical items in the catalogue (precision nozzles, valves, filters, hydraulic fittings, on-board computer components, fasteners and special hardware, bearings, gears and seal kits) out of a total of 13,000 SKUs in the warehouse, of which 5,000–6,000 are active. The existing racking was dismantled and the space returned to production.
Dual allocation logic: kit-based picking
Unlike fixed racking where each shelf level was dedicated to a single machine model, items in the SILO² follow a dual allocation logic: product category and destination machine. Components for sprayers, seeders and cultivators are grouped on the same tray or on adjacent trays. When a pick list arrives, the VLM delivers the materials to the station already grouped by production order: an average of 3–5 items are picked per tray movement, with no travel and no manual searching.
ICON–INTEGRY integration and guided picking with IRIDE
The SILO² is integrated with the INTEGRY production ERP through ICON, ICAM’s warehouse management software. Pick lists originate in INTEGRY and are imported into ICON; the VLM sequences the trays accordingly and the operator finds the material already positioned at the station, guided by IRIDE, ICAM’s smart picking device, which indicates the exact SKU code and quantity to pick. Every movement is confirmed via WMS handheld in real time. Replenishment is scheduled during lower-demand periods; critical operations (stock loading, new SKU coding, bulk picks) are restricted to warehouse supervisors.
Key results
More speed, more space, more control: production that never stops.
-
+50% storage capacity, same footprint
The racking occupied the same floor area as the SILO² VLM, but around half of every shelf bay was unreachable. The vertical system uses the full available height: no dead zones, no inaccessible racking.
-
+25% order fulfilment speed
From over 40 to about 30 minutes for a standard pick list of 30–50 SKUs
-
Zero inventory errors
Across 2,000 SKUs managed in the SILO², ICON and INTEGRY sync in real time. Physical checks have been reduced to spot controls on critical items.
-
Production stoppages reduced to rare events
Inventory discrepancies that previously cost 2–3 days of production downtime up to a week in the worst cases are now rare occurrences.
-
+4x throughput at seasonal peaks
At peak the system handles up to 800–900 movements per day, four times a standard day’s volume: production keeps running even when the agricultural season accelerates.
-
Full movement traceability
Every pick logs operator, timestamp and production order. No blind spots between production, warehouse and aftersales.
With the SILO² we finally have a warehouse that works the way we do: by order, by machine, with no time wasted searching. Knowing exactly what’s inside and where it is has changed the way we organise production every morning
Discover the product chosen by Maggio Srl
SILO²: the Vertical Lift Module
From 2 to 7 storage columns, with over 120 tray dimension configurations and a specific load capacity of up to 1,000 kg/m²: SILO² is ICAM’s solution for managing small and medium-sized items, including heavy ones.
Explore SILO²
Want to achieve the same results?
Every distribution hub has its own SKU mix, volumes and seasonal peaks.
Tell us about your setup and we will design the right solution for you.