{"id":2558,"date":"2026-03-25T11:28:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T11:28:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.icamonline.eu\/newsroom\/senza-categoria\/picking-beverage-horeca-premium-silo2\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T10:59:58","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T10:59:58","slug":"picking-beverage-horeca-premium-silo2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.icamonline.eu\/en\/picking-beverage-horeca-premium-silo2\/","title":{"rendered":"Improving picking accuracy in premium beverage distribution with SILO\u00b2"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the Ho.Re.Ca. channel<\/strong>, the warehouse is never just a back-end operation. It is where the promise made to the customer \u2014 quality, precision, reliability \u2014 is either kept or broken. Yet for many beverage distributors, premium stock management still relies on traditional racking, relying on operator experience and visual identification. Until the error rate becomes impossible to ignore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The paradox of premium beverage distribution<\/h2>\n\n\n\n \n \n \n \"\"\n <\/button>\n\n <\/figure>\n \n \n \"\"\n <\/button>\n\n <\/figure>\n \n \n \"\"\n <\/button>\n\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Distributing fine wines, champagnes and rare spirits to the hospitality industry creates a clear operational challenge: the higher the assortment level, the greater the risk of error. A Brunello di Montalcino and a Chianti Classico share similar packaging. A Japanese single malt and a Scottish one differ in details that, under operational pressure, are easily missed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a context that promises delivery within 12 hours, handles 160 to 250 orders a day and processes orders including over 200 different SKUs in a single shipment, any mistake has an immediate and measurable cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That cost is not only financial \u2014 a 100-euro bottle delivered to the wrong customer, or not delivered at all. It directly affects brand perception. In the premium segment, an error is not experienced as a simple operational slip: it is read as a mismatch between product quality and service quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

L.P. Distribuzione Bevande: fast growth, rising complexity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

L.P. Distribuzione Bevande \u2014 Lo Presti Domenico & C. S.A.S. \u2014 is a Sicilian company with nearly fifty years of history, now run by the second generation of the founding family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its catalogue spans over 4,000 SKUs \u2014 approximately 1,500 spirits, more than 500 wine and sparkling wine labels, plus beers, soft drinks and food \u2014 served to hotels, restaurants and bars with a guaranteed delivery window of 12 hours from order receipt, with no exceptions, even during summer peaks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Since relocating to its new facility in Aci Sant\u2019Antonio in 2022, the number of references has doubled in under two years. Strong commercial growth \u2014 but also greater variability, more products with similar packaging, and a higher risk of confusion, particularly in the high-value tier where errors are least tolerable.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n \n
\n
\n
\n \n

\n The real problem was not space, it was control\n <\/h2>\n \n
\n Before automation, premium references \u2014 fine wines, champagnes, collectible spirits \u2014 were stored on traditional pallet racking occupying approximately 120 square metres of floor space. Space was not the constraint.
\r\n
\r\nThe picking error rate stood at around 1%. That figure may appear low, but in a warehouse handling 160 to 250 orders per day it translated into daily corrections, verifications, rework and a constant slowdown in operations.
\r\n
\r\nFragile items \u2014 temperature-sensitive wines, crystal bottles, rare labels \u2014 were also exposed to dust and temperature fluctuations that compromised their condition at the point of delivery.
\r\n
\r\nThe root cause was structural: products with similar packaging, managed by operators relying on visual memory. In the premium tier, product quality and process quality cannot be decoupled.\n <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n\n
\n
\n \"scaffalatura\n <\/div>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n\n

<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The solution: a SILO\u00b2 vertical warehouse dedicated to what matters most<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The decision was precise: not to automate the entire warehouse, but to create a dedicated system for the most sensitive and strategically important references \u2014 one that reflects their positioning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The ICAM SILO\u00b2 vertical automated warehouse was installed at the end of the picking route: operators complete picking across the rest of the warehouse and complete each order at the vertical unit, where high-value references are retrieved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An integration into the flow, not a disruption of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Insulation as a quality standard<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The SILO\u00b2 installed at L.P. Distribuzione is insulated, maintaining optimal conservation conditions for the most delicate references. For fine wines and champagnes, cold chain continuity is not an added feature \u2014 it is an integral part of the quality of the product delivered to the end customer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guided identification that eliminates visual ambiguity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

With a capacity of 2,200 six-bottle cases, the unit currently holds approximately 900 references at 70% utilisation. Tray allocation is designed to minimise confusion between products with similar packaging: every reference has an assigned position, not an arbitrary one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The IRIDE light-directed picking system guides the operator unambiguously \u2014 the correct reference is indicated without room for doubt. No label comparison, no interpretation: just retrieval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Integration with existing business systems<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The system is fully integrated with the Stocksystem WMS and Zucchetti\u2019s Bollicine ERP, providing real-time visibility and traceability. FIFO and EDD logic ensure correct product rotation without manual intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The installation by the numbers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The SILO\u00b2 <\/strong>installed at L.P. Distribuzione rises to 10.1 metres<\/strong>, making full use of the available ceiling height at the Aci Sant\u2019Antonio facility to achieve a storage capacity on a footprint of just 23 square metres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The unit is 7 metres wide and approximately 3 metres deep at the base: dimensions that allow it to be integrated into the picking route without altering the layout of the surrounding areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Internally, the machine is organised across 3 storage columns <\/strong>with 124 trays, each measuring 1,953 x 802 mm with a usable load height of 375 mm. Total volumetric capacity reaches 72.83 m\u00b3, equivalent to 194.22 m\u00b2 of storable surface area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two picking\/refilling stations \u2014 both equipped with automatic roller shutters and the IRIDE light-guided picking system <\/strong>\u2014 enable guided, safe picking and storage, with FIFO and EDD logic governing correct reference rotation throughout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The results: from 1% to 0.02% error rate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In approximately ten months of operation, the SILO\u00b2 has handled over 2,300 picks<\/strong>. Errors recorded: two. Both were attributable to operator distraction during a phone call, not to the system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The comparison with the previous figure is unambiguous: from 1% to 0.02%. <\/strong>From one error per hundred picks to two errors per two thousand. In operational terms, this means virtually eliminating corrections, returns, rework and their downstream impact on customer satisfaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 120 square metres freed from traditional racking were not simply cleared: they were repurposed to support further assortment growth. Verticalisation improved the warehouse’s volumetric utilisation coefficient, creating real headroom to keep growing without compromising the 12-hour fulfilment promise<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What this story tells the sector<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There is a lesson here that extends beyond this specific case. The average value of bottles stored in the SILO\u00b2 is around 100 euros. Keeping these references in an automated, insulated and organised system is not merely an operational choice \u2014 it directly reflects the consistency between what is sold and how it is handled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The signals that tell you it is time to consider automation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The L.P. Distribuzione experience is a replicable model. The signals that indicate the moment to evaluate an automated system has arrived are recognisable:<\/p>\n\n\n\n