Home electronics giant builds automated DC

The retailer sells a wide range of electronic products online and in over 180 store locations. The company, part of the Coop Group, required the integrated cross-channel supply chain solution to enable it to substantially expand its product range to 260,000 different items on the online retail platform of sister company Microspot.ch. 

The new 22,000 sq m shuttle warehouse is supplied via a passage link from the existing high rack warehouse. The new facility has six 80-metre aisles, 126 Stingray shuttles and 65,700 rack spaces, allowing up to 4,200 container movements per hour. The shuttles deliver to six goods-to-person PickCentres, utilising one-source-to-one-target assignment to virtually eradicate picking errors. Upstream sequencing provides the flexibility required for changing order structures.

Three kilometres of KingDrive conveyors link the goods-in, high rack, picking and shipping areas, with the energy regained in braking being fed back into the system and reducing energy consumption by as much as 30 per cent compared to conventional systems.

TGW's warehouse control system, including the TGW software suite for material flow calculation, is said to make the new logistics centre one of the most advanced of its kind.