Reliability seals deal as e-tailer can’t afford downtime

The shop is one of the largest specialised German-language discounters offering electrical and household items. Rapid growth forced redcoon to establish a new logistics centre - a 53,000 sq m facility that stores about 400,000 electronic products.

Conveyor belts and trucks operate in the warehouse, either storing goods or transporting picked items to the dispatch area.

"Stock articles leave the premises within 24 hours of ordering," says Jens Neuner, logistics director of Redcoon. Loading and unloading of trucks takes place at 48 loading gates. 

The significantly larger storage area and larger turnover volume expected made it necessary to purchase additional warehouse equipment and Yale participated won the tender.

"All the equipment was tested and evaluated by the logistics staff," Neuner explains. "Important criteria included functionality, ergonomics and reliability.

"The local dealer, HFT Hebe- und Fördertechnik supported our drivers during the tests, explaining various truck functions such as the speed control settings… our staff really appreciated that.”

redcoon moreover requested that the supplier should not only be responsible for maintenance and service of the new warehouse equipment, but also for the trucks already owned by the company. Yale proved flexible enough to take on this task, and for this reason was awarded the contract. 

The new trucks supplied by Yale are four MR series reach trucks and seven MPX series pallet trucks. Replacement batteries and removal frames are available for all Yale trucks to safeguard smooth operation even at peak times.

"As an e-commerce business, failure-free operation is tremendously important for us, because customers can order 24/7," explains Neuner. "We can't afford to have downtime – especially during peak ordering periods, when order volumes can double quickly."

The high-bay racks are where the Yale reach trucks show their strengths, ensuring safe storage and removal of goods at the top rack level height of 8.5m. The trucks are equipped with a lift height pre-selection feature facilitating safe handling of the goods even at such heights.

MR14H reach trucks have a capacity of 1.4 t and are very agile in the aisles thanks to a 360-degree steering system. 

To make truck operation as comfortable as possible for the drivers and to prevent symptoms of fatigue, the trucks come with generously sized cabins with plenty of head- and legroom, ergonomic operating levers and an adjustable full-suspension seat that significantly reduces whole body vibrations.

Once the reach trucks have deposited the goods at the dispatch areas, the Yale MP20X-series and MP20XD-series pallet trucks with a capacity of two tons take over.

The MP20X pallet trucks are equipped with extended forks so that they can take up to two pallets in a row. Thanks to a combination of mast and initial lift, MP20XD pallet trucks can transport two loads weighing one ton each simultaneously (double pallet use).

All pallet trucks are equipped with a driver platform and side protection and a convenient and easy on/off access was considered particularly important by redcoon as drivers have to get on and off the truck frequently. The low-mounted tiller arm minimises the steering effort while the ergonomic design of the tiller heads with angled handles and responsive operating elements also ensure easy operation. All this helps to speed up loading of the lorries in the dispatch area via the dock plate.