Quick storage and retrieval

DECOSTAR BV is a home decor and accessories wholesaler supplying customers with products for both indoor and outdoor use. Based in the Dutch city of Apeldoorn.

From its 21,000 m² distribution centre in IJsselmuiden, the company sells own-brand products and those from other select manufacturers to wholesalers, retailers and chain stores in both the Netherlands and abroad. The centre spans four warehouses storing around 11,000 items on 29,000 pallets.

Challenge

Decostar has grown rapidly over recent years, and this expansion has called for increasingly efficient warehouse processes. To effectively manage the surge in volume of incoming and outgoing pallets, the company has needed to gradually upgrade and expand its fleet of equipment over the years, with the aim of speeding up its distribution centre processes and making them more efficient.

Solution

Decostar placed its first orders with Crown in 2013 and since then it has continued to add to its fleet of trucks. To load and unload pallets at the uppermost levels of the fourteen-metre-high warehouse, Decostar deploys SP Series high-level order pickers and ESR Series reach trucks with Xpress Lower, along with WT Series platform pallet trucks and GPC Series low-level order pickers. The company also has a WAV Series order picker in the showroom in Apeldoorn.

Result

Here’s what Decostar has achieved thanks to its modernised fleet of equipment:

• 15.5 percent savings on reach truck movements
• 30 pallets moved every hour as opposed to 25.5 thanks to Xpress Lower
• Increased fleet reliability
• Annual savings in the five-digit range
• Always operate the right number of forklift trucks during extreme seasonal fluctuations

Decostar BV Warehouse supply chain manager Bastiaan Vosselman, says: “What really stands out is just how quickly we can lift and lower pallets with the ESR reach trucks. This saves us a lot of time as we’re not standing idle in front of a particular spot for so long. Our highest shelves are over 11 metres high, so having faster workflows soon adds up and saves us a considerable amount of time.”