European Retailer Expands DC, Adds AS/RS: A dynamic picking system improves speed and accuracy

摘要

HEMA, a Dutch retailer, had a problem. It needed a faster, more accurate method for replenishing its 320 stores in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. The solution was to build a USD45 million plus expansion to its existing facility in Utrecht (Netherlands). HEMA chose Witron (Arlington Heights, 111. and Venray, Netherlands) to design the new facility and be the project's general contractor. HEMA is a business unit of Royal Vendex KBB, one of Europe's larger retailers. Its sales grew 8.3 percent in 2004, and it recorded USD5.5 billion in sales last year. There were several reasons why HEMA chose to expand its existing distribution center, explains Theo Heemskerk, HEMA's director of Logistics. It costs USD200 per meter to build in Holland, and there is a lack of available land in a location convenient to its stores. Utrecht is centrally located to all of HEMA's Dutch, German and Belgium stores. The city is a public transportation hub and a large education center with a population of nearly 300,000 of which 50,000 are students. This offers a better-educated, larger labor pool, something that is hard to find outside of large cities, he adds.