LOGILEC, the logistics branch for E.Leclerc, was created in 1996 by the Mouvement E. Leclerc with the aim of controlling and organizing its supply chain. Fast forward to 2018 and outgrowing their existing warehouse, LOGILEC approached Exotec to find out more about a robotic Ecommerce Solution.
The Brief
LOGILEC struggled for space to expand in their existing warehouse and found that during the holiday periods they could no longer achieve their 30% annual growth rate. The warehouse operations involved using manual pickers in a 5,000 sqm maze of shelves and could only achieve a productivity of 30 lines per hour.
The Challenge
When planning the installation of the robotic Ecommerce solution, Exotec had to ensure minimal disruption to LOGILEC’s operations during the set-up period. This made it necessary to plan the roll out of The Skypod System in two separate phases.
The Solution
Exotec’s robotic Ecommerce solution was an innovative system of 50 robots and 30,000 totes. The first phase involved the installation of nearly 10,000 bins and 6 goods-to-man workstations, which left enough space to continue processing orders with the existing system. Around six months later, Exotec added 20,000 additional bins and 2 more workstations without any downtime or disruption.
LOGILEC’s productivity has increased by over 560% after installing the Exotec Skypod System – from 30 lines per hour with manual picking to 200 lines per hour with robotised picking. Typically, Exotec systems achieve 400 lines per hour with one reference per tote. However, several references per tote were required for the LOGELIC system which means the operator must take an additional step to confirm the correct reference. Beneficially, as the Skypod System only takes up 3,000sqm of space, 5,000sqm which was previously shelving, LOGILEC has the potential space to expand and integrate other businesses or a multi-channel site.
The Testimonial
Solange Marie, Agile Transformation at LOGILEC, said: “We needed a solution that could be scaled according to order volumes variations and business growth rate. Our range of products was becoming more and more diverse with fast-moving cultural goods and many different batches for drugstore products. We needed a solution that could be quickly implemented.”
The Benefits
- Reduced labour costs by removing the requirement of a forklift drivers
- Increased productivity by over 560%
- Eliminated manual handling, in turn increasing safety standards
- Can be quickly implemented and in phases
- The system can be scaled according to the business growth rate
- Installation with minimal disruption to existing operations
Want to know more?
Find out more about the Skypod System here.