Leveraging Automation for Retail, Ecommerce, or Wholesale Distribution

Most retailers today sell through multiple channels. Therefore, leveraging automation for omnichannel distribution has become an economical way to meet customer expectations for next-day or even same day delivery. In addition to faster throughput for delivery, automation makes the ability to scale possible. So, as your business grows, so can your distribution. Automation also enables the ability to replenish quickly and meet peak demand during seasonal fluctuations like Black Friday or Mother’s Day.

In addition to fast fulfillment, automation also enables high density storage capacity. Plus, automation reduces the amount of labor that is needed, which is crucial for retailers with labor scarcity and thin margins. Value-add services are also easily done with automation. Whether it’s inserting promo items or other marketing materials, it’s easy to customize exactly what is needed to keep your customers engaged. Plus, returns are also easily processed and entered back into the system quickly for fast resell once inspected.

Omnichannel Fulfillment for Retail

Omnichannel fulfillment is characterized not only by the market channel, but also by the huge variations in order size. For ecommerce, these orders typically consist of just a few items. On the other hand, bulk buyers, such as the brick-and-mortar storefronts or regional distribution centers, must get stock replenished frequently. Here, the order quantities are significantly larger and consist of mixed case pallets or complete pallets. In addition, retail outlets want to be supplied in such a way that the use of local resource labor is kept to a minimum. It is crucial to process different types of orders in a cost-efficient way. Plus, retailers must always optimize the customer journey for a seamless experience. Ideally, a customer should be able to purchase a product at any location or channel and be able to return items wherever it is convenient. The intralogistics solutions for your entire retailer footprint must support your customer journey regardless of sales channel.

GEBHARDT Aligns the INTERSPORT Logistics Center with a New Market and Turnover Requirements

INTERSPORT is the number-one sports retailer in Europe, and it also supplies over 1,000 retailers worldwide. With the help of an omnichannel distribution platform, the company is delivering its own product with growing success. Modernization of the intralogistic processes was urgently required because storage space was scarce and the software was outdated. GEBHARDT addressed both of these situations.

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Maximum Transparency Through Real-time Monitoring of Intralogistic Processes

GEBHARDT Intralogistics creates process transparency for INTERSPORT by using the latest software technologies in conjunction with automating the intralogistics. This enables a real time overview of warehouse and performance details of all fulfillment processes. In addition to real time monitoring, INTERSPORT is able to increase process quality and achieve higher throughput with lower error rates. Order accuracy was a decisive competitive factor for INTERSPORT, and GEBHARDT was able to reduce picking errors to save on fulfillment and return costs. Correct master data provides a high level of inventory accuracy. Plus, track and trace data capture supports the digitalized customer journey.

Automation for Ecommerce Retail

Digital processes are essential for those in e-commerce retail. These processes need to extend to your intralogistics to provide customers with a perfect shopping experience. Automation not only helps in meeting customer expectations for short delivery lead times, even at peak periods, but also ensures order accuracy. Plus, the processing of returns is greatly shortened using automation as well. Furthermore, implementing an automation system will address the labor shortage issue, which saves time and boost profits.

SKU proliferation needs high-density storage, and with customers needing various sizes and wanting an array of colors, you need a solution that can provide storage. Automation provides for high stock density—even in smaller real estate footprints. Plus, when you work with GEBHARDT, our team of engineering experts makes automation scalable too. Having an automated solution that can easily expand as your business grows is a must.

GEBHARDT Creates a Fully Automated Shuttle Solution for 11teamsports

Together with GEBHARDT, the football outfitter and sporting goods retailer 11teamsports completely reorganized their logistics at the new headquarters in Germany. With the installation of a high-performance shuttle warehouse and the implementation of the goods-to-person principle, the company is well equipped for the growing challenges of their omni-channel business. As a result, 11teamsports can now handle their multichannel business with both an automated high-bay warehouse and a small parts central warehouse. Wholesale B2B orders are processed from their high-bay warehouse and by using an automatic miniload ASRS solution, while the direct-to-consumer ecommerce orders are fulfilled using the automated tote shuttle solution.

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Automated Intralogistics as an Enabler for the Digitalization of Distribution
in Retail and Ecommerce

Retailers increasingly face the challenge of different distribution channels. With automated storage and order picking systems, one can achieve a high-delivery performance while optimizing space. However, the two individual processes within the distribution center must be linked together with an appropriate material flow technology. Automated storage and picking solutions must be flexible enough to react to future market changes and seasonal peak volumes. An automation supplier must be able to provide not only solutions that can scale, but technology that gives insights into how your facility is functioning while enabling higher throughput.

Automation for B2B Wholesale Distribution and Replenshment

It is crucial for wholesalers to maintain their own competitiveness and be able to operate on today’s thin margins. As prices come under increasing pressure from online platforms, a wholesaler must have processes that are highly efficient. Wholesalers are now understanding that fulfillment intralogistics is becoming a main focus for those who want to deliver a high level of service with more SKU selections. Wholesalers face a variety of challenges such as storage footprint, supplying larger geographical regions, labor shortages, and fast delivery times. Plus, with the addition of SKUs, wholesalers must deal with multiple product characteristics like ambient, chilled, and frozen, it’s crucial to get each truck loaded at the exact time and include proper route sequencing to maintain freshness.

GEBHARDT Creates an Ultra-modern Intralogistics Center at REISSER

The GEBHARDT Intralogistics Group established a state-of-the-art central warehouse for REISSER, a renowned specialty retailer for bathroom furnishings, installation, and heating technology at its headquarters location to enhance delivery capability of all channels and various warehouses. The goal was to implement a sustainable intralogistics solution that would provide optimum support for the company in its future growth, especially as a partner between industry and trade.

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Ergonomic and Secure Workplaces Achieved Through Automation

Reduce absenteeism and address the challenges of an aging workforce, employees losing skillsets, and a labor shortage. When looking at ecommerce in particular, workplace ergonomics have a direct impact on production and employees' high-performance requirements. Integrated workstations like SimplePick® give employees the comfort they need to pick items for orders. In addition, warehouse management software like GEBHARDT StoreWare gives employees visual cues that enable virtually error-free picking. With both SimplePick workstations and GEBHARDT StoreWare WMS, employees have what they need to meet throughput requirements and keep customers satisfied.

Supporting the Retail Industry with Automation

In retail, robust supply chains are crucial. This includes efficient handling of intralogistics, which brings automation to the forefront. Automation for retail must be scalable yet flexible enough to respond to future changes in the market and consumer buying behaviors. Internal logistics must also support new distribution channels and support omnichannel demands. With labor shortages and complex delivery route requirements, automation reduces errors and performs in-sequence routing for deliveries. Plus, software enables loading for compartmental zones. So, your pallets of frozen goods are picked last and synced up with your ambient product pallets, along with the routing schedule, and placed accordingly in the right trailer compartments.

Furthermore, it’s crucial to get direct-to-consumer orders out as fast as possible in an omnichannel distribution center. Automation supports faster throughputs and helps reduce the amount of labor needed to fulfill ecommerce orders.

GEBHARDT Automates the Consolidation Area as well as the Sorting and Packaging Process at Clas Ohlson

The Swedish retail company, Clas Ohlson, strives to beautify its customers’ homes by offering a wide range of smart, simple, and practical products and solutions at attractive prices. Inside the Clas Ohlson distribution center, an automated consolidation area was implemented. Plus, the sorting and packaging process was also automated. As a result, up to 10,500 ecommerce orders are now being processed daily. The GEBHARDT solution provides Clas Ohlson with an effective and scalable system, enabling the company to master the increasing direct-to-consumer ecommerce orders.

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Automation Promotes Sustainability

Retailers also need to invest and promote sustainability and resource conservation, and automation helps meet that requirement. At the same time, automation meets high demands for economic efficiency and boosting profitability. Automating intralogistics leads to a reduction in labor costs over decades and streamlines material flows for efficiencies. Furthermore, automation consolidates space so those expensive real estate footprints can shrink, or the space can be reallocated for additional processes.