Vanderlande’s Director of Warehouse Solutions, Roald de Groot, speaks to MHD about how the automation technology company’s FASTPICK solution has been helping Dutch haberdashery and yarn wholesaler, De Bondt.
Vanderlande’s FASTPICK solution helps De Bondt in the Netherlands to manage growth.
De Bondt is the largest combined haberdashery and yarn wholesaler in Europe. It is a completely one-stop, online shop for retailers in the handicraft sector and ships goods to more than 70 countries across the world.
The company selected Vanderlande’s highly automated goods-to-person warehouse solution – FASTPICK – to help it manage strong growth and maintain high levels of customer service.
Equipping De Bondt with AS/RS and GtP
De Bondt offers an extensive range of around 60,000. Delivering a high-quality service to its customers is essential to this “business with a family”, which was established 50 years ago by the current Managing Director’s parents. Fast delivery is a firm promise, as orders received before 6pm are guaranteed to be shipped on the same day.
When COVID-19 struck, the need to invest became urgent as orders rose dramatically. “The amount we had to process compared to before the pandemic was up by around 150 per cent,” explains Dora Kasper, De Bondt’s Logistical Manager.
“At first we thought the situation would only last up to three months, but it kept going and we started to worry that we would not be able to keep up using our existing infrastructure.”
The buoyant order book and increase in revenue meant the time was right to take the first step in automation, and the company began its search for a partner. “We chose Vanderlande because they were remarkably quick to understand what we needed,” says De Bondt’s Managing Director, Job de Bondt.
“I particularly liked the all-inclusive nature of their solution, which covered our entire process – they are a complete system integrator.”
Central to Vanderlande’s solution is its shuttle-based automated storage and retrieval system, ADAPTO. Order lines are supplied to GtP workstations in compartmentalised totes by shuttles with a high capacity and in a strict sequence.
Operators pick orders straight into cartons in an error-free, single-touch process. They are guided by clear on-screen instructions and intuitive lights that indicate the exact compartment to pick from.
Achieving flexibility with FASTPICK
In terms of housekeeping, FASTPICK gives De Bondt tremendous flexibility, because totes can be split into a maximum of eight compartments. This means quantities of popular items can be spread over multiple totes, which helps to smooth the order flow.
There’s no waiting for a busy tote to become free. In addition, the system gives the business clarity about how much stock it is holding and where it can be found.
“We can offer an even more professional service to our customers because of the new system,” says Dora. “We’re sending out orders in a more reliable way and making fewer picking mistakes.”
Job agrees, adding that the business has been provided with a high degree of functionality on a small footprint.
“The system is hugely adaptable and can easily handle peak times during different parts of the day,” he says.
“Some competitors may have a bigger range than us, but they don’t have our operational excellence.”
Roald de Groot from Vanderlande Australia adds that they are working on some FASTPICK projects in Australia at the moment as well. The flexibility and adaptability combined with the proven ADAPTO technology makes this a very interesting solution for our customers.
For more information on Vanderlande, click here.
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