Intralogistics and automated storage systems supplier, Kardex, explains to MHD how it has automated one of its major client’s facilities to improve its order fulfilment operations.
In today’s fast-paced world of online shopping, e-commerce businesses are under pressure to meet growing customer demands while keeping costs low.
One major challenge for warehouses is the high cost and labour intensity of order picking, which can eat up as much as 55 per cent of operating expenses.
Traditional warehouses relying on manual labour for tasks like moving pallets and cases can see up to 65 per cent of their labour time spent on picking alone.
Med24 is an e-commerce company focused on health, beauty, and medical needs, with a specialisation in wellbeing products.
It is committed to providing customers with an outstanding shopping experience, characterised by competitive pricing, speedy delivery, and the widest range of products available in the Nordic countries.
Growing over 400 per cent in the past three years and with more than 10,000 products in stock, Med24 uses automated storage and retrieval systems from Kardex Remstar to guarantee cost efficiency, maximum speed, and customer satisfaction.
Med24 has a workforce of 50 individuals, which includes pharmacy assistants, dieticians, and beauticians responsible for offering professional guidance to customers.
Additionally, 25 employees are assigned to the 1200 sqm warehouse, where they manage orders and incoming goods.
On a typical day, the Med24 picking team handles around 4500 order lines, comprising approximately 1500 orders with three lines per order.
As the inventory steadily increases by 15 per cent annually, exceeding 10,000 items, the warehouse space became insufficient for efficient storage, picking, and packing of products.
Consequently, Med24 sought solutions to optimise floor space utilisation, maintain productivity, and reduce delivery times, emphasising the importance of maximising every square metre available.
To increase the warehouse capacity of Med24, Kardex Remstar installed six Kardex Vertical Carousels (VCM). Three months later, it installed three more.
“This kind of scalability is essential to us,” says Nils K. Træholt, owner and director at Med24.
“Knowing that we can add machines through a smooth process gives us great flexibility as we continue to grow.”
Thanks to the automated storage system, Med24 has optimised its floor space by storing 90 per cent of its products (9000 articles) in a 200 sqm picking area.
The warehouse management software Power Pick system, featuring the colour pick option, has boosted efficiency, enabling it to handle up to 50 orders simultaneously and reducing picking time by 60 per cent.
The system’s user-friendly interface has facilitated the rapid training of new staff, who reach full picking speed after just two to three hours on the job, compared to the typical two to three months.
“The VCMs have proven to be the perfect storage solution for us,” adds Nils. “Excellent space utilisation and high efficiency have made our business much more competitive.”
Kardex has created the Six Steps to Optimising eCommerce Order Fulfillment – this white paper is dedicated to looking at best practices within order fulfilment.
To learn more about the automation and faster picking click here or visit Kardex’s website at www.kardex.com