From Manual to Modular: Behind Ariat’s 10x Picking Transformation
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Discover how Logilec transformed its warehouse with the Exotec Skypod system — increasing throughput and storage density 5x to meet rising e-commerce demand.
About Logilec
Since 1996, Logilec has provided logistic solutions for E.Leclerc, which is a hypermarket and cooperative society chain offering healthcare and leisure goods with more than 800 locations throughout Europe.
The Challenge
Always on the lookout for innovation, Logilec began their search for an automated picking solution for E.Leclerc during 2018. The company was struggling to keep pace with rapid e-Commerce sales growth and seasonal peaks while utilizing a 5,000 m2 maze of shelves to store manually picked goods. This resulted in a strenuous, disjointed inventory storage and picking process for warehouse employees who spent the majority of their working hours traveling several miles while searching for order goods among thousands of product references. An innovative solution was needed that could quickly remedy these issues with minimal disruption to on-going operations and seamlessly expand to meet future growth.
The Skypod System Solution
| Robots | Picking Stations | Replenishment Stations | Storage Bins | Bins/Hour | Rack Height | System Footprint |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49 | 6 | 2 | 26,150 | 1,270 | 9.5 m (31 ft) | 1,497 m² (16,113 ft2) |
Key Benefits
Game-Changing Performance
- Increased throughput by 5x to meet high demands of e-Commerce orders
- Entire height of the warehouse utilized for storage, increasing storage density by 5x
- Ability to store and pick more than 550,000 items within just 1,497 m² (16,113 ft2) — less than one quarter of the size of a football field
- 2 Skypicker stations fully automate the picking process for 50% of ordered goods
Flexibility for the Future
- System installed and expanded three times with minimal interruptions to on-going operations
- Innovative software enables painless adjustments to weekly and annual sales peaks as well as high volume of SKU rotations
“The Skypod system allows us to densify the storage and increase the efficiency of picking while having a more intuitive approach to the tasks of the order pickers.”
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