GEODIS Case Study

About GEODIS

GEODIS is a leading global logistics provider and is ranked no. 6 in its sector across the world. Widely regarded as one of the foremost leaders in all aspects of the supply chain, GEODIS has a direct presence in 60+ countries (and a global network covering nearly 170 countries) and more than 49,400 employees. The logistics leader is committed to serving people by delivering their goods all around the world with innovative, sustainable, and ethical logistics. To learn more about GEODIS click here.

The Challenge

GEODIS’ warehouse in Nashville is responsible for fulfilling orders for multiple brands with a diverse range of products that is always changing. In order to achieve their objectives, GEODIS realized the need for a high performing, flexible, and efficient order fulfillment system.

A high-performing system was required to process thousands of orders each day while also adapting to urgent order requests. Given their lack of direct insight into their clients’ SKU changes, as well as projections for peak seasons and long-term growth, GEODIS required a highly flexible system. High on their checklist was a system capable of quickly and independently expanding throughput and storage capacity to meet current needs without incurring additional capital expenditures on unneeded equipment or causing disruptions to ongoing operations.

Matt Street, GEODIS’ Vice President and General Manager of eLogistics, stated, “We don’t always know the specifics of what we’re going to receive from our customers, so we had to design with flexibility in mind and Exotec^® certainly gave us that.”

Due to the ongoing labor shortage, GEODIS needed a solution to automate the laborious and inefficient tasks associated with manual order picking. These tasks included walking long distances each day and lifting heavy items, which were time consuming and strenuous for employees. GEODIS was in search of a solution that would not only alleviate these issues, but also promote a more employee-friendly and productive work environment.

The Solution

Results

1. Enhanced Performance

• Three ergonomic picking stations capable of processing 800 bins per hour with three employees
• Access to all SKUs in the system within two minutes or less enables ability to service urgent order requests for fast shipping

2. Increased Efficiency

• System installed on schedule in just seven months after contract signing
• Double deep storage with 30-foot-tall racks utilizes entire height of warehouse for high density storage
• Provides ability to save on capital expenditures by renting additional robots and adding them to their system within minutes to meet peak season demand