Despite the high growth in orders in the first year, Skygate was able to deliver the performance that Very required. Knapp's automated picking, sorting and packing solution enables orders to be completed for dispatch within 30 minutes, which used to take around four hours at Very's distribution centers. The fastest order to date, received in July 2021, was made ready for dispatch in just 17 minutes. The Skygate distribution center, which operates around the clock, has processed over 40 million items since it opened. There is also great potential for future expansion. The efficiency of the processes in the facility and the consolidation of three locations into a single picking and returns center will enable efficiency savings of up to 30 million euros annually for The Very Group. Skygate's central location in the UK, combined with the on-site rail freight terminal, will enable Very to save well over one million road kilometers per year.

Designed for tips

As Skygate is responsible for handling 95% of the Group's customer orders, Knapp worked closely with Very to ensure that the automation was able to handle peak loads with the necessary speed and accuracy. The logistics technology allows orders to be pre-picked on off-peak days, which enabled Very to easily handle record order volumes on Black Friday and Christmas in 2020. Year on year, sales on very.co.uk increase by over 25 percent in the seven weeks leading up to Christmas, with Skygate 2020 processing 3.9 million orders during this period, at a peak performance of 265 orders per minute.

Knapp's EcoPocket system ensures both fast order collation and efficient returns processing. The pocket sorter technology uses a matrix sorting algorithm to sort items in pockets with RFID into the correct order for order processing at the packing stations. The bins containing the items are retrieved from Knapp's OSR Shuttle Evo storage system and fed to the work stations, where the items are then placed in the pockets. With a single movement, the employee removes an item from the bin, scans it and places it in a bag.

As one of the largest shuttle systems in Europe, according to the company, the automated warehouse has more than 400 shuttles and almost 640,000 storage locations. Together with 120,000 bags in the EcoPocket system and 26,000 pallet spaces in the manual storage area, this results in an inventory of six million items.

One-touch returns processing

The automation solution at Skygate also enables one-touch returns processing, making items available for resale within 30 minutes and refunding customers faster than ever before. Returns are prioritized, with two-thirds leaving the site within 24 hours and the majority of the remainder leaving in just three days.

The large dynamic buffer of EcoPockets on the third mezzanine level in the warehouse enables Skygate to process around 80,000 returns per day. The automation solution also includes a shipping sorter equipped with 96 target ramps and controlled by the Knapp KiSoft software package. The software ensures seamless integration and consists of the Warehouse Management System (WMS), the Warehouse Control System (WCS) and machine control systems.

Commissioning in lockdown

"We are immensely proud to have developed a brand new distribution center from concept to implementation in just three years," says Anton Tschurwald, Vice President Retail Solutions at Knapp. "Thanks to the great partnership with our customer, we were able to deliver Skygate within budget and on time - despite going live during lockdown."

In order to keep to the schedule for the complex project despite the lockdown restrictions, Knapp worked with The Very Group to develop the infrastructure and processes in just one week. This was necessary so that the UK team, supported by Knapp technicians working from Austria, could continue with the ramp-up of the system. "The considerable challenges were overcome thanks to a powerful combination of teamwork and technology," says Anton Tschurwald.

The article appeared in materialfluss 1-2/22.