Conveyor technology & components
Processing returns non-stop
With an automation project, the Popken Fashion Group has rapidly accelerated its returns processing, more than tripled throughput capacity in the existing area and increased productivity by around 30 percent. The basis of the comprehensive modernization solution is the modular conveyor platform and the 24-volt RollerDrives from Interroll.
The Popken Fashion Group's central warehouse in Rastede, which is also the company's own logistics hub, handles all of the omni-channel company's fashion items. Around 350 employees work in two shifts in this organizational unit, which covers a total area of 55,000 square meters. They ensure that the global flow of goods to end customers, to the company's own 650 or so stores and to business partners runs smoothly. At the same time, the distribution center also processes returns from customers who have ordered their fashion outfits from the catalog or online store, as well as returns from the sales outlets.
Returns management as a strategic success factor
"For our fashion company, which has decades of experience in the mail order business and has been operating its own online store since 1999, efficient returns management has always been one of the strategic success factors of our business. With the rapid growth of e-commerce, its importance has increased further in recent years. For this reason, we have decided to modernize our returns processing and make it fit for the challenges of the future," reports Thomas Wetter, Operations Manager of PFG Logistics GmbH, which is responsible for the logistics activities of the Popken Fashion Group in Rastede. The aim of the retrofit project was not only to significantly increase speed and productivity, but also processing capacity. In addition, the returns were to be quickly reintegrated into the ongoing distribution process in order to minimize the capital costs tied up in this process.
"To future-proof our investment, it was important for us to use a modular conveyor solution."Frank Blecker Project Manager at PFG Logistics GmbH
Controlled and quiet material flow
Together with Cars & Rails Lagertechnik und Consulting GmbH from Nordhorn and the Essen-based project office IntraLogistik Beratung GmbH, the logistics experts at Popken Fashion Group developed an automated material flow solution that covers the processing of flat-packed goods from receipt of the returns to their preparation for dispatch. The employees' workstations and the automated packaging machines, which can process up to 3,600 items of clothing per hour, were connected via Interroll's Modular Conveyor Platform (MCP). The drive is provided by Interroll RollerDrives, which operate energy-efficiently and quietly thanks to their 24-volt technology design. The conveyor zones are controlled separately, enabling a zero-pressure accumulation material flow during returns processing.
Flat goods in polybags are conveyed automatically
The flexibly designed conveyor solution can handle all types of goods to be transported. Depending on the respective work step, parcels, containers, textiles or even polybags are conveyed seamlessly via belts or rollers through the returns area. The conveying of "soft" polybags, which play a particularly important role in the fashion industry, is a pioneering development: For example, the Interroll solution not only transports garments freshly packed in polybags via belts, but also uses a roller solution to save space on the conveyor line.
"To future-proof our investment, it was important to us to use a modular conveyor solution that can be reconfigured or expanded if requirements and processes change. In addition, as a successful omni-channel company, returns management is one of our business-critical infrastructures that must operate with maximum availability in continuous operation," explains Frank Blecker, Project Manager at PFG Logistics.
Popken Fashion Group
The Popken Fashion Group, headquartered in Rastede near Oldenburg in northern Germany, comprises the fashion companies Ulla Popken GmbH and Gina Laura GmbH & Co KG. The two companies include their own brands Ulla Popken, GINA LAURA, JP1880 and Studio Untold. As an omni-channel company, the Popken Fashion Group sells its fashion range worldwide - in over 30 countries and around 650 stores, by mail order and online and via selected B2B partners. In total, the Popken Fashion Group employs more than 4,000 people. Around 1,000 employees work at the headquarters in Rastede.
Employees actively involved in the design
Before the new solution was installed during ongoing operations, the automated conveying and packaging solution was extensively tested. In addition, the employees in the returns area were actively involved in the specific design of their new working environment. This allowed important suggestions to be incorporated into the project - an aspect of the redesign that is particularly important to Thomas Wetter: "A modernization project doesn't just have business, technical and organizational dimensions. Fundamental changes can lead to uncertainty. This feeling can only be eliminated by actively involving the employees. This project has shown us once again that we can only ensure optimum performance in the supply of goods with the ideas, expertise and commitment of the entire team."
www.popken.dewww.interroll.com
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