New forklift trucks speed things up at Decostar

The company's customers include wholesalers and retailers, which Decostar supplies from its 21,000 m² distribution center in IJsselmuiden. The company's growth has also had an impact on warehousing, which is why capacities have been continuously expanded. In addition to a modern new building, this includes storage space rented from a neighboring service provider. Currently, around 11,000 items are stored on 29,000 pallets in the distribution center, which has grown to three halls, with many containers with orders from the Far East reaching the warehouse every year. The increased handling volume has also increased the demands on Decostar's intralogistics. The forklift fleet had to be modernized and expanded to cope with the growing number of pallets stored and retrieved. The focus was on speeding up processes and making them more efficient.

Long-term partnership creates trust

Decostar relied on its long-standing business relationship with Crown to meet the high demands. The collaboration initially began in 2013 with seven forklift trucks. The initial equipment included four pallet trucks from the WT series and three order pickers from the GPC series. Just one year later, Decostar expanded its fleet with two SP series order pickers for the storage and retrieval of higher pallets.

Crown forklift trucks have been used for order picking for over 11 years and the fleet has now grown to 16 vehicles. This currently includes five pallet trucks from the WT-3040 series for loading and unloading the trucks and for order picking. The transport forks, which have been extended to 2,400 mm on some vehicles, allow staff to pick up to two pallets during one journey, thus saving time and unnecessary distances.

Five order pickers from the GPC 3040 series are also in use for handling deep-stored pallets. These are also equipped with long transport forks for transporting several pallets. The pallet trucks and order pickers carry out their pallet handling tasks precisely and reliably. Users benefit from the vehicles' driving comfort in their daily work, which makes driving and maneuvering in the narrow aisles easier.

Productivity boost through fast handling

Decostar relies on the performance of three reach trucks from the ESR series for loading and unloading from the upper shelves. According to the supplier, the vehicles are specially designed for intensive operations and, with their fast lifting and lowering speeds, offer greater productivity for demanding operations at great heights. Supply Chain Manager Bastiaan Vosselman describes the Xpress-Lower functionality of the reach trucks as a highlight. The Decostar manager emphasizes: "The outstanding feature is the particularly fast lifting and lowering of the pallets. This saves a lot of time because the forklifts are in front of the racks for much less time. Our highest racks are over 11 meters high, so the faster processes quickly add up to considerable time savings."
With the help of Xpress Lower, Decostar's pallet handling processes have been significantly accelerated by 18 percent. Where previously each reach truck moved around 185 pallets per shift, the throughput increased to 219 pallets thanks to Crown. In the first year after the changeover, the faster processes led to savings in the five-figure range. Other factors also contribute to the good performance of the ESR series in the racks, which are over 11 meters high. For example, the reach trucks are supported in their work by integrated cameras to ensure safe and precise access at great heights. The systems installed in the forks of the reach trucks provide the drivers with the necessary overview on color monitors in the cab to reliably store and retrieve the pallets regardless of their location.

Pick-by-voice ensures additional precision

The employees at Decostar's distribution center are supported in order picking by tried-and-tested technical aids. The employees have been using headsets with pick-by-voice technology for 11 years. The voice commands provided via the connected WMS system give instructions on where the next item should be picked. As soon as all orders have been processed, the operators confirm this by voice message. They are then informed of their next task via their headphones. Additional headsets were also purchased in parallel with the expansion of the reach truck fleet.

Access at great heights

In addition to the ESR series, Decostar relies on two high-lift order pickers from the SP series for precise and safe pallet handling. With their performance-oriented lifting, lowering and driving performance, these solutions also ensure effective provisioning processes at greater heights. Thanks to the spacious operator area, drivers in the SP series also have a suitable range of movement and wide access to the racks, which allows them to access the pallets quickly and thus complete picking tasks quickly.

Demand peaks under control

In addition to the Crown vehicles, a change in the warehouse processes ensured efficient use. One of the triggers for this was the seasonal fluctuation in handling volumes. Retailers order a lot more goods in the run-up to the spring and outdoor seasons and for the upcoming Christmas season than they do during the rest of the year. In the past, this meant that the peak seasons at the beginning of the year and in August and September were very busy, which pushed warehouse capacity to its limits. For this reason, additional vehicles had to be rented for short periods during these phases.

Thanks to balanced order management and better planning, the peaks in demand in recent years have been balanced out, which has cushioned the earlier peak periods and led to a more fluctuation-free capacity utilization throughout the year. Bastiaan Vosselman explains the decision to expand Decostar's cooperation with Crown: "We have grown considerably in recent years, which has led to a need for additional forklift trucks. We chose Crown because we have already had good experiences with their products in the past. Crown's forklift trucks are reliable and safe. In addition, we have always had a pleasant working relationship and have become accustomed to Crown's excellent service."