DHL Supply Chain, the division of Deutsche Post DHL Group specializing in contract logistics, has put a fully automated robot picking system into operation for its long-standing customer Peek & Cloppenburg Düsseldorf at its logistics center in Staufenberg, Lower Saxony. The 6,000 square meter AutoStore from robotics specialist Element Logic is one of the largest fully automated storage and retrieval systems in Germany. It is located in one of the 5 halls, each with 10,000 square meters and 50 loading gates, of the logistics center that DHL Supply Chain operates for various customers.

DHL Supply Chain handles the fashion retailer's Germany-wide e-commerce business from Staufenberg in Lower Saxony and also ships to end customers in Austria, Poland and the Netherlands. This includes the receipt of new goods and returns, storage of the 3.5 million fashion items, order picking, packaging and shipping of the goods to end customers. Thanks to the AutoStore system, stock levels can be monitored continuously and a high level of efficiency in storage and retrieval can be guaranteed. As a result, customer orders are processed even faster and more reliably. The interaction between the flexible and modularly expandable robotics solution and the employees working on site shortens the throughput times of individual customer orders from the time of ordering to dispatch, improves operational efficiency and simplifies work processes for employees.

160 robots compile the orders

The AutoStore enables space-saving storage and fully automated picking of items. It consists of an aluminum frame in which the current stock of goods is stacked and stored in 196,000 plastic containers on 16 levels. Above the bins, the aluminum frame forms the so-called grid, on which 160 robots assemble the ordered goods fully automatically according to the individual orders. The goods are then processed by employees at 21 ports and prepared for dispatch.

"The new AutoStore warehouse system in Staufenberg enables us to meet the needs and expectations of our customers even better and to fulfill the constantly growing orders with greater speed and reliability. We have thus reached an important milestone in our vision of becoming Europe's leading multi-brand omnichannel fashion retailer by 2026," says Marco Rebohm, Managing Director of Mode Logistik, a subsidiary of the Peek & Cloppenburg Group that manages the logistics of the multi-brand fashion retailer.

Just a few weeks after the opening, however, there is a big question mark over the state-of-the-art facility: Peek & Cloppenburg Düsseldorf had to file for insolvency on March 3, 2023, which the company is allowed to carry out on its own. Since then, there has been speculation that one way to restructure the business is to withdraw from online retail activities.