Shelves for people

E-commerce center for hanging and flat-packed goods

Walking is a thing of the past: the shelves with the textiles are brought to the picker.

BLG has implemented a mobile, scalable and efficient storage and picking solution for a customer there, which it uses to process some of the returns for its customer. BLG was the first company in Europe to use a robot-supported logistics concept in which people no longer go to the shelves, but the shelves come to the people with the goods. Red robots transport 800 mobile shelves with goods back and forth in BLG's Frankfurt logistics center. This logistics solution is one of the most modern solutions currently available.

Advantage: scalability of the system The decisive criterion for the installation of this innovative solution was the scalability of the system. It can be dynamically adapted to changing market conditions and customer requirements - an advantage that pays off in the constantly changing retail sector. The number of transport robots depends on the number of storage and retrieval operations per hour and day. If, for example, the order volume increases, transport units can be added to increase performance or racks can be installed to increase capacity. This makes the system significantly more efficient compared to conventional person-to-goods processing. Other factors include the planned number of shifts per day, the size of the warehouse or the average transport weight. Depending on the season, the system is designed for daily storage and retrieval volumes in the five-digit range.

Fashion and more

In the area of contract logistics, BLG offers e-commerce solutions as well as warehouse logistics, multi-channel fulfillment and spare parts logistics for customers in various industries. BLG plans the distribution logistics of its customers from the sports & fashion, consumer goods, food, automotive, sanitary and building technology sectors in a tailor-made manner and also breaks new ground in order to achieve optimal processes. It develops needs-based storage concepts for flat or hanging goods in the fashion sector, takes care of the error-free and punctual picking of customer orders, takes on the consistent implementation of a suitable multi-channel approach or the individual shipping and returns logistics of an online store.

The system was installed to meet future challenges in the e-commerce sector. It is not rigid and seasonal peaks can be easily mapped. E-commerce companies are increasingly relying on innovative concepts. The modular robot-supported storage and picking system is an innovation that will also make it possible to respond to different customer requirements at short notice in the future.

Workwear for 40,000 employees

Scalable solution: If the order volume in BLG's Frankfurt e-commerce center grows, additional racks can be installed. The number of transport robots can also be adjusted.

Also at the Frankfurt/Main site, BLG has been responsible for distribution logistics in the corporate clothing sector for another customer since August 2015. From its logistics center, it supplies the customer's approximately 40,000 employees with corporate clothing. This is the first time BLG has handled the entire e-commerce business for a customer. The tasks include storing and picking individual orders as well as sending parcels to the employees' offices or private addresses. BLG also operates an online store as an ordering platform and takes care of accounts receivable management and the associated call center. In addition, the logistics expert manages the employee accounts, handles the pre-financing of the goods as well as their quality control and returns management.

BLG Sports & Fashion GmbH has this service package. For the first time, the BLG subsidiary has been able to synergistically apply its extensive knowledge in the textile shipping fulfillment sector to this order. The software know-how comes from an Austrian service company that specializes in professional solutions for online retail. A central interface system links all existing processes - order management, customer service, merchandise management, inventory management, payments, accounts receivable, performance reporting, logistics and returns management - to the e-commerce processes.

Stefanie Kawalek

Contact:

BLG Logistics Group AG & Co KG 28203 Bremen Tel.: 04 21 / 3 98-33 91 E-Mail: