Lemvigh-Müller is a Danish wholesaler of steel and technical solutions. From its two warehouses in Odense and Kolding, the wholesaler supplies a large number of customers from the construction, industrial and public sectors as well as electrical and sanitary companies from a range of more than 60,000 items every day. Lemvigh-Müller has chosen Knapp as its partner for the logistics project in Kolding. This is Knapp's largest order in Denmark to date. The project includes the implementation of extensive upgrades to the automation solutions and software. "We are proud that Lemvigh-Müller has placed the great trust in us that is necessary for a project of this magnitude. The future requires streamlined end-to-end logistics. Thanks to our experience in scaling these types of upgrades, we look forward to delivering a complete, state-of-the-art logistics solution," explains Mikael Holmqvist, CEO of Knapp Nordics.

Around 130,000 storage spaces

The project includes a 23-metre-long Knapp Evo Shuttle system with around 130,000 storage locations and twelve ergonomic Pick-it-Easy work stations. In addition, there is a 38-meter-high high-bay warehouse with space for 26,000 pallets, in which pallet cranes with monorails can easily handle large quantities of pallets. Other automation technologies include package handling machines, robot-controlled palletizing and semi-automatic pallet-to-pallet picking with automatic pallet feed.

In addition, Lemvigh-Müller attaches great importance to being able to meet the increasing demand for cables cut to the right length. To this end, cable cutting machines are also being implemented to ensure that Lemvigh-Müller can supply cables on a large scale in the future. "Our warehouse in Kolding has been in operation since 2003 and works perfectly. In order to future-proof our logistics and warehouse management, we are now making the largest logistics investment in the company's history and are building a state-of-the-art logistics center in Kolding. This will ensure that we can continue to grow and supply our many thousands of customers throughout the country and our 23 stores even faster. We firmly believe that the new distribution center will future-proof the company and give us a significant advantage in the market with even better customer solutions," explains Christian Søgaard Christensen, CEO of Lemvigh-Müller.

The 20-year partnership with Knapp was a decisive factor for Lemvigh-Müller in a project of this magnitude. "When you're making large investments in very critical infrastructure, you have to be absolutely sure of your choice of partner. Throughout the process, we had the right gut feeling about Knapp and the team we worked with. High professionalism and understanding of our business and needs, combined with good chemistry, characterized the whole process. We are confident that we made the right choice," says Michael Lichtenberg Crone, Logistics and Production Manager at Lemvigh-Müller.

Increasing focus on the software

A key part of the project was the configuration of the logistics software for the warehouse in Kolding. As a certified SAP EWM partner, Knapp will implement SAP Extended Warehouse Management (EWM) on Lemvigh-Müller's recently upgraded SAP S/4 HANA system. The software offers an end-to-end solution in which SAP EWM acts as both the Warehouse Management System (WMS) and the Warehouse Control System (WCS) for the manual and automated areas of the warehouse. Knapp also uses an emulation system for quality assurance. This enables visual testing in the warehouse before going live. Overall, the new SAP EWM should ensure that Lemvigh-Müller can achieve optimum utilization of all capacities of the new logistics solution with a single automated and future-proof SAP system. This will enable the distribution center to operate on a larger scale with automated processes from ordering to delivery of goods.