Small parts warehouse
Automated distribution center for Lecot in Heule
The Belgian company Lecot, a national supplier for the construction industry, commissioned Knapp to automate its distribution center in Heule.
At the heart of the new solution will be the automated small parts warehouse OSR Shuttle Evo from Knapp. The new concept will enable Lecot to continue to grow while providing excellent customer service. Lecot is Belgium's largest supplier of building materials, fasteners, tools and personal protective equipment. The company is represented at 80 locations, employs around 750 people and has 110,000 products in its portfolio, 40,000 of which are immediately available. Lecot is fully committed to an omnichannel customer experience, combining digital channels, an extensive store network and on-site deliveries. The driving force behind the fast-growing company has always been its state-of-the-art logistics. To accommodate the company's growth, Lecot expanded its distribution center at the Heule site by 13,000 square meters in 2022.
The company has been working with logistics consultants Logflow from Bruges for years. They have now drawn up a new logistics master plan for a future-proof distribution center. The concept includes a fully automated small parts warehouse, ergonomic workstations and support from artificial intelligence. In an extensive selection process, Knapp was chosen as the partner for implementing the new automation solution.
Distribution center for future growth
Lecot's planned state-of-the-art distribution center will consist of a 6,000 square meter high-bay warehouse and will serve as an extension to the existing warehouses. At its heart is the OSR Shuttle Evo picking and storage system from Knapp. The new automation solution is modularly expandable and offers Lecot the opportunity to triple the size of the facility. It can also be flexibly adapted to changes in production and processes.
Lecot is thus equipping itself for future growth and possible market changes. The system will be installed during ongoing operations. It will be seamlessly integrated into the existing plant and the existing building. In addition, the storage system will be built upwards with a high storage density, reducing the space required. With this new, flexible and scalable solution, which enables maximum space utilization, Lecot is setting an example for greater sustainability.
The Knapp solution in detail
The OSR Shuttle Evo picking and storage system will enable triple-deep storage. In the first phase, 58,000 storage locations will be created on two 80-metre-long aisles with a height of 16 meters. The storage system can be expanded to up to 174,000 storage locations in the future. 74 shuttles will take over the storage movements in order to supply the ergonomic workstations of the Pick-it-Easy series with the bins.
The stations visually support the employees during order picking and are also height-adjustable. In addition, the new warehouse will also serve as a buffer store after picking and before packing. A sorting system will ensure that orders are processed smoothly. The KiSoft software package from Knapp will control the system and connect it to the customer system.
The contract between Lecot and Knapp was signed at the end of February 2023, marking the start of a sustainable partnership. In the meantime, the demolition and construction work for the new building has begun. The go-live of the new automation solution is planned for summer 2025.
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