Work in progress at Coop
The new Kjula distribution center in Sweden from SSI Schaefer
In October 2020, Coop, one of Sweden's leading food retailers, and SSI Schaefer, one of the world's leading solution providers of modular storage and logistics systems, announced the start of their long-term collaboration.
Now SSI Schaefer and Mats Tornard, Project Manager Strategic Supply Chain at Coop, met again to discuss the success of the ongoing automated logistics center project in Kjula in the southeastern Swedish municipality of Eskilstuna. At the end of 2021, the two companies shared information about the smooth cooperation, the shared values in terms of quality and sustainability and the status of the assembly that had just started at the time. Now it's time for an update with the latest successes achieved.
Despite all the challenges and changes, 2022 was an eventful year for one of the largest automation projects in Europe. The crises, difficulties in the supply chain and steel shortages could not stop the implementation of the Coop solution. All key activities are on schedule. "We have had a very positive experience with all our partners so far. Despite the challenges of 2022, both the third-party building and the SSI Schaefer solution will be completed on schedule," says Mats Tornard.
Constant change is the new stability
The last few years have been difficult in terms of future planning, as consumer behavior and habits have changed significantly. During project implementation, Coop conducted analyses of the updated data and came to the conclusion that the volume of the planned solution will be reached as early as 2027. This means that the growth of both the industry and the company has exceeded the boldest expectations. While the increase in volume is good news, it is linked to the revision of the solution and design changes.
"During the implementation phase, we reviewed the data and realized that Coop would need to focus more on palletizing and depalletizing in the future to cope with increasing volumes. We are satisfied with SSI Schaefer's solution because it allows for expansion at any time, even in the middle of construction. In today's dynamic world, this is exactly what we need," continues Mats Tornard.
What has been done so far: Installation of the system
Sustainability and ergonomic working environments are at the forefront of the two companies' shared values. Goods are delivered directly to the warehouse by rail to minimize theCO2 footprint and take an environmentally friendly approach.
The incoming goods area is equipped with pallet conveyor technology, which has already been completed and is in test operation. The high-bay warehouses for refrigerated and ambient temperature areas have been installed and put into operation together with the pallet cranes, which are used to store and retrieve goods for buffering.
When items are needed to replenish the main warehouse, they are taken to the depalletizing station. Due to the additional solution expansion during the project implementation, namely an increased number of robots, depalletizing and mixed palletizing stations are still in progress. After the goods have been divided into individual containers, they are transported to a storage location via a container conveyor. SSI Schaefer has already completed one of the two container conveyor technology areas.
Extended intermediate storage and automated transport to the palletizing station
The 3D Matrix Solution from SSI Schaefer is used for the temporary storage of containers. The storage locations are served by SSI Flexi Shuttles, which are responsible for storage and retrieval. The temporary storage area is also currently being expanded. The assembly of the lifters has already been completed. When the containers are needed for an order, they are transported by SSI Flexi Shuttles to the palletizing station, where robots assemble the orders for shipping.
Completed pallets are temporarily stored and consolidated by end customer or route. One of the shipping buffers for temporary storage is nearing completion, the others are still in progress.
The major automation project is hard to miss
2022 is an important year for Coop and its partners. Coop shares first place as Logistics Company of the Year 2022. Coop's new warehouse in Kjula, Eskilstuna, impressed the jury with its investment in rail-bound food logistics and the warehouse's high degree of automation. Coop's new warehouse is equipped with automated solutions from SSI Schaefer and helps the company to automate 95% of all picking processes. Ergonomics and sustainability were at the forefront of the design of the new internal logistics system. Coop, SSI Schaefer and other project partners took part in the award ceremony.
The project also stood out due to Coop's sustainable initiatives, both in terms of daily operations and the new warehouse. To minimize theCO2 footprint, Coop will also install solar panels on the roof. It is estimated that the panels will produce about a third of the energy the facility requires annually. Taking these and other environmentally friendly activities of the company into account, the jury decided in favor of Coop. Coop was named Sweden's most sustainable brand in Europe's largest brand survey on sustainability - "Sustainable Brand Index 2021". Coop also received the silver sustainability certificate for the new location. This means that the new warehouse has been recognized for its environmentally friendly construction and also for the healthy and ergonomic working environment for employees.
This article appeared in issue 3/23
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