The modern logistics center with 90,000 square meters of built-up area is expected to go into operation in 2021. With the new distribution center, Edeka is creating around 1,000 jobs in the region. When fully operational, the Edeka logistics center in Oberhausen-Waldteich will supply around 400 Edeka and Trinkgut stores in North Rhine-Westphalia. In future, it will offer space for around 16,000 different dry, frozen and fresh products. The food warehouse logistics solution from Cimcorp ensures reliable order picking for fruit and vegetables.

High throughput: 400 trucks a day
The new Oberhausen logistics center, which covers an area equivalent to almost 13 soccer pitches, is served by over 400 trucks every working day. Around 800 stores in North Rhine-Westphalia supply 14 million people in the region. Order management must be error-free and punctual, as every mistake leads to delays. "Efficiency, costs and ergonomics were decisive factors for us when we chose Cimcorp as an experienced automation provider for our fruit and vegetable distribution," explains Peter Bayer, Project Manager Logistics and Organization at Edeka Oberhausen. "We expect Cimcorp to ensure extremely high availability of fresh products, as these are extremely time-critical and sensitive."

"When handling food, especially perishable products, accuracy and reliability are essential. Our first-in-first-out systems reliably contribute to error-free picking," adds Kai Tuomisaari, Cimcorp's Vice President, Sales. "The automation of logistics also improves the working conditions of employees, as robots take over all heavy and repetitive tasks."

The new logistics facility at the Edeka logistics center in Oberhausen-Waldteich has different temperature zones for fresh, frozen and dry food. The fruit and vegetable logistics solution from Cimcorp has two climate zones: +7°C and +12°C for different fruit and vegetable items. "The order includes several independent automation modules controlled by the Cimcorp software, which integrates different technologies into a seamless system," says Tuomisaari, "If one module is out of operation for a while - for example during cleaning - the other modules continue to run independently to ensure a reliable material flow. "Gantry robots pick food crates stacked on the floor without the need for expensive racking systems.

For Cimcorp, equipping the Edeka logistics center in Oberhausen-Waldteich is already the third major order for the automated handling of food deliveries in Germany. There are already 100 such systems in operation worldwide - the first was installed in Sydney in 1998.