The modular storage system is able to handle heavy and large-volume items of furniture as well as small goods. With this logistics center, Maisons du Monde is further expanding its network in order to be able to supply its customers in northern France even better. Completion is planned for 2023.

The project was an exciting task for viastore: within a year, the intralogistics expert designed a 69,000 square meter warehouse with a height of 22 meters for the supplier of furnishings. The automated picking system comprises nine cells, each equipped with four storage and retrieval machines. It can process products measuring between 30 centimetres and 2.20 meters and weighing between one and 200 kilograms - with cycle times of up to 1,000 pallets per hour. In order to be particularly efficient, the system is divided into six zones. Each zone has reference data for all stored items. This avoids overloading individual conveyor lines and ensures a high picking speed.

Innovations for greater productivity and sustainability

"It's a highly modular system," says Jean-David Attal, Managing Director of viastore France. "In order to fully meet our customer's requirements, we had to take a new approach to many things: We worked with the best European partners to design a customized logistics system with optimally adapted conveyor lines, shelves and various pallets." The fully automated system offers Maisons du Monde a number of advantages: Workflows are ergonomically designed and the company can significantly reduce both its stock and the volume of items shipped. The result is around 50 percent less storage space, around 30 percent less volume required for shipping on trucks - and therefore significantly lower_{CO2 emissions} and lower costs.

"We are also aiming for this building to be certified to the BREEAM sustainability rating system at 'Excellent' level," reports Samantha Abajoli, Supply Chain Project Manager at Maisons du Monde. "This includes various precautions such as the installation of photovoltaic panels on the roof, LED lighting, electric vehicles, but also the sorting of waste during the construction phase and after completion, as well as the design of the outdoor areas to promote biodiversity."