Körber accelerates eCommerce warehouse operations at Hawesko Group
Germany’s leading wine retailer successfully boosts warehouse performance by 50 percent through innovative robotics solutions powered by Körber and Geekplus.
Hamburg, Germany - 03 July 2024.
Körber, a global leader in supply chain solutions, announced today a successful implementation of more than 20 Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) at Hawesko Group. Through collaboration with Körber and Geekplus, the company has expanded and optimized logistical capabilities for its eCommerce business to scale processes and help improve its shipping service.
As Germany's largest trading house for high-quality wines and champagnes, the Hawesko Group has established itself as one of the most important wine retailers in the world. In Tornesch, Germany, in-house logistics service provider IWL handles approximately 20 million bottles annually. Due to continued growth across eCommerce, the need for a solution to support further company growth and efficient handling of short-term, seasonal fluctuations was identified.
Since 2006, IWL has relied on a logistics ecosystem based on the K.Motion WMS (Warehouse Management System) at its Tornesch, Germany site to meet the complex challenges of their B2C business. The storage volume currently consists of 25,000 pallet spaces with up to 200,000 article units (SKUs) and a total of 21,000 square meters of logistics space. With this new implementation, 21 order fulfillment robots from Geekplus operate 330 shelves across an expanded 6,000 m² area.
The project focus was on the integrated interaction of modern software and automation, which has increased warehouse performance by 50 percent. Behind the scenes, all operational warehouse processes converge on Körber's digital logistics platform. The WMS acts as an operational hub, while the subdivided Unified Control System (UCS) optimizes the control of the automated technology portfolio and creates extended communication interfaces to the robotics application. Because of this, pick performance in the expanded area has more than doubled.
"Given the growth in online retail, the importance of efficient processes to support eCommerce fulfillment has increased significantly. High-performing and resource-efficient solutions are required to address increasing customer demands and seasonal fluctuations," said Michael Brandl, Executive Vice President Software EMEA at Körber Business Area Supply Chain. “The new solution accomplished this for the Hawesko Group through an integrated combination of WMS, AMR technology and UCS.”
“Compared to the use of conventional automation solutions, the expansion in Tornesch proved to be the most economically effective solution, creating not only additional storage capacity but also the necessary freedom for future expansion.”
“Capacities for up to 100 additional racks, which corresponds to approximately 40,000 additional article items, are possible in the future in the existing space."
“Geekplus is proud to continue our longstanding partnership with Körber, which has now grown to more than 3,000 robots deployed in eleven countries,” said Simon Houghton, director of sales UK&I and EMEA, Geekplus. “We work together to create unique solutions for customers like the Hawesko Group, helping them solve the challenges they currently face while enabling them to easily scale up their level of automation to meet future demands.”
IWL handled 2.4 million parcels in the 2023 financial year. The location specializes in end customer delivery in Germany but is also experiencing continuous customer growth across other European countries and internationally.
