VCM_092025_LR

PARTNERINFORMATIE

New standards in omni-channel logistics Bålsta in Sweden, located approximately 40 kilometers northwest of Stockholm, is home to one of the most innovative logistics centers in the retail world. The food retailer Axfood and its logistics lifetime partner WITRON designed and implemented a leading-edge omni-channel distribution center. It will supply more than 1,500 stores and many thousands of end customers via click+collect and home delivery from a wide range of 22,000+ dry, fresh, and frozen items. The highly automated system is designed for a daily picking capacity of 1.6 million picking units.

“ Together with WITRON, we have imple mented a system that sets standards in the logistics world due to its efficiency, quality, and cost effectiveness – and despite additional challenges such as the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine, it went into operation on schedule,” says Ray mond Lundmark, Head of Logistics at Dagab, Axfood’s purchasing & logistics company. “All parties involved in the project can be very proud of this. We have shown what is possi ble with passion and outstanding teamwork,” agrees WITRON Project Manager Holger Weiß. It is uncommon for WITRON to speak with such admiration about a project that is “func tionally extremely demanding.” But when WITRON Project Manager Holger Weiß talks about “his” Axfood logistics center in Bålsta, the scale of the successfully implemented task becomes clear. “We have never seen such an interplay of systems, IT, and mechanics of this magnitude and intensity. We are experiencing omni-channel logistics at its best and in terms of business process integration, it is the most challenging project in WITRON’s history to date,” says Holger Weiß proudly. Impressive figures The figures are truly impressive: 103,000 square meters of logistics space, more than 22,000 different products – dry, fresh, and frozen goods. Frozen pizza, fruits, vegeta bles, convenience products, sausages, meat,

bread, cheese, pasta, cosmetics, and toys are stored in temperature zones ranging from -26 degrees Celsius to +18 degrees Celsius. More than 1.6 million picked units leave the logistics center every day. Over 1,500 stores and several thousand e-commerce / click+collect customers are sup plied from the logistics center near Stockholm. Looking back: Three years ago, the logistics center had not yet been completed, Nicholas Pettersson, the former president of Dagab, was already certain: “WITRON will make our vision of an omni-channel warehouse come true.” He and his team traveled around the world, looked at many reference soluti ons, and finally awarded the order to the Upper Palatinate-based company. “We were very pleased with the statement and, to be honest, we also felt a bit of pressure,” laughs Holger Weiß who, as the responsible project manager, supported the project right from the design phase. Nicholas Pettersson has now taken on new responsibilities within the group and has been promoted to CEO of Axfood’s largest sales brand “Willys.” “As such, he now is our customer and can benefit from what we have achieved together,” says Raymond Lundmark. OCM strategy Axfood is the second-largest food retailer in Sweden and has repeatedly faced capacity problems in the logistics area in recent years

due to its positive business development. “The existing warehouses, especially the manual ones, were permanently operating at full capacity,” explains Raymond Lundmark and Axfood wanted to establish a long-term strategic position for the future. This also included safeguarding growth and meeting their own demands for high quality in logis tics in terms of customer service across all dif ferent distribution channels. Omni-channel was the buzzword. Raymond Lundmark, Head of Logistics at Dagab: “Together with WITRON, we have implemented a system that sets standards in the logistics world due to its efficiency, quality, and cost effective ness.”

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