Leading Belgian food retailer Delhaize Le Lion / De Leeuw is expanding its automated flow-through fresh food logistics centre in Zellik (Distribution Centre B3), together with the general contractor WITRON Logistik + Informatik GmbH.
Since the end of 2013, the facility has been supplying more than 800 stores with a range of over 900 different fresh and ultra-fresh products at 2 degrees Celsius temperature zones.
The expansion project, scheduled to become operational by mid-2022, will increase the output on peak days by more than 40%.
The additionally-awarded expansion shows that Delhaize is convinced of the cost-efficiency, flexibility, ergonomics, and availability of the WITRON solution.
The current expansion was already anticipated in the original logistics concept.
Additional Modules
For this purpose, three additional modules will be implemented into the existing WITRON ATS solution (Automated Tote System) during ongoing operation.
These include 100,000 additional tote locations (to a total of 271,000), 12 stacker cranes (to a total of 32), 24 tote stackers / destackers (to a total of 71), as well as 12 sequence buffers, eight vertical lifting devices, four transfer cars, two dolly loading stations, and stretch-wrapping and labeling machines.
The full tote handling in the entire material flow has been significantly simplified and accelerated with the ATS system.
A major benefit of the technology lies in the fact that the EPS-totes of different sizes commonly used in the fresh area can be stored and picked fully automatically, in a store-friendly manner, and stacked onto dispatch dollies with a limited need for personnel.
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