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Migros pioneering logistics processes
Migros pioneering logistics processes
The Swiss retailer Migros has been operating one of the most advanced and largest high performance logistics systems in Europe since 2011. A sophisticated process chain ensures that all products from a range of more than 3,500 different groceries (dry goods) reach the stores on time and in the best quality. The patented OPM / COM technology is used for this purpose.
Customer: Migros Verteilzentrum Suhr (MVS) AG
Since 2000, Migros has been operating the national Swiss distribution center for dry goods in Suhr, which is independently led by the logistics subsidiary Migros Verteilzentrum Suhr (MVS) AG. More than 600 Migros stores of various types and sizes receive their goods in individual delivery cycles according to the sell-off principle, usually within 24 or 48 hours after being ordered.
Location
Suhr, Switzerland
Industry sector
Retail / Distribution
Products
4,500 items in the dry goods range
Solutions
OPM with 28 COM machines, 56-aisle tray warehouse with 285,000 storage locations, 131 stacker cranes
Volume
Up to 315,000 cases per day
Special features of the project
The implementation was based on the existing logistics structure. An existing high bay warehouse with 68,500 pallet locations, which WITRON implemented at Migros back in 2002, serves as the replenishment warehouse. The new OPM system was installed in a compact and space-saving manner on the roof of an already existing building - a very special challenge for Migros’ and WITRON’s design team. In addition, a part of the former system will continue to be used for the handling of special offers and animal feed products, as a buffer warehouse for shipping pallets, and for the receiving and goods issue processing.
Challenge
Since Migros picks a large number of order pallets with beverages and PET bottles, with a volume share of between 20 and 30 percent, efficient processing in the beverage area was an important decision criterion for the use of OPM. Simple and practical processes comply with the high quality demands of Migros. The automatic insertion of an additional carton layer as a layer stabilizer - directly through the COMs - considerably increases the stability of beverage pallets that are built fully automatically.
Customer opinion
The implementation of OPM has paid off for Migros – and the results are certainly something to be proud of. Today, Migros' supply chains are hardly vulnerable to seasonal or weather-related influences and, as a further consequence, to out-of-stock situations at the stores. In the past, we required a much larger lead time compared to today, and we were also not able to pick as precisely. It was also no possible to carry out store-friendly order picking, aimed to the requirements of the respective store.