Canadian department store chain Hudson's Bay has automated its distribution centre in Toronto. Robots are now responsible for preparing orders there.
The 'Perfect Pick' system consists of 300 robots and occupies almost two-thirds of Hudson's Bay's distribution centre in Canada's largest city. The rest of the space does involve manual labour. Thus, staff are still responsible for picking and packing larger items.
By using robots, Hudson's Bay says it can prepare a product for shipment within 15 minutes. Previously, this took 2.5 hours. The accuracy of orders has also improved. Whereas it was previously at 97 to 98 per cent, it is now 99.7 per cent. Hudson's Bay says it has not had to lay off any people due to automation. There are still around 300 permanent full-time employees working at the distribution centre. However, it does plan to hire fewer temporary workers during the busy period around the holidays. A maximum of 300 employees will now be hired, while otherwise there would be 700.
The retailer wants to investigate whether it can start offering same-day delivery, now that the picking process is a lot faster. Hudson's Bay plans to implement the system in other DCs as well. Earlier this year, the Hudson's Bay Company announced its intention to come to the Netherlands, where it plans to open 20 Hudson's Bay branches within two years. In doing so, it will mainly use the premises left behind by V&D. It is unclear whether it will also open a distribution centre here.
Editorial team LogisticsProfs
