Jumbo now supplies its stores from the automated national distribution centre (NDC) in Nieuwegein. After four years of preparation, the DC for dry groceries was officially opened on Monday.
The distribution centre, located on a 200,000-square-metre site, has an area of 45,000 square metres. In recent weeks, Jumbo loaded the distribution centre with over 11,000 different items. After extensive testing, the building is now ready for use.
Initially, Jumbo will deliver from Nieuwegein to around 100 shops in the west and north of the country. In the coming weeks, more and more Jumbo stores will gradually be added. By the end of 2020, all 670 stores in the Netherlands and Belgium must be supplied from the DC.
"The commissioning of the distribution centre is a huge step for Jumbo, after years of preparation. We have done a lot of testing to make the go-live as smooth as possible. We are confident that it will succeed," said Karel de Jong, director of Supply Chain at Jumbo Supermarkets. According to De Jong, Jumbo is currently investigating the possibility of a mechanised national distribution centre for fresh produce. This location should also be located in Nieuwegein.
New mechanisation system
Jumbo's national DC is equipped with a mechanisation system from automaker Witron. The system is new in the Netherlands, although parts of it have already been used for several retail companies. The DC contains fully automated systems that move pallets to so-called storage locations. The mechanisation system consists of three subsystems in which the order is picked manually or mechanised, depending on the article characteristics. The Order Picking Machine (OPM) ensures that around 75 per cent of items are eventually placed on the roll cage mechanically. In the Dynamic Picking System (DPS), crates are picked using a Pick by Light system and also automatically placed in a roll cage.
The remaining items are picked manually. In this way, the roll containers are filled as efficiently as possible, reducing the number of transport movements. In addition, the order of stacking the roll container matches the way the products are displayed on the shelves in the shops. According to Jumbo, this makes products easier to process and more quickly available to customers.
Five stars for sustainability
The new building in Nieuwegein has received the highest possible BREEAM design certificate: BREEAM Outstanding. This makes it one of the most sustainably designed distribution centres in the world. During construction, Jumbo used as many sustainable and energy-saving building materials and lighting as possible. In addition, the new building is equipped with some 13,500 solar panels and an installation that provides so much heat that no traditional heating is needed. Rainwater is also collected and reused. The exterior and surroundings of the building are ecologically designed, including bee nests and special shell trays, nesting nests and a nesting wall for birds. Nieuwegein's central location also ensures that the distances to the shops and regional distribution centres will be relatively shorter than before.
