Renault Group has commissioned its largest and fully automated after-sales warehouse in Villeroy. The heart of the warehouse is Exotec's storage system with 191 robots. These Skypod robots facilitate the work of operators, reduce throughput time by a factor of six and optimise space utilisation in Villeroy.
Exotec's warehouse robots stand out for their flexibility and scalability in the face of changing production needs. The system can be adjusted in real time by adding racks, robots or conveyors, making it perfectly suited to the dynamic demands of daily work at the Villeroy facility. Exotec's robots drive autonomously thanks to advanced navigation and control capabilities. With their compact and flexible design, they move quickly and efficiently in complex logistics environments, including in close proximity to workers and other equipment.
How it works
Renault's warehouse in Villeroy currently deploys 191 robots to support the company with order picking, inventory, storage or compression. How the solution works:
- Injection: pallets destined for factory storage are placed in Exotec 60-litre bins. These bins are then transported by a robot that places them in the storage racks.
- Picking: when customer orders arrive, picking tasks are assigned to picking stations. A robot retrieves the reference number of the items ordered and takes them to the picking stations. This operation is repeated for each item in the order.
- Shipping: after items are prepared, parcels are taken to the shipping area, where they are sealed and taken to the shipping area to be loaded into trucks.
20 minutes
At its peak, the facility can prepare almost 4,000 lines per hour with 14 picking stations. The preparation time for an order (from start to package delivery to shipment) is 20 minutes. Previously, this took 2 hours. Choosing Exotec means that the site's energy consumption is reduced by 30 per cent compared to the traditional way of working, mainly because handling equipment has been replaced by robots that consume less energy.
Villeroy's logistics site currently processes up to 40,000 order lines per day with 110,000 product references, 20,000 of which are managed by Exotec's system. It includes both the Group's latest models (Scenic, Rafale, etc.) and older models, allowing the Group to offer all its customers maintenance or repair solutions with a high quality service. The new facility not only contributes to improving the working conditions and safety of operators at Villeroy, but also meets the needs and demands of Renault Group customers: shorter delivery times for an increasingly efficient after-sales service.
25 per cent more
"We are proud of the collaboration with Exotec to equip our supply chain with Skypod robots. Thanks to this system and the personnel in place, we can increase the number of orders by 25 per cent and strive even more for excellent customer satisfaction, which remains a priority for us," said Xavier Lhors, director of aftersales logistics at Renault Group.
"We are proud to work with Renault Group, a major player in its sector, whose confidence demonstrates Exotec's ability to meet the complex and specific needs of its customers. The flexibility of our Skypod System, to adapt to changes in production, is an asset for automotive players looking for greater operational comfort and efficiency," said Thomas Genestar, managing director for Western Europe at Exotec.
