With its automated distribution centre in Zwolle, Wehkamp is able to process up to 74 million orders annually. Currently, the online department store sends 'only' 32 million orders from the DC, but with the necessary expansions on the lot, that output could rise to 74 million. This was told by Andres van Daalen, programme director of parent group RFS Holland Holding, during the Logistics & E-commerce trade day.
Wehkamp's distribution centre has been operational since February. "The building was opened in September, but at that time not all the stock was in Zwolle," says Dr. K. Wehkamp. Millions of products had to be moved and that was quite an operation. "During the period, consumers often got their orders delivered (simultaneously, ed.) in two packages: one from one of the old warehouses in Dedemsvaart and one from the DC in Zwolle." An expensive joke, as DHL was paid per parcel.
Meanwhile, the DC is running at full capacity. Every day, 200,000 items go out the door fully automatically. Thanks in part to the OSR shuttle system, orders are ready to be dispatched within half an hour. Considerable progress, says Van Daalen: "In Dedemsvaart, that process took almost three hours." Yet the live-go of the distribution centre was not without its hiccups. "About four or five times we couldn't keep the promise to a customer. Parcels were then delivered not the next day, but a day later." According to Van Daalen, this was mainly due to software problems. "Actually, it was never down to the hardware in our distribution centre."
On-site expansion
There is sufficient space for expansion at the industrial estate in Zwolle, should this be necessary in the future. There are still three hectares of land available on the south side of the building. But for the time being, Wehkamp’s existing distribution centre is sufficient. “We can still scale up within this site. For example, there is the option to expand the OSR shuttle system by three aisles. This would increase capacity by 17 per cent. In addition, there is the option of operating 24/7, so that the distribution centre no longer stands idle at night or on Saturdays.”
Same-day delivery
From its new distribution centre, Wehkamp has introduced same-day delivery for orders placed before midday. “We wanted to start this cautiously. As we couldn’t cope with too rapid an uptake, we opted to charge a delivery fee of 7.95 euros for same-day delivery, rather than the usual 5.95 euros.” Van Daalen has noticed that customers using same-day delivery tend to order different products. “You’re quite happy to wait a day for a pair of socks, but if your coffee machine’s broken, you’d prefer to have it delivered the very same day.” Ultimately, Van Daalen hopes that the cut-off time will be brought forward to 2.00 pm. Customers who order before that time will receive their parcel on the same day between 6 pm and 9 pm.
LogistiekProfs Editorial Team
