Case Study: Douglas
The logistics behind Europe’s largest fully integrated beauty platform
The Douglas Group, the leading premium beauty platform, has relied on Arvato’s expertise for over 20 years. Arvato is currently handling e-commerce services for Germany and Switzerland at its location in Ennigerloh and cooperates as well with Douglas in Poland and Austria.
Starting situation
Driven by Douglas’ #FORWARDBEAUTY.DIGITALFIRST strategy, the company has recently grown by over 30 percent annually, particularly in the area of e-commerce. This extensive growth brings Arvato’s location in Ennigerloh to its capacity limits. In order to satisfy the growth and the commissioned expansion of the volume, Arvato is working with Douglas to develop a new solution with which the requirements for the B2C and B2B business for Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands can be met.
Solution
In addition to the continuation of the long-standing Arvato site in Ennigerloh (Germany), a new state-of-the-art Arvato site in Hamm (Germany) is being created to ensure that the requirements are met precisely. The location is mainly characterized by its convenient location in the eastern Ruhr area. This is particularly important as deliveries to Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands are sent from here. The distribution center with a total area of 38,000 square meters can store up to 150,000 different items.
In the new distribution center, a highly dynamic shuttle system from KNAPP will be built using the latest 2D generation OSR Shuttle Evo and offering ca. 130,000 storage spaces, 32 highly modern, ergonomic workstations, and a storage and retrieval capacity of 12,500 containers per hour. Material flow will be controlled using the KiSoft software. Additionally, three sorters and automatic carton erectors and sealers will be installed along the more than eight kilometers long conveyor system. Arvato invested more than 50 million Euro for this comprehensive automated solution.
Aside from the technical equipment, 400 Arvato employees can work over three shifts in the distribution center. From goods receipt through storage, picking, packaging, shipping, value added services and returns processing, Arvato will provide all logistical services for Europe’s largest beauty platform.
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Michael Schröder
Business Development Manager