Largest Quehenberger warehouse with 85,000sqm successfully implemented for Brico Depot

At the end of March, the Romanian unit Quehenberger Logistics ROU SRL was awarded first prize in the Tranzit Efficiency Awards in Bucharest in the category Contract Logistics.
One of the flagship projects is the warehouse solution for the DIY Retailer Brico Depot, a subsidiary of the British Kingfisher Group.

Speed and adaptability
One of the most important key factors in the "ONE DC (Distribution Centre)" project was the ability to quickly and flexibly adapt the space requirements to Brico Depot's continuing growth and requirements.
Within four months, Quehenberger consolidated and relocated three separate storage units within the CTPark (west of Bucharest) into one 85,000sqm distribution centre built exclusively for Brico Depot.
A green field project, which is also one of the largest logistics projects in Romania for real estate developers. The warehouse was built without internal partitions while meeting all fire protection requirements.
The new ONE DC offers capacity for 90,000 pallets in 20 sectors, which corresponds 1:1 to the shop layouts of the 35 hypermarkets according to the product groups.

For Quehenberger Logistics, the biggest challenge was the relocation of 50,000 pallets and storage equipment while operations continued attaining of the agreed KPIs. At the same time, the entire IT infrastructure was maintained and installed at the new location. Meanwhile, all deliveries to the 35 hypermarkets continued in the usual quality.
The relocation has been meticulously planned and carried out step by step with complete traceability and strict control guaranteed by the Warehouse Management System, which was developed inter-nally and specifically customised to support the DIY customer.

What was moved:

• Goods: 50,000 pallets
• Storage equipment: 85,000 pallet storage racks
• 60km cables (low voltage, high voltage and fibre optic)
• 18 UPS units with 20,000 and 2,000 VA for monitoring and grid support in the event of a power failure
• 337 surveillance cameras
• 315 access points for scanners

All available weekends were used for moving while respecting the main winter holidays. Staff from neighbouring companies of Quehenberger Logistics was also deployed to provide support.

Design of digital customer interfaces
A key factor in this project was the development of many customer-specific features in the WMS and several web platforms by Quehenbergers own IT team in Romania:

• The flow of goods could be improved significantly by the optimal control of incoming and outgoing processes
• The interaction of WMS and TMS has contributed to the visibility of the flow of goods – now available at the push of a button
• The transparent Cross Dock solution, including individual parts for each store, allows the central logistics of Brico Depot and each Brico Depot store to receive an update of the posi-tion of the goods via the web platform for each pallet and thus are able to entirely retrace the flow of goods
• A customised software increased the capacity utilisation by more than 20% whilst supplying the 35 Brico Depot Stores by truck. The empty spaces of truck loads were drastically reduced and thus the transports are carried efficiently and sustainable
  A separate platform for claims management with detailed functions makes the process much easier for customers

Specific industry requirements

• When configurating the new warehouse layout, special equipment for oversized and overlong parts had to be fitted perfectly. Special transport containers for oversized goods were also developed in order to be able to deliver the goods undamaged to the target destination
• Special solutions were implemented in the "Kitchen" area (complete kitchen furniture), a new product of Brico Depot. For this purpose, a parts list functionality was integrated in the WMS to display complete deliveries in the warehouse as well as to call up the availability at the push of a button when planning kitchen projects

"This project shows the competence that Quehenberger has in the DIY segment, and not only in Romania," Hermann Költringer, Managing Director and Company Spokesman for Quehenberger Logistics states.

Highlights ONE DC warehouse:

• 85,616sqm
• 1,430sqm of office and technical rooms
• Storage capacity approx. 90,000 pallets (Rack&Bulk)
• Approx. 2,000sqm Pick by Line area
• Goods are organised in 20 sectors, which are assigned 1:1 to the shop layouts
• 70 ramps
• 7 drive ins