On October 23, Auchan Retail Luxembourg inaugurated the automation of part of its logistics base in Luxembourg. The objective is to optimize the site’s order preparation capacity, in order to support the growth of e-commerce in the country.
A few kilometers from Luxembourg, capital of the eponymous country, Auchan Retail is inaugurating the implementation of the Exotec solution in its e-commerce logistics warehouse in Dudelange. The retailer chose the Skypod system, provided by the French unicorn, to optimize its dry products supply chain. Resembling a futuristic building bar, the installation consists of 12 meter high racks in which the 37 robots created by Exotec move autonomously in all directions to extract products from 15,300 bins. They then transport them to one of three preparation stations, where the order is assembled.
In terms of efficiency, the use of the Skypod solution, which is also installed at other retailers such as Decathlon and Cdiscount, triples the productivity of the Auchan Retail site in comparison with manual picking. Where 105 lines were prepared per hour and 25 were received, the tool makes it possible to prepare 304 and receive 60 each hour. Thus, up to 915 orders are prepared per day, for a total of 160,000 each year in the Dudelange warehouse. These are then delivered to distribution points throughout the Grand Duchy. In terms of space, the processing of dry products occupies 700 m², compared to 2,000 m² before installing the Exotec Skypod.
For now, the Exotec solution is only used to process orders for dry products, which are made up of 9,000 references, compared to 4,000 fresh items (frozen foods and fruits and vegetables included). Martin Delattre, head of logistics operations at Auchan Luxembourg, explains: “Our fresh produce warehouse does not have sufficient ceiling height for the Skypod to provide sufficient optimization.” In addition, the operations manager’s teams receive deliveries from their suppliers every day, even twice a day. “We are already at a very fast pace. At present, this solution would not be of much interest. But nothing is defined, we will perhaps reconsider this decision”he specifies.
A solution co-built with operators
If industrial efficiency was a driving advantage in Auchan Retail’s decision to invest in the Exotec solution, another element quickly came into play. “In a country with full employment like Luxembourg, the recruitment of operators and turnover are important subjects”says Nicolas Gueuzurian, marketing and e-commerce director of the Luxembourg sector. So, Improving the working conditions of operators was a priority for the company.
To ensure that the Exotec solution was adapted to the needs of the teams, the retailer began by having the development plan validated by employees of the logistics center, before including them in visits to sites where Skypod was already set up. “We visited our colleagues at Decathlon. There, the operators were able to communicate their feelings and their requests to us”specifies Nicolas Gueuzurian. Thus, certain specific features such as screens adjustable in height and width, or the anti-fatigue mat to avoid pain due to trampling, are Luxembourg exceptions, at the request of employees. This co-construction is the reason why automation of the value chain was particularly well received among the teams, who kept all their positions.
Beyond collaborative work, Exotec’s Skypod has made it possible to reduce night hours, since the warehouse has the capacity to process almost all orders and receipts during the day. In addition, the weight to be carried is greatly reduced, an advantage for the entire team which is 50% made up of women.
Optimize logistics to develop e-commerce
In 2020, while the various confinements limited consumer movements, e-commerce exploded for Auchan Retail. Given its popularity, customers usually expect delivery within 24 hours. Online sales (drive and delivery combined) now represent 7% of the retailer’s sales. Auchan Luxembourg’s objective is to develop e-commerce, give it a new lease of life. If the optimization of logistics is a major driver of this development objective, the retailer has worked on other points.
The Auchan Drive site was thus modified and optimized in 2023. This overhaul includes the modernization of payment methods, the removal of withdrawal terminals so that customers do everything on their smartphone, the improvement of filters with the possibility of selecting local products as well as a search engine using artificial intelligence. “We must take into account a number of factors specific to Luxembourg, such as the fact that there are 150 nationalities living together in the country and almost as many languages spoken on a daily basis, comments Nicolas Gueuzurian. A customer looking for an apple may very well type the keyword in French, German or Portuguese. This is why we have integrated the understanding of several languages by the AI of our search engine.
Since its creation in 2015, the drive has continued to grow for Auchan Retail Luxembourg. The share of e-commerce experienced good growth before stagnating, particularly since the opening of a new Auchan hypermarket, which slows down this progression. “Little by little, major distribution players are establishing themselves on the web in Luxembourg. This is also the case for giants like Uber who took their first step in the country this summer. The arrival of these competitors contributes to converting consumers to online shopping is a driver of our growth,” explains Nicolas Gueuzurian.
If France remains the leading market for online sales for the Mulliez family group, Luxembourg serves as a test country for supply chain optimization. “By the end of the year, all our colleagues from other countries will have visited us to see the Exotec solution in action”concludes Nicolas Gueuzurian.
Source: www.ecommercemag.fr
