Dispeo has used mobile robots from Scallog to transport shelves to operators. As the deployment evolved from a proof of concept to large-scale installation, the e-commerce and omnichannel company said the robots are helping it meet its goals for stock consolidation and logistics performance.
Hem, France-based Dispeo said it has 1,000 employees, five logistics sites in the north of France, and sales of more than €80 million ($84.5 million U.S.). It claimed that its warehouse in Evreux, France, is the first of its kind in Europe to use Scallog's goods-to-person (G2P) systems for multi-customer operations, particularly in the cosmetics, fashion, and food sectors.
The third-party logistics provider (3PL) said its 33,000-sq.-m (355,209-sq.-ft.) site optimizes customer e-commerce, retail, and non-retail flows. They represent more than 15 million customer sales units processed per year.
Dispeo said it selected technology based on its values of productivity, quality, and cost. The company said Scallog's systems ensure that its Evreux warehouse amasses stock, accelerate retail order picking, and optimize working conditions.
Dispeo finds customized automation
Dispeo's Evreux warehouse has 170 to 350 employees depending on the period, five cells of 6,000 sq. m (65,583.4 sq. ft.), and one cell of 3,000 sq. m (32,291.7 sq. ft.). It covers all logistics services, from stock management to dispatch.
The 3PL noted that its services are tailored to business, product type, and multiple customer needs. In 2016, it sought “tailor-made” automation to “rationalize the stocks of a large depth—numerous models offered per product line” and speed up processing of retail orders.
Founded in 2013, Scallog designs, manufactures, and sells robots to boost warehouse agility and productivity for 3PL, e-commerce, distribution, and manufacturing companies. The Nanterre, France-based company said its systems can help them respond to evolving demand among business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) customers.
Scallog said its G2P robots include “smart” decision-making and execution software to help companies handle seasonal peaks and more easily integrate automation into their warehouses. It said it has more than 60 clients and is expanding worldwide.
Scallog scales to multiple SKUs
“Scallog's flexible and scalable [G2P] solution ensured that we could optimize our logistics, from storage to order picking, by universe, in the face of a wide variety of SKUs to manage and numerous activity peaks to absorb,” explained Anthony Herouard, logistics team leader at Dispeo.
Scallog said in a case study that its collaboration with Dispeo developed in three stages: the installation of a Starter Kit in 2016, the first extension in 2018, and the second in 2019 following a move and extensions.
Scallog's G2P systems cover 2,500 sq. m (26,909.7 sq. ft.) of Dispeo's Evreux warehouse.This includes 549 mobile shelves transported by 49 automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and six stations—five dedicated to order picking and one to replenishment.
Dispeo uses four additional stations to support order picking and replenishment during seasonal picks, as well as for inventory control on a daily basis.
“With Scallog, our high-performance, multi-purpose Evreux site has an automation solution that fits in perfectly with our approach to customer and employee satisfaction, while meeting our commitments to agility, performance, and CSR [corporate social responsibility],” said Guillaume Frant, marketing director at Dispeo.
Not only do Scallog's G2P systems enable Dispeo to meeet its CSR commitments by reducing worker fatigue and strain, but they also help prevent musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) and help employees with physical limitations or restricted mobility, said the partners.
Evereux warehouse enhances performance
Scallog said it has enabled Dispeo's automated storage area to “massify” customers' cosmetics stocks, with numerous Class A, B and C references. The G2P systems have also handled the dry food sector, with over 2,000 Class C references.
In addition, Scallog said it has tripled productivity in retail order picking to 180 picks per hour. This acceleration has not been at the expense of quality, and the already low error rate has even been improved, the company asserted.
Logistics operators are guided at every stage by “Spot to Light” and “Put to Light” systems, ensuring speed and quality of execution in retail picking. The Evereux warehouse can now absorb ever-increasing activity peaks over shorter periods, with logistics flows that can double or triple over a few weeks, said Dispeo.
“In just one hour, a referent operator can train a temporary operator in the Scallog solution so that he or she is fully operational and autonomous,” noted Herouard.
Partners plan to expand robot use
After Scallog conducted an audit in January 2023, Dispeo's Evreux warehouse plans to overhaul its organization and picking processes in the coming months, taking stock consolidation a step further. In the 2,500-sq.-m automated zone, it plans to broaden the scope of stocked items in terms of size and rotation class.
”Our aim is also to achieve further productivity gains, and to reach 200 to 220 picks per hour,” said Herouard.
Frant added: “The scalability of the goods-to-person solution, coupled with Scallog's ability to listen, ensures that we have a 'tailor-made' automation solution to meet our customers' expectations, supported by a committed partner who is with us for the long term in our development.”
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