ikea-low-res.jpgWhen furniture retailer IKEA decided to expand its distribution in the UK, it looked to Ashton in the North West to alleviate some pressure off its Warrington and Leeds stores. Diamond Phoenix, a market leader in automated materials handling systems, were brought on board to deliver a custom built pallet handling system that would work within the constrictions of the site to help achieve maximum productivity for the new IKEA store.

The Ashton site, although perfect in location, presented the retailer with some very different logistics challenges in comparison to other IKEA sites across Europe. In terms of size, square footage and number of floors, the warehouse was unique and required the assistance of a logistics partner to meet the challenges head on.

Graham Boner, Sales Director at Diamond Phoenix commented “The key challenge was to develop a pallet handling system that could work effectively across 3 floors, rather than just one or two. With Ashton’s three storey warehouse facility, a continuous flow of product was required from the ground floor loading area, transporting them up to and across two different store levels, returning empty pallets to the ground level. The system was required to handle a wide range of product sizes which were either pallet or load ledge mounted, the latter of which meant a traditional pallet roller conveyor was not suitable.”

With this in mind, Diamond Phoenix developed a custom built pallet handling system that fitted around the buildings constraints. This included two vertical lifts and a conveyor system based on a robust modular belt design, software and controls to help secure the benefits of economy and simplicity of installation.

From the successful installation, the benefits and efficiencies in operation were realised immediately upon roll-out. With faster turnaround times and increased productivity, the Ashton store can now deliver up to 100-250 pallets in a six hour shift rather than the normal nine hours, which has resulted in good labour saving benefits for the Ashton store.

Iain Foss, UK Logistics Expansion Coordinator at IKEA commented, “From design to installation the process took less than a year, with 32 weeks build time, which was a first for any IKEA store. The quickest build time ever achieved for IKEA, around the world.”

When the Ashton store reopened, IKEA continued to enjoy the flexibility of the modular system that allows different sizes and pallet types in the same run. The system is also completely flexible, allowing reconfiguration of the modular belt for future applications.

Iain Foss continued “Diamond Phoenix were proactive and extremely helpful with their suggestions. The initial training and continued support has exceeded our expectations and we continue to enjoy a good working relationship.”

Diamond Phoenix (UK) is one of the market leaders in the design, manufacture, integration and installation of innovative material handling solutions.

For more information on Diamond Phoenix and our complete range of solutions, please visit our website www.diamondphoenix.co.uk
Tel: 0800 0858229

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