The first Rusta department store was opened in 1986 by entrepreneurs, Anders Forsgren and Bengt-Olov Forssell; two culture-bearers that are still active principal owners of the business. Since then, expansion has continued at a high pace and there will soon be 100 stores throughout Sweden and Norway.
Rusta’s annual growth is between 15-20%. To cope with its rapid expansion Rusta decided to build a new, modern, central warehouse and distribution center. Swisslog has been responsible for the design of automation and integration of the highbay warehouse in close collaboration with Rusta’s own specialists. “Our new central warehouse made it possible to close down eleven smaller facilities including two main warehouses and this gives us great flexibility and growth potential,” says Magnus Hallin, Logistics Manager for Rusta and one of two responsible project managers for the new facility.
You can see an enormous black and yellow Rusta logo several kilometers away when approaching the impressive new facility. The inside of the building is also designed and furnished in the Rusta colors. It all feels modern, almost exclusive, and looks more like an advertising agency than a warehouse facility.
GEARED FOR GROWTH
The modern, high-tech facility consists of 65,500 square meters and houses a fully-automated high-bay warehouse for pallet goods. With the automation, Rusta will substantially improve its warehouse productivity, accuracy, and cost-efficiency. The new central warehouse is one of the largest in Sweden as well as in the Nordic region. Magnus Hallin explains that preparations have been made for further expansion to 120,000 square meters, if and when this expansion becomes necessary.
“With our new central warehouse, we have ensured that we can continue to grow rapidly in the Nordic region. The location of the warehouse was selected by taking into account the relatively short transport distances to the stores in Sweden and Norway.”
OVERALL INTEGRATOR
Swisslog was the overall integrator for the high-bay installation in the new central warehouse and has supplied the automation for the facility. The delivery includes a standard high-bay solution, nine stacker cranes, a conveyor system and 20 ergonomically designed pick stations. Everything has been optimized with an energy recycling system that reduces energy consumption. The high-bay warehouse is controlled by Swisslog’s proprietary Material Flow Control System (MFCS). Swisslog’s commitment also includes a service and support agreement that ensures stable and continuous operation.
On a typical day, around 1,600 pallets of goods are picked at the warehouse. In addition, e-commerce is increasing quickly and approximately 400 orders are completed for home delivery to private customers.
SOLID PARTNERSHIP
Magnus Hallin is pleased with Swisslog’s efforts and with the cooperation between the companies. “The entire warehouse project has gone fantastically well. Swisslog has had very competent project management and our partnership has been extremely good. I only have good things to say!
“Now we have the warehouse capacity we need for the foreseeable period. This is a significant investment for us, but we expect that the return on it will come soon.”
“The objective of the new modern distribution center was to enhance Rusta’s competitiveness through increased capacity to all department stores in both Sweden and Norway. Strategically, we wanted to improve our efficiency in the warehouse, picking processes and distribution. Together with Swisslog we are creating an efficient supply chain designed for the future,” concludes Hallin.
BENEFITS OF THE NEW DISTRIBUTION CENTRE
• Improved efficiency across the warehouse, picking processes and distribution
• Increased warehouse and order fulfilment capacity for foreseeable future growth
• High availability of articles in a modern automated warehouse
• Weight reduction & energy efficient drives, resulting in reduced lifting energy
ABOUT RUSTA
Rusta is a Swedish retail company, founded in 1986 , which markets products for the home, both inside and out. Rusta wants to have maximum control over its supply chain.
Therefore, it functions as importer, wholesaler, distributor and retailer all at the same time. Efficient logistics is critical in order to enable the company to offer a wide range at low prices and to handle large volumes and seasonal variations.
SWISSLOG
Comments are closed.