Puma, one of the world’s leading sporting goods manufacturers for shoes, clothing and accessories, has invested in a new central European Distribution Center in Geiselwind, Germany. The goal was to combine multiple B2C/B2B distribution centres into one fulfilment centre. The new omni-channel DC serves all channels (retail/wholesale, direct) from one location and fulfils orders throughout Europe. Puma commissioned intralogistics specialist TGW with building a highly automated distribution centre. This new, spectacular distribution centre is expected to be completed by the spring of 2021.
From 22 distribution centres to one central fulfilment centre
In the past, Puma made use of a decentralized distribution network with separate local DCs for B2B (retail/wholesale) and B2C (direct-to-consumer). High inventory levels and process costs were important reasons for a strategy change. Most importantly, however, Puma was no longer able to offer its (internal or external) customers the level of service they expected. Therefore, in 2019, the sporting goods manufacturer decided to merge all 22 European distribution centres into one central fulfilment centre: the perfect omni-channel DC.
Puma is experiencing strong growth in all three sales channels. Thus, it was important to develop a solution that could cover both retail/wholesale and e-commerce orders. It is difficult for Puma to predict how the individual orders will break down across channels on any given day which made it important for the fulfilment solution to be extremely flexible. Therefore, one of the most important design criteria was a high degree of automation to make it possible to react quickly to changes of the order structures – and to do so with consistently high quality.
The solution: a flexible, automated system
Puma processes returns, cartons and large goods in the goods receiving area. If the returned goods fulfil the reuse criteria, they are repackaged, put onto trays, as are goods in cartons, and stored in the shuttle system (713,000 storage locations). Large goods are put into storage in the large parts warehouse.
The order picking process is covered by TGW’s standardized order fulfilment system FlashPick®, the modular goods-to-person system for single-piece picking. FlashPick® – as the core of the solution – was the ideal choice for Puma due to the single management approach. Orders ard individually and flexibly handled. This enables the sporting goods manufacturer to fulfil both large and small orders regardless of any changes in order structures. This makes it possible to have later acceptance times and earlier deliveries at the same time.
The shuttle system retrieves the goods fully automatically and supplies 27 manual picking workstations (PickCenter One). There, the operator picks the goods directly into cartons or totes for further processing. The “One Source. One Target” approach means that the system features maximum accuracy with unbeatable speed.
After the pick, the goods are returned to storage in the shuttle system, while the order is sent either directly to goods issue or to the packaging area.
At goods issue, the goods are either sent directly to the lorries using outbound sorters or stored intermediately in a shuttle buffer for shop orders. The shuttle buffer is connected directly to palletizing robots (Autostax) which make the mixed cartons available on pallets fully automatically.
Puma will continue to rely on the competence and experience of TGW long after the go live. As part of a 10-year Lifetime Services contract, maximum system availability with transparent and predictable costs will be ensured. The sporting goods manufacturer is able to concentrate on its core processes while 30 onsite TGW engineers work proactively on maintenance and continuous improvement of the system.
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