- Thanks to TGW technology, up to 200,000 households in the Ruhr area can be supplied with groceries reliably and quickly.
- An innovative robot system automatically loads the transport frames with customer orders.
- Europe's largest online grocery fulfillment center sets the standard for performance and efficiency.
Press Article
TGW Logistics automates new distribution center for Picnic
(Marchtrenk, Austria, July 30th, 2025) Following their first joint project in Utrecht, the leading online supermarket Picnic has once again put its trust in the expertise and experience of TGW Logistics. A highly-automated fulfillment center recently went into operation in Oberhausen, Germany, laying the foundation for Picnic's planned growth in the German market.
Founded in 2015 in Amersfoort, Netherlands, Picnic has developed into a leading European online grocery provider in just a few short years. The company is active in the Netherlands, Germany and France. Orders are placed using an intuitive app, and environmentally-friendly electric vehicles make the deliveries. You can choose from an assortment of 10,000 products, and if you order by 10:00 p.m., the chilled, frozen and ambient food will be delivered to your doorstep the next day. Thanks to the so-called "milkman principle," delivery times are accurate down to the minute.
Three temperature zones ensure highest product quality
In order to further accelerate their expansion into the German market, Picnic has established a highly-automated fulfillment center in the heart of the Ruhr area. The high-performance system planned and implemented by TGW Logistics enables optimal customer service and maximum efficiency.
The core element is a shuttle warehouse where 1,500 robots move about entirely autonomously. Groceries and non-food items are stored there in three temperature areas ranging from negative 18 to positive 20 degrees Celsius.
Robots as the system's high-performance core
Customer orders begin at one of the more than 60 ergonomic PickCenter picking workstations or in the Zone-Picking area (which mainly handles high-volume products or fast-moving items).
The orders are then consolidated in a buffer. Shortly before the trucks leave for the local distribution points, items are transferred to a robot-assisted system developed by TGW Logistics, which loads the customer totes into transport frames entirely automatically. Up to 33,000 customer orders can be processed per day.
"We are delighted with the successful go-live in Oberhausen! This fulfillment center is a milestone and marks the next level of collaboration between Picnic and TGW Logistics," declares Bart van Eycken, Director of Sales for the Customer Unit North at TGW Logistics.
Picnic co-founder Frederik Nieuwenhuys adds: "TGW Logistics is an excellent partner that made this high-end project possible together with Picnic. The combination of the Picnic tech team and TGW technology demonstrates that we can offer our customers even better service and thus set standards in the industry."
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TGW Logistics is a foundation-owned company headquartered in Austria and a global leader in warehouse automation and warehouse logistics. As a trusted systems integrator with more than 50 years of experience, we deliver end-to-end services: designing, implementing, and maintaining fulfillment centers powered by mechatronics, robotics, and advanced software solutions. With over 4,500 employees spanning Europe, Asia, and North America, we combine expertise, innovation, and a customer-centric dedication to help keep your business growing. With TGW Logistics, it's possible to transform your warehouse logistics into a competitive advantage.
