Iconic denim brand Levi Strauss & Co. appoints TGW to design and implement European distribution center
(Marchtrenk, May 10, 2021) Boasting 155,000 m² of floor space, Levi Strauss & Co. is building one of Europe's largest logistics hubs for fashion articles and accessories. The denim leader is thus consolidating its logistics processes at a central location. With completion scheduled for November 2023, TGW is supplying the highly automated intralogistics system for omni-channel operations.
Levi Strauss & Co. is consolidating its European logistics in a facility with just under 155,000 m² of floor space. The objective is to respond to market requirements with greater speed and efficiency, shorten delivery times and accelerate growth in all sales channels. The new location helps Levi Strauss & Co. advance sustainability, flexibility and digitalization of the global supply chain. "We are pleased to have had the opportunity to contract with intralogistics specialist TGW Logistics Group in setting up our MHE systems", says Torsten Mueller. Mueller is the person from Levi Strauss & Co. Europe responsible for logistics and the project.
The special feature of the logistics hub is the intelligent, highly automated goods-to-person system. TGW FlashPick® was developed to cope with unpredictable and fluctuating order structures with flexibility. Should the proportion of orders shift between sales channels (stores, online and wholesale) or the order structure change, the system continues to fulfil the new requirements with high efficiency and support the denim leader's growth.
On peak days, as many as 350,000 parts may be shipped. The average lead time from order start to the package being ready to ship is just ten minutes. The project is divided into two stages: During the first stage, which is scheduled until 2023, the throughput will rise to 33 million parts per year. In the second stage of the project, this value will go up to 55 million due to an increase in storage capacity and additional picking workstations.
The centrepiece of the system is a combination of a five-aisle shuttle system and an automatic mini-load warehouse with 830,000 storage positions. Orders are picked at ten PickCenter picking workstations, and an eight-kilometre-long network of energy-efficient KingDrive® conveyor systems connects the areas to each other.
The TGW Warehouse Software helps Levi Strauss & Co. helps make the stringent requirements of omni-channel operation manageable and is an integral part of the solution. It takes over planning, monitoring and optimisation of all intralogistics processes.
In order to use resources efficiently, up to 70 percent of delivered cartons will be reused for dispatch. An innovative robotics solution from TGW takes over the task of automatically repackaging from the cartons into totes. In addition, Levi Strauss & Co. gets by without plastic polybags in shipping – picking directly into cartons or paper bags instead.
"Levi Strauss & Co. is experienced in dealing with logistics. We're proud that they trust our automation expertise," emphasises Johann Steinkellner, CEO Central Europe at TGW. "FlashPick® makes it possible to combine e-commerce, wholesale and retail efficiently. This is a critical competitive advantage for companies with an omni-channel business model such as Levi Strauss & Co."
