MRG Logistics / Blokker

Dynamic order picking in retail

MRG Logistics is an independent logistics service provider within the Mirage Retail Group (MRG), that includes several retailers in the Netherlands. The group’s best-known company is Blokker who sells home appliances and accessories in more than 400 stores and an online store.

At its site in Geldermalsen, MRG Logistics performs omnichannel logistics for the MRG companies, as well as an increasing number of other business partners.

Design criteria

In order to make the labour intensive picking process more efficient and to gain a clear competitive advantage, the handling of small parts should be changed from the manual person-to-goods principle to an automated goods-to-person approach. The new system should be flexibly adaptable to different articles, order structures and customer groups, and future expansion in several stages should be taken into account right from the beginning.

The solution

The automated intralogistics solution mainly consists of a configuration of six rotapick high-performance order picking systems and a directly connected Multi Access Warehouse with shuttles. psb realised the installation for MRG in an existing building and integrated it seamlessly into the internal features.

The new Multi Access Warehouse has 6,500 tote storage locations, a tote lift and twelve level-bound vario.sprinter shuttles. The easy expandability of the warehouse solution in terms of increasing both capacity and performance is a key factor of the concept. To achieve that, the system can be adapted to the respective requirements by two additional tote lifts within the aisles, up to another two aisles in width and an extension of the aisle length, including the use of further vario.sprinter shuttles.

Six rotapick order picking systems, each with three discs, or 36 target totes respectively, are performing goods-to-person picking. Here as well, the easy expansion is an important factor. Each rotapick can be extended by an additional disc, so that further targets or orders can be made available. In the picking area there is sufficient space for two additional rotapick units, each of them allowing for a performance of up to 1,000 picks per hour also.

The rotapick is supplied with article totes from the shuttle warehouse and to a large extent directly with article totes which are brought via conveyors from the manual replenishment area. Without detour via the repacking stations and the shuttle warehouse, they are brought directly to the rotapick as source totes and picked empty there. Only a small number of articles and remainder stocks are repacked into totes and stored into the shuttle warehouse.

Via a separate connection, the rotapick are supplied with empty totes for the stores. Completed order totes are transported from the rotapick to the existing facility where the outbound process is finalised.