Double digit productivity boost at supermarket DC

Founded in 1921, Jumbo Supermarkten is the largest privately-owned supermarket chain in the Netherlands with seven strategically located distribution centres serving some 560 stores across the country. When picking in excess of 1.4 million ambient and fresh items per week, small percentage improvements in the order picking process make a tremendous difference to the efficiency of the operation.

So, after conducting trials with a fleet of Crown GPC 3000 order pickers optimised with QuickPick Remote which resulted in double digit productivity improvements, Jumbo invested in a new fleet for its distribution centre at Veghel, Netherlands.

Crown’s multi-award winning QuickPick Remote brings together technology, workflow efficiency and optimised operator activity in a natural, systematic order picking process. Using a wireless remote control incorporated into a special work glove, operators can move their order pickers forward to the next pick location at the touch of a button without having to climb repeatedly on and off the truck’s operator platform and allowing operators to keep both hands free for picking.

Jumbo’s project manager, Martijn Vogelzang, explains: “We had trialled full AGVs previously but experienced little or no improvement and the investment cost was substantial. We felt this semi-automated solution from Crown could suit our application – and so it has proven because the trials were a great success. We experienced an initial productivity increase of 7-8% in the trials but more importantly, our staff reported feeling less fatigue at the end of a shift because they were doing less walking between the racks, the picking cages and the truck’s operator platform.”

In a typical shift operators can expect to step on and off the truck around 1,200 times. QuickPick Remote dramatically reduces this – by up to 70% – because the operator can position the truck for optimal picking without the need to climb into the driving compartment.

Martijn Vogelzang continues: “The feedback on the Crown GPC truck has been overwhelmingly positive with operators reporting that it is easy to drive and position in the aisle. Importantly for productivity, around 90% of our operators who used QuickPick Remote said it required less physical effort.”

Cees van de Wouw, dry goods warehouse manager for Jumbo, explains how processes changed at the distribution centre following the introduction of QuickPick Remote: “The Veghel distribution centre serves 171 Jumbo locations with ambient products which are picked into roll cages ready for delivery to store. Each Crown GPC 3000 can carry four roll cages, and a colour-coded system allows operators to pick for multiple locations. We had to educate our operators to pick in a different way but they quickly learnt the principles of the system and found it meant they had to carry less and make fewer steps during shifts.

“Initially our productivity improvements were 7-8 per cent but, working with Crown, we found that by reviewing the location of certain items, we could further optimise the picking process and now we are achieving an 11 per cent productivity improvement across our fleet.”

Crown’s Sales Manager working with Jumbo is Jules de Jong. “Operator acceptance of the QuickPick Remote has been excellent but equally important has been their acceptance of the Crown GPC 3000. During the trials, the GPC was their first choice, even without QuickPick Remote being fitted. Particularly welcomed were the light, responsive electronic steering, the award-winning X10 handle that allows simultaneous operation of all functions with one hand, and the low step height into the operator’s compartment. ”

Busy distribution centres are often very harsh working environments. Crown’s philosophy is to produce robust and reliable machines and the GPC 3000 features reinforced, closed-tip forks engineered for continuous use under maximum loading conditions and the use of steel covers instead of plastic to ensure maximum protection for motors and electronic components.

Service support is provided by the local Crown service team, with engineers on call as required. Cess van de Wouw continues: “Reliability and product uptime have proven to be excellent. The QuickPick Remote technology has also been very reliable.”

Project manager, Martijn Vogelzang sums up: “Crown exceeded our expectations with QuickPick Remote and in addition to the Veghel site, we have ordered a new fleet for our national distribution centre at Elst. 

“In our experience, the operators find the system easy to learn and operate, while reducing fatigue. The management team are also delighted as we’ve seen double digit productivity increases and an increase in staff motivation. You could say that QuickPick Remote has enabled our staff to do more by doing less.”