ASOS installs pocket sorter technology in Berlin DC

This is the second time ASOS has commissioned KNAPP and its German subsidiary Dürkopp Fördertechnik, following a successful installation in its UK distribution centre in Barnsley, South Yorkshire.

The heart of KNAPP’s eCommerce solution is an OSR Shuttle, which provides both the flexibility required by the frequently changing article range and error-free picking at the Pick-it-Easy stations. KNAPP covers the task of sorting by using transport pockets combined with a hanging goods system. Perfect for ASOS’s product range, each pocket has space for all the items that would fit into a shopping bag.

Matrix sortation

The pocket sorter system is special thanks to its sorting algorithm that sorts the randomly picked items into an exact sequence. Flat-packed and hanging goods are consolidated and grouped together at one of 200 pack stations in the precise sequence needed for dispatch.

“At the pack stations, we only provide the items that belong to one individual customer order for picking from the pockets. The next order then arrives once the previous pack order has been completed. The streamlining of all processes results in a reduction in costs as well as an optimised transit time, both crucial to eCommerce businesses,” adds Heimo Robosch, executive vice president of KNAPP, on the advantages of the solution.

The eCommerce boom is paying off for KNAPP – online commerce is showing extremely strong growth across all sectors, making up more than 70 percent in certain sectors. KNAPP is also recording very strong growth in fashion and lifestyle. In collaboration with its German subsidiary Dürkopp Fördertechnik, KNAPP is concentrating on solutions that make very high throughput and strict sequences possible.

ASOS

Eurohub 2, the ASOS warehouse in Berlin, was opened at the beginning of March 2017 and quickly grew its volumes to fulfil c.95% of all EU orders. Its stockholding is expected to grow to around 9m units in readiness for peak 2018. The Phase 2 extension of Eurohub 2, which will double the square footage of the fulfilment centre, is on track. The first phase of Automation is expected to go live by the end of 2018.