Volg

2024/02/17

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Our customer

The consumer goods distributor Volg Konsumwaren AG supply their products to some 550 Volg village stores, 290 privately owned retailers and to more than 70 Agrola petrol station shops in Switzerland. Depending on the shop size, the village stores offer 2,500 - 5,000 products – mainly fresh produce such as fruit, vegetables, bread, milk and other dairy products as well as meat from certified producers. The range also includes food stock items as well as a wide range of household and body care products. The distribution centre in Winterthur supplies all sales points with the full range of food and nearfood products, whereas the distribution centre in Landquart is the hub for fresh produce.

Initial situation and customer requirements

Implement an efficient storage and order picking solution for re-stocking shops with a floor surface between 60 and 400 sqm.
Pick and deliver small-scale orders on time.
Handle a large product range: 1,550 fresh produce references with different turnover frequencies.
Each order picker must be able to access some 1,050 reference lines a day.
Maximum stock duration of 2 days for fresh produce.
The storage system had to be suitable for foods and for cold store products.

Some impressions of our customer solution

Project brief

The BITO Solution

Combination of several BITO storage systems

» BITO Pallet racking combined with BITO carton live storage and BITO boltless shelving is used for product storage, buffering and order picking.

Never out of stock

» Single-deep pallet racking is used for buffering sufficient product quantities.

Low-noise handling and reliable product flow

» Double deep pallet racking; lanes with full-with steel rollers mounted at a narrow pitch to reduce handling noise.

On-site application and key features of our storage solution

The Volg Konsumwaren AG stocks fresh produce in different picking areas according to the turnover frequency of a product.
Goods are picked as individual product (single position storage) or as packaging unit (off-pallet picking).
The upper racking levels are used as a product buffer for replenishing the pick levels underneath.
A large fresh-produce section has been furnished with shelving and racking for storing, buffering and picking products.

Customer benefits

In what way has the BITO solution helped our customer to realise their full potential?

Reliable handling of deliveries from approximately 80 suppliers.
Safe in-feeding and retrieval of products as operators work in separate loading and picking aisles.
Increased productivity and efficient order processing even of small-scale orders; Volg is now able to handle 25% more customer orders.
The turnover frequency of a product determines which storage and order picking system is used.
Fresh produce items are never stocked for more than 2 days before being delivered to a shop.
Steel shelving complies with the relevant food hygiene requirements.

What our customers say

„The BITO racking facility operates very reliably. Particularly noteworthy are the live storage steel roller lanes which ensure smooth and quiet product handling. Heavy loads as well as light-weight products move reliably to the pick points.“

Erich AckermannFresh Food Manager and director of the new distribution centre of Volg AG, Switzerland

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Products used

These systems are in place

Solutions for palletised loads

BITO Pallet racking

Conventional pallet racking is a versatile storage solution for loads of different sizes and weights. The system enables direct access to all pallets and is suitable for storing large quantities of a small product assortment as well as smaller quantities of an extensive product range.

Solutions for unit loads

BITO Boltless shelving

BITO Boltless shelving is easy to assemble, customisable and versatile. It is ideal for storing individual items and unit loads that can be handled manually. Boltless shelving is available with different load capacities and can be used for archiving, for supplying goods at assembly stations and in production environments, or as a supporting structure for mezzanine floors.

Solutions for unit loads

BITO Carton live storage racking

Carton live storage systems are ideal for products with a fast and medium turnover and enable high picking speeds which can further be increased by automation. The FIFO principle ensures compliance with best-before dates, especially in the food and pharmaceutical industries.