Revolutionizing Customer-Centric Supply Chain for E-Commerce

The lines between physical and digital worlds are blurring — shoppers will use whatever format best suits their needs for convenience, choice and value. Thailand’s most dynamic hypermarket chain, Lotus's, steps up its retail omnichannel distribution to bridge the gaps between channels and create a better shopping experience for customers.

To better align the experience across multiple platforms, Lotus's has made simplifying the order fulfillment processes possible through supply chain reinvention and optimization. On behalf of Lotus's, SSI SCHAEFER created a recipe for a flexible logistics concept: from the order handling to picking and shipping sortation.

While inbound pallets can be loaded directly into the Pallet Racks, the pick module system integrates various storage solutions inside the Mezzanine work platform system to provide efficient storage, retrieval and fast delivery the customer expects. The pick module system is multi-level, combining the elements of shelving system and Carton flow racks into one high-density footprint. Integrated with the design structure, the Carton and bin conveying system reduces wasted walk time for the pickers so that they can better focus on order picking tasks.

The bin Destacking machines enhance the order start process with constant automatic destacking and order sorting in one work step. Coupled with management technology has meant that error-free and traceable picking is now a possibility. While it only takes one misstep in the supply chain to cause a bottleneck and holds up the preceding departments, the WAMAS® logistics system plays a critical role in managing all the orders in the pipeline.

Today the solutions in Lotus’s facility strike the right balance for an omnichannel supply chain — the efficiency to optimize fulfillment operations and the agility to match customer’s needs throughout the Kingdom of Thailand.

THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN LOTUS'S AND SSI SCHAEFER

E-commerce is faster than ever as customers can shop at the click of a button. It’s no surprise that hypermarket giant, Lotus's, is turning to technology to speed up delivery of goods to doorsteps. There were several goals outlined for Lotus’s biggest piece-picking facility. While Lotus's wanted to retrofit the existing facility for improved fulfillment operations, the main goal is to ensure a reliable logistics warehouse system software to automate manual processes and save time. The integration of WAMAS® logistics software into the existing Oracle environment was a crucial success factor for Lotus's.

From order start to shipping, the combination of the conveyor and WAMAS® logistics system synchronizes the order picking processes and personnel for optimal throughput and productivity. Lotus's relies on the automated function to manage the routing for workload balancing and preventing bottlenecks. Another key feature is the ability to re-route incomplete or incorrect picking jobs to an error station for rectification.

As the business expands, so will the volume of stock-keeping units (SKUs) and the speed items need to be shipped. Lotus's is prepared to meet this heightened demand over the next six years by taking an incremental approach to modernizing their warehouse operations. The solutions developed for Lotus's improves not only the space utilization of the warehouse. It also balances labor and automation in the warehouse, ultimately empowering their employees with a performance edge.

Ekachai Phoosanabhongs, Distribution Director, Lotus's

IMPRESSIONS OF THE PARTNERSHIP WITH LOTUS'S

“SSI SCHAEFER more than exceeded our expectations. They have allowed us to execute fast response to our customer demands. Effortlessly in picking processes — this, in turn, enables us to offer more SKUs and achieve error-free delivery for our customers.”

Mr. Ekachai Phoosanabhongs
Distribution Director
Lotus's

BRIDGING THE GAPS BETWEEN CHANNELS WITH INCREASED CAPACITY AND FULFILLMENT

Lotus's wanted to develop a more cost-effective solution and introduce partial automation to handle in-store and online orders more efficiently. By retrofitting the existing facility, Lotus's can optimize material flow, improve efficiency and better utilize the available space without having to uproot their business.

The Solution

From initial planning and design construction, the solutions from SSI SCHAEFER include:

LOTUS'S DISTRIBUTION CENTER

Innovative material flow design with semi-automation in Lotus’s biggest piece-picking distribution center.
The solutions developed for Lotus's improves space utilization and performance edge with automation.

LEVERAGE ON TECHNOLOGY AND RAMP-UP THE HYPERMARKET DISTRIBUTION

Lotus's wanted to retrofit the existing warehouse to maximize pick density and space utilization. Combining both automation and work augmentation solutions, Lotus's and SSI SCHAEFER created the recipe of flexible logistics concept: from the order start to picking stations and shipping sortation. The system delivers capabilities to meet the end-customer satisfaction levels by optimizing order processing speed and accuracy.