Suning

All channels are in view. Speed and flexibility for a complete omni-channel Suning strategy. A success story.

The Impossible Made Possible

Providing the customer with the same shopping experience regardless of channel sounds impossible. Chinese omni-channel specialist Suning demonstrates how it works – with its state-of-the-art warehouse in Nanjing, China, among other places. From here, both brick-and-mortar Suning stores and the rapidly growing number of e-commerce customers are supplied with products from an extremely broad portfolio. The successful completion of the logistics center operating multiple distribution channels proves the expertise of SSI SCHAEFER as a partner with a high solution capacity for intralogistics challenges.

The Partnership between Suning and SSI SCHAEFER

What specific services has SSI SCHAEFER provided for the goals of Suning?

Founded 25 years ago as an electronics retailer, Suning now offers a broad range of electronics and office supplies, books, toys and household goods, cosmetics, fashion items, and groceries in more than 4,000 stores and its standard-setting online platform suning.com. The company successfully applies an online-to-offline (O2O) strategy to create a one-stop-shop shopping experience for its customers by fully linking various distribution channels. SSI SCHAEFER developed a state-of-the-art distribution center for achieving this goal successfully.

With the custom-designed system, Suning is responding to the ongoing boom in omni-channel retail and meeting the growing demand in e-commerce. It is all about high speed with simultaneous delivery quality and flexibility as well as maximum ergonomics in all intralogistics processes. The distribution center stores around 20 million items and processes up to 1.8 million items per day. Maximum availability, safety, and cost-effectiveness round off the demands on the logistics solution to react even more dynamically to the increased market requirements in the face of further expansions for the company.

The Suning logistics center impresses with multiple components – the high-bay warehouse and the miniload system form the backbone of a highly dynamic system solution. In addition, the integration of the Schäfer Carousel System is one major benefit in terms of picking efficiency.

Thanks to the ergonomics@work!® program, not only were the warehouse processes beneficial, but all the employees benefit from sophisticated order picking and work stations. Powerful sorters and a return center supplement the internal material flow. While the existing SAP system is used in warehouse and stock management, the associated WAMAS® logistics software from SSI SCHAEFER demonstrates its strengths at the control level.

But it’s not just the numbers and internal processes that are the deciding factors in the end. Above all, the partnership between Suning and SSI SCHAEFER was, and is, important. In particular, the bundling of the global strength of the intralogistics experts with its local expertise in China was able to contribute to this. The synergies are used perfectly – with a team on site and other specialists guiding the project from Europe.

The Suning Success Story

“The crucial factor for our decision in choosing SSI SCHAEFER was that the system provider is not only able to plan such an omni-channel logistics center, but also organize its implementation and equip it with its own products.”
Meng Lei Ping
Vice President Suning Research Institute

IMPRESSIONS OF THE PARTNERSHIP WITH SUNING

Extensive insights into the tailor-made omni-channel logistics center

For the omni-channel specialist SSI SCHAEFER has built a state-of-the-art logistics center that meets the high demands of the Chinese company: The shopping experience is intended to inspire customers both online and in the stores. An exciting task both for the customer and for the intralogistics experts in Europe and locally in China.

Trend Topic

Suning sets standards. And, the company offers its customers an equally good shopping experience in every channel - with the new warehouse in Nanjing. The Chinese omni-channel specialist is responding to the rapidly growing demand in e-commerce. The focus is on high speed with both delivery quality and flexibility in all intralogistics processes.

THE BASIS OF THE SUCCESS STORIES

Continuity across national borders. This sums up the successful cooperation between Suning and SSI SCHAEFER pretty well. In addition to figures and internal processes, mutual trust and long-term project orientation make all the difference.

Work Stations

Schaeffler

Coop

Brose

HARIBO

Gebr. Heinemann

Gebr. Märklin

Discover more of our Case Studies

Success stories are always the most exciting when experienced up close and personal. Learn more about our intralogistics projects in our case studies: What challenges had to be overcome? What particularities had to be taken into account? And how were they ultimately successfully implemented? You can find all these interesting and useful details in our case studies.

We always work together with our customers to develop their own success story. Perhaps we can develop the next one with you.