Adidas

The Challenge:

• Consolidation of four regional warehouses into a single automated site in UK
• Deployment of a complete site wide fulfilment Matflo WCS
• Subsequent award and deployment of two further sites in Germany and Australia

Introduction

With the acquisition of the Reebok brand, Adidas looked to restructure their Northern European distribution operation, merging their five key brands, adidas, Reebok, TaylorMade, Rockport and Ashworth into a single consolidated distribution centre at Trafford Park, Manchester, replacing their existing four warehouses. The new warehouse would be fully automated, with additional manual picking areas.

Why Dematic?

Within the area of warehousing and supply chain, Dematic has developed an enviable reputation as the dependable partner, with a proven track record of delivery on time and budget.

DAI, a Dematic company’s Matflo solution is recognized internationally as the leading independent WCS (warehouse control system) available in the market space. Together with experience going back over 20 years working with Dematic, the selected MHE (material handling equipment) provider for the site, the choice of DAI a Dematic company was clear.

Challenges

It quickly became clear that the already in-situ corporate standard WMS was not able to support, in a cost effective way, many of the functions demanded of an efficient and effective distribution centre, hence the scope of the Matflo WCS was expanded to become a site wide fulfilment WCS. While the delivery of the extra functionality was never an issue, the appropriate components simply being selected from the standard Matflo component library, the biggest challenge arose from a reluctance to amend the timescales as the scope of the project increased.

Solution

Within all areas of automation Matflo has complete control, achieving the necessary smooth flow of items from the fully automated mini-load through to the Picking Stations, yet not disrupting the corporate architecture.

Our Matflo solution delivered highlights include:

• Very flexible WCS to allow the successful handling of a diverse order profile
• Ability to flex labour requirements through peaks and troughs
• Much greater stock accuracy to facilitate supply chain planning

The Result

After the success of this initial project, Dematic have won two further site wide fulfilment Matflo WCS projects for adidas (including the control of their worldwide largest DC in Rieste, Germany).

The site is supported 24 x 7, by a team of experts. An on-going program of change is occurring as the business evolves, to allow the facility to flex as the operational demands change.