Katoen Natie has new order-picking system for Intergamma

Belgian logistics service provider Katoen Natie has commissioned a new storage system for Dutch DIY group Intergamma at its site in Kallo near Antwerp. The Auto-Store storage and picking system, reportedly the fastest system of its kind in the world, is used for customer orders online. Intergamma is the largest DIY group in Benelux with 384 stores in Belgium and the Netherlands under the Gamma and Karwei brands. Online orders received by 9 pm are handed over by Katoen Natie to the parcel service provider by 11 pm and can be delivered the following day. "Continuous developments in Intergamma's online channels have led to an increase in volume," confirms Joost De Beijer, CEO of Intergamma.

"For Katoen Natie, the accumulated know-how with Auto-Store is already an additional incentive to attract new customers on our logistics platforms with innovative solutions," says Fernand Huts, president of Katoen Natie. The Kallo site is considered the largest "multi-customer" logistics platform in Europe. The implementation of the Auto-Store system is part of a joint future project between Katoen Natie and Intergamma, whose ten-year partnership was recently extended by five years.

Auto-Store is a cube-shaped automation system in a grid structure and with a volume of around 900 m³. It works according to the goods-to-man principle. The containers with the stocked products are stacked 16-high next to and on top of each other in the grid. On top of the grid, 20 autonomous robots operate to remove stock from the grid for orders.

To do this, they lift bins out of the grid and rearrange them until they have the right bin. This bin is then made available at one of the three picking stations. The picker removes the goods from the bin and executes the order.

A detailed article in our DIY+ section explains how Auto-Store works.