FRANCE | Swisslog France has announced a new collaboration with Vandenbulcke, a leading distributor of bakery, patisserie and catering products in the Hauts-de-France region.
This project will see the implementation of an advanced AutoStore Multi-Temperature solution in Vandenbulcke's new 21,000 m² warehouse in Herlies, near Lille.
Founded in 1900, Vandenbulcke is a cornerstone in distributing raw materials, catering products, beverages, packaging, cleaning products, and trim materials. As a member of Back Europ France, Vandenbulcke is part of a network of independent local distributors serving the bakery, patisserie, ice cream, and HORECA sectors.
After a devastating fire in August 2021 destroyed all their facilities, Vandenbulcke had to move to a temporary warehouse. Fortunately, the company was already constructing a brand-new, larger warehouse, and they were able to move into it much sooner than expected, just a few weeks later.
The new warehouse, completed at the end of 2021, is significantly larger than the previous one, resulting in increased operational distances. Additionally, storage capacity issues have arisen due to a 40 percent increase in new product references. Swisslog has been tasked with addressing these challenges.
The project includes two 16-level AutoStore systems designed for ambient and chilled environments. This setup features 9,500 bins for chilled storage and 5,500 bins for ambient storage, with an initial phase of 6,500.
The solution incorporates 20 robots, three conveyor ports, two Fusion Port Staging areas, and a double workstation for picking and recuperation, providing a total net location capacity of nearly 15,000. Swisslog's SynQ WMS/WCS manages the systems, ensuring seamless operation between the ambient and fresh storage areas.
The decision to partner with Swisslog was influenced by its strong reputation within the Back Europ group and its proven expertise in delivering flexible and efficient AutoStore solutions.
"With AutoStore, we've discovered a more flexible solution for space constraints, and we've come up with a logistics standard that's easy to integrate into our site. We needed stock management that was complex, varied, and fast,” said Laurent Vandenbulcke, the Managing Director of the family business.
Vandenbulcke's confidence in Swisslog's capabilities was reinforced by a visit to another site and positive feedback from a Back Europ Director. The swift implementation timeline, with work starting in April 2025 and completion targeted for August 2025, underscored Swisslog's commitment to meeting its customers' urgent needs.
"We were reassured because we had seen an existing, high-performance model with another customer from the same Back Europ group. What's more, they're able to do it in a very short timeframe to match our pace of business and be ready for our end-of-year peak."
The new system will significantly enhance Vandenbulcke's operational efficiency, with fulfilment capacity expected to increase from 700 per operator per day (before AutoStore) to 300 orders per hour. This will lead to substantial productivity gains and reduced work fatigue for employees, as the system eliminates the need for heavy, dangerous machinery and ensures error-free workflows.
The AutoStore solution also guarantees hyper-exact traceability for expiration dates, end-to-end stock security, and temperature management, ensuring the best experience for Vandenbulcke's customers with order management in less than 12 hours.
