Picking warehouse for the e-fashion company eobuwie.pl

Online sales of handbags and shoes

The Polish company eobuwie.pl knows e-commerce. Founded more than 20 years ago, it offers 476 different brands of handbags and footwear in its online product catalogue.

Over time, it has become one of the most influential internet-based shops in Europe, and is present in practically all countries: Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, France, Czechia, Slovakia, Spain, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Romania, Sweden and Ukraine, among others. The company has two warehouses in Zielona Góra (Western Poland) located a few kilometres apart. From this distribution hub, it ships out items purchased online by Polish customers.

For an e-commerce business like eobuwie.pl, the warehouse is a crucial part of its ongoing company development. This is why Mecalux has installed the storage solutions that make operational sense. “We needed warehouses able to boost our growth rate. The priority was higher picking speeds and quality,” explains Tomasz Kupidura, logistics manager at eobuwie.pl.

What does an e-ready warehouse look like?

Both warehouses are almost uniform in structure and space distribution. They are designed to make the most of every available millimetre, for the largest possible storage capacity, easy-to-do storage tasks and, also, speedy preparation and dispatch of orders.

Shelving with walkways
Mecalux has installed 8.5 m high shelves which have built-in raised aisleways, creating a total of three storage levels. With this solution, the company has tripled the storage area to stock hundreds of thousands of boxes with shoes.

Shelving with walkways means multiple workers can prep more orders simultaneously. Operators crisscross each level handpicking SKUs in the aisles straight off the shelves for each order. They follow the order grouping method, which consists of putting together various orders during the same trip.

The logistics centre’s racks are highly accessible, streamlining box handling. Moreover, they are highly versatile, as they include attachments and accessories to store all the different sizes and volumes of SKUs.

Shelved merchandise is run via chaotic distribution methods, i.e. on a first come first slot basis, where locations are assigned according to the spaces available at that point in time.

Pallet racks
Designed to accommodate cardboard boxes stacked on pallets, these racks are used to fulfil customer orders. One warehouse can hold 650 pallets, and the other, 250.

Direct access to products and these racks go hand in hand, which streamlines incoming and outgoing pallets flowing from their locations.

Mass-pick warehouse ready to roll

In the warehouse of an e-commerce such as eobuwie.pl, agility in order processing comes first. This is why Mecalux’s storage solutions provide direct access to products, i.e. shoebox handling heaven. Likewise, by tripling storage surfaces, a bigger team of pickers can put together more orders simultaneously. Both eobuwie.pl warehouses possess a spacious reception and dispatch area. These areas are of vital importance for an e-commerce and must have the right amount of room and equipment because this has a direct impact on order fulfilment throughput and on time deliveries.

Received supplier shipments are checked to make sure they match what was requested as per characteristics and quantity. A storage bin is then assigned in the warehouse. Controlling the merchandise from the get-go is elemental for optimised picking, i.e. knowing that stock is always on hand to prep orders.

On the other hand, the orders are verified and classified in dispatch. Then, packing is carried out, as well as labelling and issuing of required distribution paperwork. The warehouse has a box conveyor circuit that sends the finished orders to the dispatch area speedily.

Tomasz Kupidura - Logistic director at eobuwie.pl
“Mecalux has armed us with a high-quality storage solution. The storage capacity suits the two warehouses, meaning they can deal with our projected growth and more than solve our current business logistics.”

Advantages for eobuwie.pl

• Storage space optimisation: shelves with walkways take full advantage of the warehouse’s vertical space to triple the storage surface area.
• Quick pick system: the correct distribution of goods and direct access to the shelves facilitate the handling of goods and ensure much faster picking.