Apotea Automates E-Commerce Warehouse With A-Frame

Apotea is known for its large selection, very fast delivery and excellent service. Established in 2011, this Swedish company has grown rapidly. With an inventory of over 40,000 items and a capacity of up to 100,000 orders per day, Apotea is one of the fastest-growing online pharmacies and was recently named Sweden’s most popular e-commerce store. Apotea supplies pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, household and other products, always ensuring maximum quality, fair prices and exceptional delivery speed – the way a customer experience should be.

Project Description

Apotea’s first step into automating their warehouse in Morgongåva came with the first A-Frame that was implemented by SSI SCHAEFER in 2019, since then multiple extensions have been added with additional A-Frame modules and other picking capabilities. The latest and largest expansion step was made in the end of 2023 where SSI SCHAEFER implemented a new system doubling the performance of the entire Morgongåva warehouse. The core of the system is still the A-Frame picking system, which alone processes up to 70 percent of all orders – very quickly, reliably, fully automatically and without errors.

Scope of Supply

• 110 A-Frame modules
• Pick by Light
• 5 km bin and carton conveying system
• WAMAS logistics software
• 4 BD RowaTM Vmax dispensing robots
• Carton erectors
• Carton closing machines

Facts & Figures

• Inventory of over 40,000 items
• Capacity of up to 100,000 orders per day
• 90-95% of all orders automated
• A-Frames process up to 70 percent of all orders (3-shift operation)
• High storage density on a small footprint
• Discrete picking: All items are filled directly into shipping cartons, followed by automatic volume optimization.
• Smooth material flows, efficient warehouse management, shortest possible processing times, maximum product availability
• Sustainable system: conveying system switches off when required (energy savings and cost reduction), automatic adaption of cartons to the shipped items (better utilization of transport capacities)