SSI SCHAEFER together with Finland's Stockmann Group presented innovative solutions for future challenges and trends in textiles logistics at this year's Textile Logistics Congress (Textillogistik Kongress ) on 7 September in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
The central theme of the event was fashion supply chain optimization and it was organized by the trade journal Textilwirtschaft and the Deutsche Verkehrszeitung (DVZ). Well-known speakers from the industry discussed trends, developments, and strategies while explaining what the textile supply chains of tomorrow will look like.
SSI SCHAEFER addresses challenges in the fashion industry
Elina Laine, Logistics Manager at Stockmann, and Franz Stöger, Vice President Fashion at SSI SCHAEFER, spoke on “Automation in Fashion Logistics around the Globe” and discussed structural change in the fashion industry: E-commerce, omni-channel retailing, customization, etc. are shaping the sector and making it ever more dynamic. The resulting logistical challenges call for innovative solutions. SSI SCHAEFER, the world's leading intralogistics expert, delivers scalable system solutions to achieve top results amid seasonal or daily fluctuations. The fact that a wide variety of distribution channels are served by one warehouse at the same time means deliveries are fast and returns management is efficient. The customized omni-channel solution for Finnish department store chain Stockmann is a glowing example of this.
Omni-channel strategy from a single warehouse
Stockmann Logistics Manager, Elina Laine, gave detailed insights into the company's joint project with SSI SCHAEFER – the setup of a new distribution center in Tuusula, Finland. What makes the warehouse special is that hanging goods and flat goods are delivered to shops and online customers from one high-performance warehouse. At its core is the patented SSI SCHAEFER 3D-MATRIX Solution®, which consists of automated storage modules that work together as a single, highly dynamic system. The intelligent combination of system components offers maximum flexibility and efficiency with no intervention or picking times, for example during seasonal changes to the product line.
Ms Laine spoke on the planning process, the challenges, as well as the joint implementation with SSI SCHAEFER: “SSI SCHAEFER offered us a thoroughly coherent all-round package for long-term efficiency and security of investment. The distribution center is the central component of our omni-channel strategy.” A highlight of the presentation was an insight into specific details of the project's output, along with important KPIs that showed the substantial added value created for Stockmann by the new distribution center. “More than 100,000 different articles are stored – more than 1.8 million individual units in total. All types of items – from large products, cosmetics, and decor through to hanging textile goods – are now grouped at one location for all distribution channels. The solution from SSI SCHAEFER has impressed us through and through,” added Ms Laine.