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The American company has more than 600 stores in Europe, as well as an expanding e-commerce business. Both operations used to be supplied by its European Service Centre (ESC) located in nearby Heijen. However, it was unable to handle growing demand, and so Foot Locker decided to invest in extensive automation at a brand-new facility with the aim of providing greater support to its direct-to-consumer channels and stores.
“We spent around 34 years in the old DC, but we outgrew it due to an increase in the number of stores we serve and an e-commerce business that rapidly expanded during and after the COVID pandemic,” explains Bas Gielen, Senior Director Supply Chain Strategy & Optimisation with Foot Locker. “We needed something new to create flexibility and better balance, while servicing demand – and from an e-commerce perspective, we wanted to increase the customer experience.”
The need for speed and reliability
Finding the right logistic process automation for the new site was top of the agenda. “We asked ourselves a question: ‘What do we need to do to be competitive and make sure we can deliver to our customers in a fast and reliable way?’” explains Tim Heijsman, Vice President Supply Chain with Foot Locker. “After going to the market to find the answer, we chose Vanderlande’s automated goods-to-person shuttle solution.”
Bas says that Foot Locker felt reassured by Vanderlande’s approach to developing the right system. “From a very early stage, we were able to visit some of their other customers, which enabled us to learn how similar systems functioned,” he says. “That gave us a lot of insights into the changes we needed to make in our processes, organisational structure and ways of working.”
“The Vanderlande team was also thinking with us throughout the design process – you could feel the expertise everyone has with the system, but also with the wider industry,” adds Tim. “The design was very straightforward, and the flow was simple from the get-go. It’s a very intuitive solution, which we can explain to our operators and other employees.”
A successful ramp-up
Tim adds that Vanderlande’s onsite team’s commitment helped the warehouse to achieve a quick ramp-up – and the required volumes. “We celebrated the go-live with a ‘golden order’ package – with a nice golden bow on it – that flowed through the whole system!”
The solution includes Vanderlande’s ADAPTO automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS). The main flow of items is handled by 133 ADAPTO shuttles, which access 78,736 storage locations across 28 aisles. The company’s cross-dock system has also been installed, along with a POSISORTER shipping sorter.
In addition, the system’s seven decanting stations and 13 GtP workstations are height-adjustable to minimise heavy-lifting duties for Foot Locker employees. Several special workstations dedicated to “hot drops” – must-have items (such as popular sneakers) that people want as soon as they come out – also form part of the solution. These are picked manually from a pallet and quickly shipped out to the customer.
According to Tim, this function is important, bearing in mind Foot Locker’s customer profile. “We are the sneaker go-to in the market,” he says. “We are building a community and aim to inspire youth culture, while providing the hottest new products to everyone who needs them.”
Increased picking efficiency
One of the key benefits of the new system is the ability Foot Locker now has to pick efficiently for all order lines, as Tim explains. “At the GtP stations, we can pick our e-commerce and store flow. It’s all mixed and the operators don’t have to think about what they are picking but can easily select from a tote to a carton.”
For employees, it’s been a big change moving from a manual picking operation to one that is fully automated. “Because the system is intuitive and very easy to learn – people have been able to catch on quickly,” adds Tim.
As well as providing ergonomic and intuitive workstations, the system delivers another significant sustainability benefit. The use of efficient packing equipment leads to fewer truck journeys and consequently reduced transport emissions. “The right size packaging is going through the doors, which means we are shipping less air,” explains Tim.
The value of life-cycle services
To keep the operation moving and minimise downtime, Foot Locker opted for a comprehensive Life-cycle Services (LCS) contract with Vanderlande. “We don’t have the functional expertise within our organisations to manage a highly automated environment,” says Bas. “And given the sophistication of the AS/RS system, it felt too risky to do the servicing ourselves or outsource it to a third-party. The full-service solution allows us to really focus on managing our facility.”
According to Tim, the LCS team can deliver added value to Foot Locker, as the warehouse moves through the gears. “The Vanderlande service organisation is very large and experienced,” he comments. “They know what to do from a preventative maintenance point of view and can also help us to build a stable operation and make sure we can meet demand.”
Building a long-lasting partnership
As the automation beds down, thoughts turn to building a lasting relationship. “We’re in the middle of defining our partnership for the future,” says Bas. “What Vanderlande has done well so far is that they step in when we create a sense of urgency. We don’t really talk about the contract or arrangements we have – it’s all about how we deliver value together.”
“We’ve got a very nice solution here from Vanderlande, and it makes me feel proud that we have achieved so much together,” adds Tim. “It’s pretty unique to have a facility on this level, and it’s an exciting place to work.”