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Discover how Carrefour transformed their micro-fulfillment grocery operations in six weeks, enabling two employees to process up to 600 order lines per hour from two picking stations for drastically reduced lead times for curbside pickup orders.
About Carrefour
Carrefour is a fast-growing multinational retail and wholesaling corporation, operating a chain of over 12,225 hypermarkets, grocery stores, and convenience stores in more than 30 countries. As of January 2023, Carrefour is the world’s eighth-largest retailer by revenue.
The Challenge
During 2019, Carrefour’s micro-fulfillment center in Reims, France experienced the “good” problem that both excites and scares many fulfillment warehouses: rapid growth. Until then, the facility had operated with a manual picking operation for fulfilling thousands of daily e-Commerce orders for curbside delivery. However, rapid growth and increasing demand for same-day, error-free orders compelled Carrefour to seek an automated solution to improve the facility’s operational performance and capacity while maintaining a high degree of flexibility.
The smooth fulfillment and replenishment of more than 63,000 SKUs during routine as well as a multitude of varying peak periods throughout each year was a top priority. A system that could efficiently utilize their warehouse’s limited space was also important to Carrefour.
The Skypod System Solution
| Robots | Picking Stations | Replenishment Stations | Storage Bins | Bins/Hour | Rack Height | System Footprint |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | 2 | 1 | 8,100 | 700 | 6.5 m (21.3 ft) | 619 m² (6,662 ft2) |
Key Results
1. Increased Efficiency
- Processing up to 600 order lines per hour from two picking stations with just two employees
- Utilized entire height of warehouse to increase storage density and SKU quantity
- Drastically reduced lead times for curbside pickup orders through partial order preparation in consolidation with chilled items that are manually picked in-store
2. Plug & Play Modularity
- Installed in just six weeks with minimal disruption to on-going operations thanks to the experience gained from its three sister systems at other Carrefour sites
“The Skypod system was chosen on the one hand, for its record implementation time, and on the other hand for the structural flexibility and agility of the solution in operation.”
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