Bestseller investing in advanced automation for new logistics centre

Danish fashion group Bestseller, which includes Jack & Jones and Vero Moda, is investing in automation that it states will “take fashion logistics to the next level” at its new logistics centre in the Netherlands.

In a statement, Bestseller said it is partnering with automation expert Knapp to deliver cutting-edge technology, including more than 1,400 robots, for the new logistics centre expected to be fully operational at the end of 2026.

Located in Lelystad, 60 kilometres east of Amsterdam, the nearly 1.7 million square foot logistics centre will feature cutting-edge technology “to enhance efficiency and create optimal working conditions,” including automated piece picking and palletising, an automated pallet storage and handling system, and robots optimising fulfilment in the robotic shuttle system.

When fully operational, the fashion group expects the centre to complete more than 20,000 retrievals per hour, “a significantly higher capacity than the system at the company’s largest current centre”.

The increased scale of automation technology set to be developed at the centre will deliver "a high level of efficiency," added Bestseller, with the robots, powered by AI learning technology, supplementing the work done at manual picking stations. Bestseller notes that it expects to employ more than 600 colleagues at the centre and that more than half will work “hand in hand” with robots. This automation will “significantly" ease physically demanding tasks, such as loading pallets, reducing the need for repetitive manual labour.

Allan Kyhe Kjærgaard, logistics director at Bestseller, said: Through our partnership with Knapp, we are aiming to develop one of the most highly automated logistics centres in the fashion industry and across Europe. Investing in this scale of technology will optimise the efficiency of the centre and the process of distributing products to retail customers in our largest markets.

"The ambition for this logistics centre is one-touch automation, where products are received, processed, and shipped using limited manual handling. The dynamic solutions result in increased efficiency and reduced risk of redundancy caused by single machine malfunction in storing and retrieving items.”

Franz Mathi, chief operations officer of Knapp, added: “The innovative approaches that we are pursuing with our technology and our expertise as a value chain technology partner with this concept will offer Bestseller better advantages along their supply chain. The one-touch and low-complexity concept represents a further milestone in the development of logistics centres.”