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Feature Warehousing & storage
High-bay extension doubles
DC storage capacity for QVC
SSI Schaefer has successfully doubled
on-site storage capacity within the
distribution centre of the UK’s largest
television and online shopping business,
QVC, by designing and building a new on-
site extension for the storage, order-picking,
and distribution of over 25,000 QVC
products consisting of house-hold goods,
electrical items, jewellery and clothing
Q
VC dispatches over 12 million The installation of
orders per year which are the high bay has
shipped from one distribution benefited QVC by
centre in Knowsley Industrial offering a greater
Park, Liverpool, with 100% of items amount of storage
sent to customers within 48 hours of
flexibility and
now housed in the high-bay ware- the high bay has benefited QVC by
order placement.
allowing the
house and is designed to perform 200 giving us a greater amount of storage
In order to maintain such impressive
company to focus
storage and 200 retrieval operations flexibility and helps us focus on how
standards of customer service, whilst
on delivering better
per hour - in case of future expansion, we can deliver a better service to our
accommodating future growth and on-
customer service
up to 300 retrieval operations can be customers. Our distribution team have
site storage expansion, QVC wanted to carried out per hour. seen the benefit of reduced pallet put
double its existing storage capacity in The high-bay warehouse also neces- away in narrow aisle in the efficien-
order to prevent off-site storage, which sitated the moving and reconfiguration cies gained from having only one main
was costing money, and concentrate on of the returns department. Due to its put down and put away point.”
restructuring its logistics processes to optimum on-site position, an opportu- He continues: “The high bay has also
one site, ensuring high availability of nity was seen by QVC to modernise, forced a discipline into the quality of
items and quality of delivery for same improve and increase efficiency within pallet receipts to site which had created
day handling of goods. their returns handling process, intro- some issues when pallets were stored
To achieve this SSI Schaefer worked ducing automation to bring the QVC in standard racking systems. Schaefer
closely with QVC and worked in returns operation up to the same level worked closely with our engineering
phases beginning with the installation as their USA and German operations. team ensuring that our design require-
of eight-metre high, drive-in pallet A returns tote conveyor system has ments were reviewed and discussed on
racking for the storage of over 5,000 been installed complete with compo- a regular basis, often challenging some
fast moving/large volume goods, which nents belt, curved roller conveyor, of our requirements and offering more
immediately increased initial storage
SSI Schaefer
repacking tables, diverting unit with practical alternative solutions.”
capacity. This was the first step in the T: 01264 386600 integrated belt conveyor, pop-up divert- McNaughton concludes: “The high
installation of a 35m high-bay rack www.ssi- ing unit and waste conveyor system. bay has become an integral part of our
supported on-site warehouse extension schaefer.co.uk Andy McNaughton, operations man- operation as we continue to introduce
designed to fully accommodate bulk Enter 403 ager at QVC says: “The installation of further automation into the DC.”
storage materials and bring external
storage into one location, reducing
transport and off-site storage costs. Trackless mobile shelving is easy to install
The high-bay rack-clad warehouse is
inclusive of mezzanine flooring, a
pallet roller conveyor system, chain
S
SI Schaefer has introduced a new trackless mobile shelving system suitable for a number of industry and business
sectors looking for optimum space utilisation. Installing a traditional mobile shelving system requires a number of
conveyor, automatic positioning within
guide tracks to be embedded into the existing floor, often causing extensive and costly site disruption, however with SSI
the shipping area and the integration of
Schaefer’s new trackless shelving system, only one rear guide track needs to be fitted resulting in minimum interruption
two shrink-wrapped systems, lighting,
to ongoing work whilst leaving floor coverings undamaged. Installation does not affect original floor coverings as each
heating, power, sprinklers, ventilation,
system can be laid directly onto the ground.
cranes and a warehouse IT control Available in a variety of heights, depths and aisle widths, the trackless shelving system is suitable for many different
system designed with full pallet and sector areas. Fitted with wheels at the base of each shelving unit, SSI Schaefer’s trackless mobile shelving reduces the
case picking options. immediate load impact on the floor - a significant advantage when installing directly onto a raised access floor. The
Over 29,000 storage locations are surrounding trackless mobile shelving environment is also safer with less trip hazard, offering improved health and safety.
Materials Handling & Logistics JANUARY 2010 11
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