Activities (1,3 MB) - Colruyt Group

84
15.000
pallets,
5 %
capacity of the future
distribution centre in Ollignies
increase in productivity due to
voice picking
1.6. Logistics and production
Colruyt Group has its own production units (wine bottling,
coffee roasting, cheese processing and rice packaging) on
various sites near the head office in Halle. The group saves
costs by bottling, roasting and packaging itself and is able to
guarantee a certain quality. The own production also gives the
group extra possibilities to distinguish itself from its competitors.
Developments
The high-tech coffee roasting and wine bottling plants celebrated
their 75th anniversary in the past financial year. The production
of de-mineralised water was discontinued.
All of the Colruyt, OKay and Bio-Planet stores are equipped with
scanners with which customers can easily read the exact price
of pre-packaged goods with a variable weight (cheese, fruit,
cold cuts, fish, etc.). The customer only has to scan the bar
code. The exact weight of the products is now recorded in the
bar code on the packaging. As they no longer have to weigh the
products, the system results in time and efficiency gains for the
store personnel at the check-out. The customer is served faster.
In the past financial year, the training for the project voice
picking, or the collection of products for the stores using voice
recognition, was completed in all of the distribution centres.
The new system resulted in a big gain. Productivity rose beyond
expectation by 5%. The error list decreased by more than half,
from 0,8% to on average 0,3%.
Colruyt participated in the PIEK project of the Flemish
Government regarding quiet deliveries in the late evening
and early morning. The objective of the project is to make
the mobility in peak hours in cities and municipalities more
sustainable and safer. For Colruyt, this offers the opportunity to
spread the deliveries to the points of sale better over the whole
day. And thus also to make a more efficient use of its logistic
resources. Deliveries in the late evening and early morning also
offer advantages for the drivers, less driving in traffic jams means
less stress during work. Today, deliveries take place early in the
morning, late in the evening and at night where this is allowed
according to local regulations.
The drivers of the group participated in workshops in the past
financial year on updating the transport charter. The drivers drew
up the charter themselves over 10 years ago and committed
themselves in the charter to drive politely and safely.
Colruyt Group is carrying out research into alternative fuels
for its haulers. For instance, test are being conducted with an
electric and a natural gas hauler.
The group also participates in BCom, a central platform for
the exchange of digital communication. At present, the flow
of goods is mainly supported by a paper-based administration.
BCom aims to enable suppliers to send shipping slips and
invoices as far as possible electronically. This should lead to a
significant administrative simplification.
Outlook
Colruyt Group is building a new distribution centre Ollignies,
near Lessen (Henegouwen). The building will be 30 meters
high. Such a high construction in which the pallets are put ready
automatically is a first for the group. The distribution centre will
be used for products with a high rotation such as beer, water,
milk, fruit juice and paper. The software is being developed