FIEGE rolls out game-changing robotics project for CBR Fashion

FIEGE is driving modular automation forward at its locations. For its long-time client CBR Fashion, known for brands such as Cecil and Street One, the logistics company is developing an automated and flexible material flow system which meets growing demands as well as projected growth. For this purpose, FIEGE has built a new pick tower at its location in Burgwedel where from the summer of 2023 onwards, to begin with, 100 autonomous mobile robots (AMR) will support the picking of garments and contribute to lowering lead times.

FIEGE has been working for CBR Fashion for 15 years. Next to warehousing and fulfilment, it also oversees transportation on the last mile. Stephan Wittenbrink, Managing Director of the Fashion & Lifestyle business unit at FIEGE says: “To increase our performance in light of growing order volumes, we needed to optimise what are at times historically grown processes and structures. By employing collaborative robots, we are now building a scalable picking system which perfectly meets the respective requirements of our client.”

The contract with the fashion company from Isernhagen was recently renewed. Patrick Maack, Head of Logistics with CBR Fashion Group, explains: "We have enjoyed strong growth over the past years. Next to our women’s outerwear labels, we launched our new Street One Men label this summer. On top of this, our business is exposed to seasonal as well as promotional fluctuations. We are very pleased to have a flexible logistics partner by our side in FIEGE who can keep up with our company’s growth while also understanding the special challenges that the fashion and eCommerce business faces.”

FIEGE is currently setting up a four-storey shelving system at the multi-user centre in Burgwedel. On 6,000 square metres of space, this system will provide for roughly 150,000 storage bins. Starting next August, some 100 AMR will initially be put to work at the logistics centre. This figure is expected to increase to just under 170 robots by 2027. The Greven-based logistics company went with Locus Robotics as its project partner. Wittenbrink tells us: “The market-ready system facilitates a swift and easy integration. The robots-as-a-service programme covers the use, maintenance, and support of the robots. As a result, there are no high acquisition costs or operating expenses which is why we are expecting a ROI during the first year already.”

Work in the pick tower takes place in fixed picking zones which will each encompass a few aisles only. The distances in between the zones will be covered by the AMR. This approach has employees interact with different robots which each process six orders at the same time. An RFID tag helps the AMR to recognise which colleague is in front of them. Their multi-lingual software thus helps to overcome potential language barriers. Ulrich Geislinger, head of the FIEGE branch in Burgwedel adds: “This multi-bot approach is expected to achieve a 30 per cent productivity gain during the order picking process and clearly lower costs-per-unit which naturally also benefits our client.”