The grocery retail industry is facing a dynamic transformation. Through its pioneering automation solutions, Cimcorp is helping some of the sector’s biggest players navigate this ever-changing landscape
Cimcorp is a pioneer in intralogistics automation, simplifying material flows and improving customers’ profitability by offering innovative and efficient solutions. The company’s high-level technical skills, combined with software know-how, have created a unique formula for success in grocery retail automation, enabling customers to focus on their core business.
From field to store within 24 hours – fresher than ever
Freshness is a paramount consumer requirement that poses challenges for grocery logistics. With Cimcorp’s solution, grocery retailers have been able to dramatically reduce logistics delivery times from field to store.
“The grocery industry is extremely competitive, as shoppers change consuming habits fast and change stores even faster,” said Kari Miikkulainen, Director of Warehouse & Distribution Industry Sales at Cimcorp.
“Today, stores offering the freshest, most seasonal produce win. Our job is to help industry players provide their shoppers with more high-quality fresh produce in less time.”
Optimising intralogistics can, at its best, halve the time taken for produce to travel from field to store. For example, Cimcorp’s intralogistics solution has revolutionised the order-fulfilment process of the Spanish supermarket giant, Mercadona, enabling the delivery of fresh and seasonal produce to stores within 24 hours. By optimising order flows, Mercadona has extended shelf life for its perishable goods, reduced food waste and enhanced the overall customer experience.
Quality is another key criterion for grocery consumers. Fresh produce has a limited shelf life and the longer it takes to get to the store, the greater the chance that it will spoil or lose its nutritional value. With Cimcorp’s automation, Edeka Freienbrink – part of the largest German supermarket chain, Edeka Group – delivers fresh produce to its stores within 4-5 hours of receiving orders. Another German food retailer, Netto Marken-Discount, has also automated its fresh produce logistics with Cimcorp.
Securing employee safety and wellbeing
Automation can also alleviate ergonomic and labour issues, enabling operations to run in a faster and safer way. Labour shortages mean employees in manual warehouses need to work harder and faster to fulfil orders accurately and on time, posing ergonomic hazards and risk of injury.
“We trust our robots with the heavy lifting,” explained Kari Miikkulainen. “Trusting automation maximises the centre’s output capacity, increasing the quality and productivity of the staff at work. This collaborative, human-robotics knowledge ensures that everything inside the four walls of the distribution centre is optimised, and no orders are ever late.”
Towards more eco-friendly supply chains
Automation and strategically planned intralogistics can enable businesses to become greener. An efficient inventory and supply system helps reduce carbon footprint and fresh-produce wastage. Cimcorp has also helped many grocers to utilise reusable plastic crates (RPCs), which – unlike cardboard packaging – can be used thousands of times. Cimcorp’s Warehouse Control System (WCS) helps streamline the overall supply chain by optimising the loading of delivery vehicles, which leads to fewer trucks and lower CO2 emissions.
Cimcorp: Tel +358 10 2772 000
