Automation Project Completed for Landmark Group’s Distribution Centre

Dematic has announced the completion of a new automated distribution centre for the Landmark Group in Dubai, UAE, allowing the multinational retailer to consolidate the logistics activities for part of its five existing manual distribution sites.

“The automation solution designed by Dematic allows our supply chain network to now operate with enhanced efficiency, productivity and transparency. With this investment, we are advancing technological progress and taking a pioneering position in our region,” said Mihin Shah, Chief Supply Chain officer of Landmark Group. The new distribution centre is located in the Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA), close to DP WORLD Jebel Ali Port, one of the largest container ports in the world. From this location, the Landmark Group stores and distributes garments, furniture, toys, small goods and more to nearly 1,400 of its retail stores and thereafter directly to end consumers.

“Landmark presented us with an opportunity to go beyond consolidating their fulfilment operations to becoming a partner in transforming their business,” said Hasan Dandashly, Dematic President and CEO. “They have experienced remarkable growth in a short amount of time to become one of the largest retailers in the Middle East, Africa, and India, supplying over 2,300 businesses in 24 countries. We take pride in being the kind of resource that Landmark would trust to streamline their operations both to meet current demand and prepare for future success.”

A distinctive feature of the 265,000 sqm site is a pallet warehouse (43 metres high) with a silo design and up to 36,000 storage locations for receiving goods. Inventory not immediately needed for distribution are palletized, then stored and retrieved double-deep via four 41 metre stacker cranes (Model SR-U1500/1) with two telescopic forks. The climate-regulated high-bay warehouse stores temperature sensitive items and is equipped with a fire prevention system with an oxygen-reduced environment so even highly flammable goods can be stored.

The Dematic Multishuttle^® system handles faster moving goods with a patented Inter-Aisle Transfer feature that makes maximum use of space with aisle-spanning exchanges and double-deep storage. With several lifts per aisle and conductor rail-controlled shuttles for high performance acceleration and speed, one shuttle can serve between 700 and 800 storage locations. As a result, up to 15,000 totes per hour can be transported to the picking stations, making it the largest and fastest Dematic has ever installed. “With this distribution centre, we have set a logistics benchmark for the entire Middle East,” Shah said.

The facility also offers enormous capacities for hanging textiles: The Dematic GOH system can accommodate up to 2 million garments and can achieve high throughput rates of up to 250,000 items per day.

The overall solution has more than 200 workstations with specific applications, including value added services such as customizing goods for specific retailers by adding tags, branding or promotional offers. An 11-kilometre Dematic conveyor system for containers and pallets and a Dematic sortation system completes the operation.

Dematic iQ software ensures smooth and optimal material flow to meet delivery commitments Landmark makes to their retailers. The software operates as a Warehouse Management System (WMS) for stock management and includes a Warehouse Control System (WCS) and a Material Flow Controller (MFC). Goods are dynamically repositioned in four automated warehouse sections and the temperature-controlled manual warehouse, based on current and forecasted demand.

The Dematic iQ software also efficiently handles hanging and flat goods within a single system to meet customer requirements and desired sequencing. At the same time, the software ensures that the right product is at the right place at all times by balancing the workload among the subsystems. “Automation offers scalability and speed while at the same time improving work safety,” Shah said. As a result of the consolidated and automated operation, Landmark’s B2B and B2C customers can now depend on even better service.