Norwegian Furniture Chain using Automation Solution

Bohus is Norway’s leading furniture and interior decoration chain. The company operates 60 branches throughout Norway as well as a successful online shop. In order to adapt to the major changes in trade, the furniture chain is currently investing in innovative IT and network solutions as well as in forward-looking warehouse logistics.

The company has commissioned Jungheinrich with the construction of a new central warehouse in Lillestrom near the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The project involves comprehensive automation solutions including a high pallet racking warehouse, miniload, conveyor systems and software. Operation of the warehouse is scheduled to begin in 2021.

When designing the warehouse, it was Jungheinrich’s goal to guarantee Bohus as much handling flexibility as possible for its wide variety of product categories and load sizes. Therefore, the solution includes a manual warehouse with room for up to 2,000 pallets, a fully automatic high-bay warehouse with 10,000 rack storage locations in three lanes for euro-pallets, and 1,200 further rack storage locations for special pallets measuring 2,600 mm x 1,260 mm in two additional lanes. Stacker cranes with telescopic forks by Jungheinrich subsidiary Mias take over the loading and unloading. Two Jungheinrich STC 2B1A miniloads will be used in an automated miniload warehouse with a total of 22,000 rack storage locations. All subsystems will be controlled by Jungheinrich’s WCS, which is connected to the customer’s SAP system.

“The furniture industry is a conservative and challenging sector. Over the past 50 years, Bohus has developed into Norway’s leading national furniture chain. We sell shape, colour and design, and not all our products fit into rectangular boxes, so we were looking for a flexible solution that is capable of meeting our needs. Jungheinrich worked out a unique solution with us, and we’re enthusiastic about it,” says Håkon Bredde-Prytz, Managing Director of Bohus Logistikk AS.

“This project represents a milestone for Jungheinrich Norway. Here we can demonstrate that we are a full-service provider of intralogistics. Bohus is getting everything from our single source, from material handling equipment to a fully automated high-bay warehouse,” notes Arild Drageset, Managing Director of Jungheinrich Norway.