The need for a future-proof system
As the leading kitchen- and homeware retailer in Norway, Kitch’n demands careful handling, dispatch preparation, and shipping of their goods, which often are made of materials such as glass and ceramics.
With 200 stores across Norway and a strong online shop, streamlined intralogistics at their distribution centre at Bryne is vital to ensure customer satisfaction. In 2024, they handled about 650 000 parcels and are expected to grow by 35% in 2025.
Their storage flow is automated using an AutoStore, but their order fulfillment flow is manually handled by the AutoStore ports. When fulfilling orders, goods in need of the value-added service (VAS) of extra packaging, such as bubble wrap, are sorted to packing stations. Once the VAS is completed, the goods are sorted according to courier service.
The overall process stresses and challenges their operations especially in high-throughput seasons, such as Black Week and the wedding season, and to meet the demands of the future growth, process automation is essential.
Enhancing operations through AI
To solve the challenges at Kitch’n, together with Element Logic, we delivered the OmniPacker – a 3x8 (meter) OmniSystem for VAS optimization. With this space-efficient, multi-purpose, and future-proof system, the process is handled in four simple steps:
- Inbound goods from the AutoStore enter the OmniPacker on an inbound conveyor.
- Goods are buffered on the OmniPacker, awaiting available VAS stations.
- Goods are sorted to available VAS stations.
- After completion of the VAS, the goods are sorted to outbound conveyors for dispatch preparation.
The state-of-the-art, in-house-developed software consists of multiple AI models which together handle reliable goods detection and tracking, efficient and adaptable route planning, and smooth goods transportation. The unique combination of minimal-footprint hardware and flexible software for multi-operation future-proofs the system and allows for easy expansion according to business requirements and needs.
Through walking time elimination, ergonomic VAS stations, activities moved away from the AutoStore, automated sorting and buffering, and increased granularity of sorting, the OmniPacker provided increased productivity, increased maximum retrieval capacity for the AutoStore, and more granular sorting with less errors.
