Smartlog automates Consum’s logistics platform in Murcia
The cooperative increases picking efficiency for its slow-moving SKUs by 40% thanks to the solution designed by Smartlog
Urretxu (Gipuzkoa), 16 july 2026 — Spain’s largest food retail cooperative has automated the picking of slow-moving dry-goods SKUs for its stores using an AutoStore system and Smartlog’s Galys management software. Located at the Murcia logistics platform, the new installation increases picking efficiency for these SKUs by 40% and operates 18 hours a day with 60 R5 PRO robots.
Smartlog has implemented an automated storage and order-picking system for Consum at its Murcia logistics platform, focused on slow-moving dry-goods SKUs. The solution integrates an AutoStore system, a conveyor network, a multi-shuttle for automated sorting and Smartlog’s proprietary Galys WCS/WMS software, which coordinates all flows and ensures full operational traceability. The result is an installation that operates 18 hours a day, handles up to 1,251 bin presentations per hour and allows 10 orders to be picked simultaneously at each picking station.
Consum: logistics that meets the highest standards
Consum is Spain’s largest food retail cooperative. It has more than 1,000 supermarkets, including its own stores and Charter franchises, across Catalonia, the Valencian Community, the Region of Murcia, Castilla-La Mancha, Andalusia and Aragon. In 2025, it recorded revenue of €5,163.56 million, up 9.7% on the previous year, and profit of €122 million, up 12.3%. It has more than five million customer-members and over 23,000 employees. It is the only retail company to hold the Family-Responsible Company (EFR) certificate and has reduced its carbon footprint by 78% over the past ten years. It was also the first food retail company to receive the Ministry for the Ecological Transition’s “Reduzco” seal.
Order picking for stores in the Region of Murcia had previously been concentrated at the Valencia logistics platform. To relieve pressure on Valencia and move picking closer to the destination, Consum decided to create a new area in Murcia equipped with a dedicated automated system for slow-moving dry-goods SKUs. These products are now picked in Murcia, closer to their delivery points.
The available space had to be used to maximum effect while meeting three requirements: picking orders for multiple stores while maintaining sequencing by section and category; ensuring unit-level traceability with weight checks; and providing ergonomic working conditions for operators during long shifts. The solution also had to integrate with Consum’s corporate WMS, scale without interrupting operations and include in-house control software to ensure service continuity in the event of any incident.
An integrated solution built around AutoStore
The storage core is an AutoStore system with 34,524 gross bin locations, housing 27,100 bins and a range of approximately 3,000 slow-moving SKUs. The bins are moved by 60 R5 PRO robots, selected instead of the standard model for their faster charging and greater operational availability. The robots operate 18 hours a day, with a capacity of 1,251 bin presentations per hour, distributed across eight carousel-type picking stations and five induction stations. The induction stations feature a platform and lift table to adjust pallet height, together with a weight check before each bin is added to the Grid.
At the picking stations, each operator handles 10 orders simultaneously, guided by a Put-to-Light system. Boxes undergo an automatic weight check; those that do not match are routed to a correction loop, while validated boxes are closed and strapped by a machine developed by Aurrelan, a Smartlog Group company. They then enter the multi-shuttle, which has 166 locations and sorts and stores them according to dispatch requirements before delivering them to the palletising operator at a constant ergonomic height via gravity lanes.
Smartlog’s proprietary Galys Auto software coordinates the entire system, groups up to 10 orders per batch, sequences SKUs by section and category, and centralises inventory control, batch traceability and expiry-date management.
Same space, greater capacity and more efficient, sustainable operations
The installation makes better use of storage capacity than conventional automated systems within the same footprint, enabling Consum to expand the range of slow-moving SKUs handled in Murcia. Improved picking efficiency for these SKUs lowers the cost per order and increases capacity to absorb seasonal demand peaks.
AutoStore’s redundant architecture, with no single point of failure, ensures operational continuity if any robot breaks down, a critical factor when missed delivery deadlines directly affect on-shelf availability. The end-to-end traceability provided by Galys strengthens quality control, simplifies audits and reduces dispatch errors. For the supermarket network, this means better service, a more reliable product range and fewer stock-outs among slower-moving SKUs. Deliveries are also organised by section and category, simplifying shelf replenishment in stores.
The ergonomic design of all induction, picking and palletising stations reduces the physical strain on operators. Flow automation also eliminates unnecessary movement around the warehouse and reduces people’s exposure to areas with machinery traffic, improving workplace safety.
The low energy consumption of the R5 PRO robots, combined with the reduction in movements achieved by order grouping, helps lower the carbon footprint of logistics operations. Automating these SKUs enables Consum to manage a broader product range from Murcia and tailor service to its stores, in line with the cooperative’s sustainability targets.
Ready to grow
The installation’s modular, scalable architecture allows the Grid to be expanded and more robots and picking stations to be added without structural works, adapting the infrastructure to Consum’s future growth. The induction stations are designed to be relocated when additional picking capacity is required.
This project reflects how we work: we start with each customer’s specific challenge and design the best-fit solution. For Consum, the challenge was to automate the picking of slow-moving dry-goods SKUs within a limited footprint. This has been a joint effort that we are very pleased with and hope to continue developing.