PostQuam grows with its omnichannel strategy
Spain
PostQuam Cosmetics
Sector: Cosmetics
PostQuam Cosmetics grows thanks to Smartlog and to its omnichannel strategy.
PostQuam Cosmetics is a family firm set up in Valladolid in 1989 to manufacture and distribute high-quality professional cosmetics. Present in more than 70 countries, it is now internationally recognised in the industry, making it a world leader.
Its philosophy of innovating to offer consumers the most effective products at the best price, together with market knowledge and the confidence of 295,000 professionals in its brand, mean PostQuam is considered the top Spanish brand in professional cosmetics. It has its own research laboratories, giving it a strong technological capacity.
Its ambitious growth strategy in the new omnichannel era and its desire to offer customers the best service have brought it a large increase in sales of e-commerce (B2C) orders, as well as B2B orders, requiring new logistics systems able to absorb further growth.
PostQuam had the following needs:
- Need to automate storage and order preparation to meet the omnichannel needs of stores and e-commerce.
- Continuing to offer maximum levels of service and quality.
- Maximising productivity and capacity.
- Keeping the initial investment down to ensure an attractive ROI from the start of the project.
- Absorbing future growth.
From need to total solution
The team of professionals at Smartlog conducted a personalised study to identify and exhaustively analyse the features and requirements of the business, its operations, products, density requirements and facilities, as well as speed of delivery both before and during the pandemic. Also studied were PostQuam’s growth targets and trends, in order to offer a value proposition scaled to the data obtained.
PostQuam uses two different order preparation methods: one for items for stores and another for preparing items for online customers.
On the basis of the data yielded by these studies, Smartlog provided a smart automation and order preparation solution to boost the company’s efficiency, productivity and competitiveness and enhance the customer experience.
Smartlog Autostore for goods to person picking. A smart mobile robotics system
Autostore is a compact robot-based order preparation system that allows items to be stored in bins stacked on top of one another, managing picking tasks in a fast, optimal way. It is designed to handle large volumes of items with fast and slow movement in small orders and small boxes, for operations requiring high-density storage.
It consists of a three-dimensional network of free-standing containers which are transferred to the collection stations by robots working independently. The robots are equipped with a lift to collect, transport and place the product in the containers stored in the grid. All the robots can reach any position in the grid, avoiding the risk of the system failing at a single point.
Autostore smart robots process orders, locate the bins containing the items required and transport them to people’s work stations (good to person) for final preparation.
Whenever a bin is brought to the work station, the robot returns it to the system in the same place as it was, but always on the top, enabling the system to learn automatically and sort items by rotation: those with the highest rotation will always be in the bins at the top levels and those with lower demand will be in the bins lower down. Should an order require a low-rotation product, the robots work together to move the bins higher up out of the way.
Also, in order to maximise Autostore’s real capacity, different work stations were set up, with features including:
- A “pick to light” system to guide the people at the work stations to ensure precise, efficient order preparation and guarantee fast delivery of cosmetics in perfect condition to consumers.
- A sorter or tunnel for preparing high-rotation items in online orders, which will make it possible to achieve three or four times the productivity at seasonal peak times.
- A put to wall system to work with high-density batch order preparation.
This total solution provided by Smartlog will cut collection times considerably and boost capacity to adapt to fluctuations in demand. This is especially important in e-commerce where speed is of the essence, and warehouses often deal with a wide range of items that can increase the times and movement distances needed in manual picking.
Discover the 6 keys to our value propositions
- Boosting productivity by 250%
- Being able to cope with 2-figure business growth in the coming years.
- Being able to expand its catalogue without any physical limits.
- 400% improvement in the use made of space.
Implementation time: 4 months.
1.- PostQuam has boosted its productivity by 250%
We made it possible to boost productivity by 250%, on the basis of improved picking performance and fast, efficient order preparation.
2.- Guaranteed availability and reliability.
Autostore is a robust system that offers one of the highest availability rates, as it does not depend on a single robot or port to be productive. When a robot or a port breaks down, productivity falls temporarily, but the system carries on functioning and taking out orders without any interruption. Autostore robots work 24 hours a day.
They currently work reliably and efficiently in hundreds of warehouses all over the world. In the event of growth or expansion there is no need to interrupt everyday operations.
3.- A solution ready for PostQuam growth.
We scaled the solution to cope with 2-figure business growth in the coming years and more items added to the catalogue, with no physical limit.
Autostore is flexible, easily scalable and adapts constantly to present and future demand, both in the warehouse and in the growth of the business.
Significant additional growth is possible simply by adding more bins, more robots or more ports to increase speed. Also, this system is easy to move to a new location.
And we boosted its profitability and competitiveness
The solutions implemented allowed improved profitability and customer service, by offering maximum product availability, error-free deliveries and faster delivery times.
4.- We made the most of space.
We achieved a 400% improvement in use of space by replacing existing conventional shelving.
Autostore allows different configurations to adapt to different building heights, works on different levels and can even get round obstacles in the warehouse, like pillars or walls. The modular design of the system also allows it to be dismantled and reassembled in a new location.
5.- We boosted sustainability.
We boosted PostQuam’s energy efficiency
We achieved a considerable saving on energy bills. The energy consumption of ten Autostore robots is no more than a single conventional suction device, and they feature a technology for recharging batteries while working. Making the best use of space also reduces the floor space to be lit. In short, Autostore technology helps to reduce the carbon footprint of the warehouse.
6.- We offered benefits for personnel.
The biggest advantage is the ergonomic design of good to man work stations The port is at the person’s height without no need to reach up or bend down to handle items.
Another advantage is ease of learning and use.