Raging growth and changing market conditions required a renewed and improved logistics concept for ICI PARIS XL, a Benelux-based company specialised in luxury perfumery articles. The company has more than 280 stores and more than 4,000 employees in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg. ICI PARIS XL is part of A.S. Watson, the world’s largest Health and Beauty retailer. In addition to ICI PARIS XL, A.S. Watson also comprises Kruidvat, Trekpleister and Prijsmepper.
The challenge
ICI Paris XL has a central distribution centre in Vilvoorde, a city in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant directly north of Brussels. The centre has been operational since 2007 and supplies the company’s stores in both Belgium and the Netherlands.
The logistics of the distribution centre are driven by a combination of the SmartWMS solution from ICT Group, the order collection system from PCData, 800 of metres conveyor belts, several picking areas, a sorting system with 6 chutes and racking. However, the ever-changing market conditions in this sector, for example the growing range of articles with a shorter life cycle, smaller quantities and shorter delivery times as well as a growing interest in web shops have led to the need for a revitalisation of the company’s logistics concept.
To comply with the growth and changes in the market, ICI PARIS XL decided to implement the Order Storage and Retrieval system (OSR) from KNAPP, a more sophisticated
logistics solution than the system that had been in use till that moment.
The realisation
A team from ICT Netherlands (the unit Transport & Logistics) contributed to the design, implementation, commissioning and aftercare of the integration of the OSR system. The system uses the SmartWMS solution from ICT Group, including changes in the existing order-collection system from PCData.
In order to ensure a seamless integration, the Smart- WMS was expanded with new interfaces, algorithms, processing and reporting and was adapted to carry out several additional checks to make sure that both
the OSR system and the existing order-collection system perform as required. The new OSR solution is also included in the processes of replenishment and cycle-counting and is an integral part of SmartWMS.
During the complete integration and required changes to the SmartWMS, business went on as usual. ICT’s unit also guided the operational tests and advised ICI Paris XL with regard to improvements in the total logistics solution.
The official opening of the Order Storage and Retrieval System (OSR) took place at ICI Paris XL – Parbelux. The logistics solution was deployed three weeks before the official opening, and no problems were encountered. The throughput has been enormous and the number of items processed by the OSR solution is still increasing.
The result is a robust and flexible OSR solution in which our WMS solution, the OSR (KNAPP), and the existing order-collection (PCData) functionality have been seamlessly
combined. A success for ICI Paris XL as well as for the business unit Transport & Logistics of ICT Netherlands (an ICT Group company).
OSR Integration at a Logistics Operation
Case study
