Reduced costs and transport movements

New warehouse set up in record time

HEMA opened its first department store in 1926. The number of stores grew rapidly and is still growing. Today, the chain has more than 740 stores in countries including the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Luxembourg, with over 17,000 employees serving many millions of visitors each week. All products are developed in-house with a unique Dutch design that ranges from food to non-food items.

The department store is complete around the clock with an everyday assortment of products that are more practical, more beautiful, better and longer lasting. In addition to physical stores, HEMA also offers 24/7 online shopping in virtually all countries where it operates. For the logistics operation in the Netherlands and Belgium, HEMA has two main distribution centers on the Lage Weide industrial estate in Utrecht; one for supplying store branches and one for deliveries to HEMA's e-commerce customers.

Less transportation 

Supplies for both main distribution centers were previously received and stored in five external warehouses spread across the country. There was a lot of transportation between the warehouses and the DCs, resulting in additional handling and costs. By collecting the supplies in an additional, new warehouse - just steps away from both main DCs - unnecessary costs were eliminated and
distribution flows preserved.

 Conventional pallet racking 

To furnish the new warehouse, HEMA sought a partner who could get the project "up and running" as quickly as possible. The choice fell on Jungheinrich, partly because they had completed a similar project for HEMA in the recent past. The lines were short and it was possible to switch quickly.

In record time, Jungheinrich realized the complete furnishing of the 20,000-square-meter warehouse. The new building has 36 aisles over three meters wide and is equipped with conventional pallet racks up to a height of 10.40 meters (top girder). Jungheinrich also supplied and installed the crash protection, the racking for the loading station and the tilt racks - for safely placing pallets on the mezzanine floor. A third of the racking is also equipped with in-rack sprinklers, so that pallets with goods in plastic containers can also be stored safely.

In just six weeks, the complete setup was a reality. The warehouse is now fully operational and more than 60 percent of the nearly 40,000 pallet spaces are occupied. The warehouse plan is also designed in such a way that any future configuration changes can easily be implemented. In this respect, Jungheinrich really is a partner for the future for HEMA.