Lecot invests heavily in further expansion of high-tech distribution center

Lecot has been known for years for its excellent logistics service. In order to continue supporting its strong growth, Lecot called on the logistics consultancy firm Logflow to develop a new logistics master plan. Together they worked out a future-proof warehouse concept for the distribution center at Heule. To expand the existing warehouse halls, a new high-stack warehouse of 6,000 m² is being built on the neighboring site of the former Hoorens Printing company. The beating heart of the logistics operation will be a fully automated tote warehouse from the Austrian company KNAPP. The 16-meter-high OSR shuttle system will cover 58,000 bin locations in the first phase and may triple later.

After four generations, Lecot (founded in 1888), has become the largest national player in hardware, fasteners, construction hardware, tools and personal protective equipment. A lot has changed since its inception and the period after the Lieven Santens family took over Lecot in 1995, but Lecot's large assortment is known everywhere: with more than 110,000 order products, 40,000 of which are immediately available, everyone from the construction industry is sure to find what they are looking for. Lecot is fully committed to an omnichannel customer experience through the combination of digital channels, an extensive branch network and on-site deliveries. The driving force behind this fast-growing company has always been its state-of-the-art logistics operation.

In order to continue to guarantee further growth with rock-solid customer service, investments will be made over the next 3 years in a highly advanced, flexible and modularly expandable automation of logistics.

Logistics engine

"In 2000, we realized a turnover of 26 million euros with 4 branches. However, we operated with old-fashioned logistics, outdated IT, with no website or online presence. Anno 2023, we can boast a financially very healthy company and stand for 80 branches - 4 of which are in the Netherlands, a turnover of 267 million euros, realized by about 750 employees, a well-run modern logistics and with a large share of Internet sales." (dixit Lecot).

At the turn of the century, the organization realized that greater logistics performance was necessary to continue to accommodate the growth of its business. Even then, the company asked logistics consulting firm Logflow to review its logistics operations. A master plan resulted from that exercise in early 2002 that led to the GO LIVE of a new distribution center on the Heule site in 2006. Even then, a sophisticated layout and state-of-the-art WMS control formed the logistics backbone of the semi-manual operations. Thanks to the complementary operation with the distribution center in Maaseik, Lecot was able to grow rapidly: both digitally in terms of e-commerce, and physically with about 5 additional branches every year.

A continuous evaluation of that master plan led in 2013 to the expansion of the distribution center in Heule with a high-stack warehouse (18m) for bulk storage. Several WMS optimizations followed over the years.

Logistics Master Plan 4.0

Recently, a completely new logistics master plan was drawn up by Logflow, in which it became clear that extensive automation is imminent in the form of a fully automated tote warehouse (AS/RS shuttle) for small goods, combined with semi-manual set-ups with even more advanced WMS logics for other product groups (pallet goods, hand tools, long goods, ugly, etc.). In that context, a new WMS package was already integrated in both distribution centers in Maaseik and Heule in 2020-2021. C&W logistics' solution was chosen for this. During the implementation, the integration of an AS/RS shuttle system in the near future was already taken into account.

In 2022, Lecot had the opportunity to acquire the 13,000m² site of its neighbors (former Hoorens Printing). This opportunity ensures Lecot's long-term anchoring on the Heule site. Indeed, with the master plan concept fully outlined, Lecot can realize multiple growth on the site. Logflow then worked out a fine definition of the logistics concept during the Conceptual Design study. Here, both the short- and long-term layouts were fully developed, with great attention paid to phasing to ensure continuity of current operations. Afterwards, a building was developed around the concept in collaboration with architectural and engineering firm DBG (D'hondt-Beyens-Goesaert) from Kortrijk.

The foundations of the concept are ready to plug in "logistics 4.0" technologies in the coming years. For example, the reception process was devised to easily receive the 110,000 different references without required product knowledge and the warehouse operator will be assisted via artificial intelligence. In addition, the design placed great importance on the ergonomic design of workstations. In addition, a sorting facility is provided to effortlessly sort out pickup orders, branch restocks as well as transporter shipments, which can later be disposed of with autonomous forklifts (AGV/AMR).

Start of sustainable partnership with KNAPP

During an extensive selection process, KNAPP was selected as the final partner for the automated system. The beating heart of the installation will be a triple-deep goods-to-person system with the KNAPP OSR^™ EVO shuttle technology.

In the first phase, two 80-meter-long corridors with a height of 16 meters will be erected, good for 58,000 baking locations. In time, the storage system could triple to 174,000 baking positions. The 74 OSR^™ EVO shuttles provide infeed and outfeed of totes to various ergonomic Pick-it-Easy work stations. This station is equipped with height-adjustable platforms and light-grid systems to visually support operators during order picking. Furthermore, the shuttle system will not only be used as a means of storage but also as a buffer. For example, orders can be buffered between order picking and packing. Afterwards, a sorting system with space for more than 100 destinations ensures that orders can be easily sorted out in the future.

Through height utilization and condensed storage technology, Lecot can reduce building area and contribute to a sustainable solution.

At the end of February 2023, the contract between Lecot and KNAPP was signed, the start of a lasting partnership between the various parties. In the meantime, demolition and construction works on the new building have started. The new system is expected to be fully operational by the summer of 2025.