E-commerce order fulfillment specialists, SKUtopia, are further extending their Australian leadership by working with Swisslog to introduce an automated Micro-Fulfillment Centre (MFC) in Sydney, which mirrors similar systems used in world-leading e-commerce markets, including the US.
SKUtopia will use its Coworking and eCommerce Hub company Workit Spaces (fully owned by SKUTOPIA Pty Ltd) to enable eCommerce businesses to scale their business from one order to 10,000 orders.
“This is a truly exciting MFC project, and one of the first of its kind in Australasia. Swisslog’s customized and automation-driven solution will allow us to provide outstanding value and ROI to our customers,” says Mr Talea Bader, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Workit Spaces.
SKUtopia enables profitable scalability for the eCommerce industry through software-enabled operations. The company’s four-in-one software package includes inventory management, order management, shipping management and warehouse management.
“Swisslog’s solution provides flexibility to grow as SKUtopia grows, and as our customers grow, which means all companies can stay agile and responsive to growth or changes in product or offering,” said Mr Bader.
“The automated solution has also increased efficiency, accuracy and throughput, allowing us to deliver products to customers faster. The system provides an average increase of 1200% (12 times) compared with a manual warehouse,” he said.
Efficient 4PL operations
Fourth-Party Logistics (4PL) operations take 3PL to the next level by also managing technology, infrastructure, and resources, and in some cases building whole supply chains for businesses.
SKUtopia’s new configuration will be a 4PL operation serving up to 300 entrepreneurial businesses focusing on eCommerce, including managing inventory, orders, shipping and warehousing.
Swisslog Australia Managing Director, Mr Francis Meier, says Swisslog’s global experience with 4PLs was a major asset in developing an optimal solution for SKUtopia.
“Our 4PL experience shows us that increases in efficiency and throughput are highly valued, because they allow the 4PL provider to deliver better ROI to its customers. Another important consideration is customization to add flexibility and futureproof operations,” he said.
“SKUtopia was seeking an automated solution that increased storage density to keep up with increasing customer demand, and Swisslog was able to provide a customized solution that met all their needs, and had the flexibility for future growth.”
“The click and collect functionality really appealed to SKUtopia, because it allowed them to offer a service-focused advantage to all their customers. Their customers can then provide this efficient service to the end consumer, creating a positive delivery experience,” he said.
The solution will utilize SKUtopia’s in-house developed WMS, to deliver home delivery and automated click and collect functionality with 24/7 availability.
About Swisslog
Swisslog delivers data-driven & robotic solutions for your logistics automation alongside reliable, modular service concepts. Collaborating with forward-thinking companies, we are committed to setting new standards in warehouse automation to provide future-proof products and solutions. As part of the KUKA Group, our customers trust the competence of our passionate employees – more than 14,000 people working across the globe.
