ID Logistics: e-commerce warehouse with 300% more surface area

ID Logistics: operational excellence and entrepreneurial spirit

ID Logistics is a third-party logistics provider that offers its customers integrated logistics services. It works with a wide variety of companies in the distribution, textile, cosmetics, automotive, and e-commerce sectors, among others. Founded in France 20 years ago, this 3PL is present on four continents and is known for its technology-rich solutions.

• Founded in: 2001
• Employees: 25,000
• No. of warehouses: 350
• Total storage surface area: nearly 1,730 acres
• International presence: 17 countries, four continents

“The idea to install this warehouse came about because one of our customers, a leading international e-commerce business, wanted to strengthen its presence in Europe: it was looking for a logistics solution that would significantly and effectively boost its storage capacity and accommodate many different types of products,” explains Yann Belgy, Managing Director of ID Logistics Poland. In addition to these conditioning factors, there was another critical point. “The customer wanted the warehouse to be operational within a very short time — specifically, four months after signing the contract,” says Belgy.

The mission was clear: to install as soon as possible a storage system that would streamline order fulfillment while optimizing the available space. The solution also had to allow for the storage of products of varying sizes and characteristics. ID Logistics Poland opted for a combination of selective pallet racks, narrow aisle racking, and a four-level mezzanine. “With all these storage systems, our aim was to maximize our capacity and ramp up productivity in our operations,” says Belgy.

When it came to choosing a storage system supplier, Belgy says, “although we’d never worked with Mecalux in Poland, we had worked with the company in other countries and with positive results. After negotiating with several suppliers, we finally chose Mecalux, as it was the most proactive partner: it was able to meet our needs and could adapt to the extremely tight deadline we’d set.”

The warehouse was built in the Polish city of Rokitno, “a strategic location for ensuring accessibility to the main central and eastern European markets,” says Belgy.

Four-level mezzanine

The key to expanding the useful storage area by 300% was the installation of a four-story mezzanine to house smaller products and facilitate order picking.

Each level comprises over 4.1 acres, and a specific number of operators is assigned to each level to carry out picking. These workers walk up and down the aisles, picking the products that make up each order directly from the shelves. The design of the mezzanine and the direct access to the goods make the operators faster, which is essential when preparing online orders.

Pallet racks

Palletized goods are stored on pallet racks and racking in narrow aisles measuring 37.7’ tall. Together, these solutions accommodate a total of 14,363 pallets.

The pallet racks stand out for their strength, versatility, and adaptability to any type of load. Moreover, their configuration has made it possible to install wire mesh panels on the different levels of the racking to house boxes and other small products. Operators mainly work with reach trucks to insert and remove pallets from their locations and with order pickers to prepare orders.

The narrow aisle racks are noted for minimizing the size of the working aisles to make the most of the storage space. The operators use trilateral turret trucks to insert and remove pallets from their locations. These machines operate inside the 197-foot-long aisles without interfering in other operations. “The pallet racks and narrow aisle racking are highly flexible and versatile solutions. Plus, they were set up very quickly,” says Belgy.

Made-to-order solution for an e-commerce retailer

ID Logistics is seeing unabated growth on an international level. This is illustrated by the fact that, over the past year, the company has opened 20 new warehouses around the world.

“ID Logistics is expanding in Poland and other countries, thanks to an increasing number of facilities dedicated to e-commerce activities. To rise to these challenges and provide our customers with excellent service, we need strong, reliable partners that will be by our side at all times. We’re glad to count Mecalux as our business partner,” says Belgy.

To satisfy our customers’ needs, we’ve chosen a combination of solutions: a mezzanine, pallet racks, and narrow aisle racking. We’re really pleased with Mecalux’s cooperation during the design and execution of the project.