Warehouse automation maximises service level TVH Parts

Customer service is a must for forklift truck specialist TVH. From its automated warehouse in Waregem in South-West Belgium, TVH stocks 450,000 parts from which it meets more than 5,500 orders per day. Orders received before 18:00 hours, are shipped the same day, reaching customers throughout Europe within 24 hours and the rest of the world within 48 hours.

Vanderlande Industries got the task to install the majority of the automated storage and order picking systems in a new central warehouse in Waregem in 2004. TVH needed to expand their material handling system in 2010 and selected Vanderlande again to implement it. During installation and commissioning, the existing system remained fully operational. System capacity was doubled, from 10,000 order lines per day to 20,000 order lines per day.
The system includes a variety of storage and order picking systems including: miniloads, zone picking, goods-to-man based order picking, order consolidation and shipping sortation.

“Thanks to the high level of automation in order fulfilment, we can deliver a consistently high service level, with even later order cut-off times and faster shipment to customers,” says Erik Deceuninck, Project Manager at TVH. “Productivity is now much higher than before and we have been able to reduce picking errors to an absolute minimum."

“This automated warehouse process further strengthens our ability to fulfil our mission of serving customers as a full-service, global, one-stop supplier of forklift trucks and all the necessary support components and accessories,” Mr. Deceuninck continues.