Transportation and logistics specialist DSV has announced that it will invest in a string of 20 automated DSV Fulfillment Factories across Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific (APAC).
The DSV Fulfilment Factory concept aims to be relevant for both existing and new customers, facilitating greater flexibility and lower warehousing costs. The concept is based on AutoStore technology, with goods-to-person automated workstations in a plug-and-play format. This enables DSV to accommodate the surge in e-commerce demand by allowing the skilled warehouse employees to work more effectively than before.
The 20 facilities will be placed close to regional logistics hubs on several continents. They are all connected on a ‘string’, which means that one company can have stock placed in multiple warehouses across regions or continents while at the same time having one stock overview.
The interconnectivity across facilities brings flexibility into the picking, packaging and delivery processes, as the system will automatically choose the product at the warehouse closest to the delivery point for swift delivery.
The multimillion-dollar investment in DSV Fulfillment Factories will be rolled out in several phases. Currently, four of the 20 automated warehouses are in operation, while an additional six are underway. The ambition is that all 20 DSV Fulfilment Factories are built during the next few years.
Ronald Poort, executive vice president, DSV, said, “With DSV Fulfillment Factory, companies do not need to be a multinational to get automated, competitive and efficient warehousing. We know there is a significant gap in the market for automated warehousing solutions for companies without enormous volumes because, usually, these solutions, such as AutoStore, are only accessible as a single-user solution for companies with a certain scale.
“We are investing significantly in a string of 20 interconnected automated facilities across several continents, so our customers can get access to the much-needed automated capacity. By doing so, we are providing companies of all sizes with the opportunity to get access to DSV’s automated solutions matching their fluctuating needs in one market or across multiple. I believe that a large-scale multi-user automated facility combined with the logistics capabilities of a 3PL is a rare, if not a unique, offering in the market,” he said.