Warehousing services company Sumitomo has teamed up with automation specialist Savoye to open a warehouse in Grobbendonk in Belgium, which will take on the European distribution for Mizuno, the sports equipment maker.
The facility will use Savoye’s automatic order picking systems and conveyors, as well as its software infrastructure, and will be the first facility in the country to implement the company’s new electrical conveyor system, Intelis.
Sumitomo will use water transport at the new site to beat the road congestion around Antwerp. It says the location, which is also referred to as “Antwerp East Harbour”, has strong connections with ports such as Zeebrugge, Antwerp and Rotterdam, thanks to the Prins Albert canal.
“Unlike these ports however, we have practically no waiting time for unloading containers, said Tom Leys, Sumitomo’s site manager.
“We have even achieved a record-beating ten minutes to unload the container from a ship and get it inside the warehouse. The whole operation is giving our customers an exceptional time-to-market service.”
