The S Group, Finland’s ‘largest network of grocery retailers’, has selected Swisslog to create a new highly-automated e-commerce warehouse in Vantaa, just north of Helsinki.
The project involves ‘setting up a centralised fulfilment centre (CFC) in an existing building, which will be equipped with two AutoStore grids for room-temperature and chilled goods’. The solution will include 110 AutoStore robots, which Swisslog predicts will double the current delivery capacity of HOK-Elanto, the S Group’s largest regional co-operative with stores in and around Helsinki.
The AutoStore solution, according to Swisslog, will be a central part of a wider overall solution provided by Swisslog to ‘ensure fast and high-quality deliveries to HOK-Elanto’s e-commerce customers’.
Jukka Ranua, Development Director for e-commerce and digital services at HOK-Elanto, said: “In 2021, we launched a wide-ranging procurement exercise involving several potential partners. In the end, we chose Swisslog because they offered the best overall solution, maintenance, and service.
“It is a major and important future project for us that will cost tens of millions of euros. We are very much looking forward to the co-operation with Swisslog and the commissioning of the fulfilment centre.”
The installation of the nearly 130,000ft² warehouse will begin in June 2023, with the facility set to be operational in 2024. It is expected to lead to the creation of around 200 jobs in the area.
Tero Mäki, Sales Manager at Swisslog, added: “We are proud to have been trusted by HOK-Elanto to deliver this important future initiative for their fast-growing e-commerce business. The project is our largest to date in Finland, which further strengthens our position in the market.”
