Largest book distributor in Norway commissions Swisslog with building a fully automated distribution centre

Norway's largest book distributor Forlagsentralen commissions Swisslog with the installation, project management and the design of a new fully automated distribution centre. With the new site, which will be built in Langhus, south east of Oslo, Forlagsentralen will increase their storage volume to a total of 30,000 pallet locations. At the same time, Forlagsentralen wants to adjust its distribution capacities to the future market requirements and order structures by means of state-of-the-art hard- and software in order to improve its competitiveness. The order volume amounts to approximately CHF 20 million. Swisslog gained the project in stiff competition with several other players and has extended and strengthened its already good position in the Norwegian market.

Forlagsentralen, the leading book distributor in the Norwegian market, is responsible for half of all book distribution in Norway. At present, the company distributes more than 10 million books per year, which equals 40,000 books per day. In total, Forlagsentralen has a stock of 17 million books, comprising more than 25,000 titles.

The construction of the new fully automated distribution centre enables Forlagsentralen to react to future order structures and new customer requirements. The company anticipates a change in order structures with smaller orders and an increased distribution to a larger number of customers. Since an upgrade of the existing facility would not have been cost-effective, the company has decided to build a new distribution centre including innovative hard- and software.

Swisslog's scope of supply includes the planning, construction and project management as well as the delivery and implementation of the conveyor and storage systems, including five automatic cranes, racking for 30,000 pallet locations, eight miniload cranes handling plastic totes and racking for around 86,000 totes with 16 dynamic picking stations equipped with pick-by-light technology. The solution also contains some special machines, such as an advanced automatic packing machine for small packages to end customers. Furthermore, Swisslog delivers their WarehouseManager WMS and the Automation Software (Swisslog AutomationManager). Start-up of the site is scheduled for mid 2007. "Swisslog has convinced us with its comprehensive offering of distribution solutions", explains Trond Tvedt, Director Distribution at Forlagsentralen. "With this project we can reinforce our position as a comprehensive distribution solutions provider in the Scandinavian market", says Tom Jarle Dehkes, Sales Manager at Swisslog. "This reference will help us to further establish Swisslog's position in the book distribution market in Europe."