KICKS Automated Distribution Center as Key to Omnichannel Excellence

When it comes to the beauty sector, it’s not just the product that matters, but the shopping experience itself, regardless of where the shopping takes place. To ensure their customers have a fast, consistent and enjoyable shopping experience every time – no matter where or when they make their purchase – the leading beauty retailer KICKS chose a trendsetting logistics solution: a state-of-the-art automated distribution center. The DC forms the backbone of KICKS’ omnichannel logistics, which connects brick and mortar retail with their strong online presence, including click and collect.
Intelligent warehouse automation made it possible for KICKS’ logistics and storage processes to be designed with the future in mind while providing efficient service to around 250 stores in Sweden, Norway and Finland, as well as online customers.

At the heart of the solution is an automated, high-performance Evo Shuttle storage and retrieval system in which around 90 percent of the items are stored. Furthermore, a total of 80 percent of the orders are picked with a high level of automation. The Evo Shuttle, along with the goods-to-person Pick-it-Easy Evo work stations and the vertical push tray sorter, make it all possible, with the sorter automatically sorting the ready-to-ship packages to maximize the efficiency of deliveries.

Central warehousing strategy

Deliveries to all sales channels are made from one central warehouse.

Automated warehouse logistics

Ensure cost efficiency, rapid delivery and flexibility.

Strengthened network

Efficiently serve 250 stores in Sweden, Norway and Finland as well as online retail.

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Our logistics had to be fast to be able to offer new trends and products to our customers rapidly.

David Heeroma
EVP COO, Matas Group

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Strong performance, smart beauty logistics

Integration and increased efficiency

KICKS’ goal was to deliver online orders and supply brick and mortar retail efficiently from one central automated distribution center. The new solution combines two former locations and the services of external logistics providers into one cutting-edge location. The result: reduced costs, faster delivery times and a much trimmer supply chain – a milestone in omnichannel logistics.

Speed in the beauty sector

In beauty retail, every second counts. New products have to hit the shelves and reach customers as quickly as possible. The intelligent warehouse automation allows additions to the range of products to be made extremely quickly in the new distribution center – a clear advantage in the highly competitive market.

Cross-channel order fulfillment

Whether for store delivery, click and collect or online orders, all orders regardless of sales channel are prioritized and efficiently fulfilled in the automated distribution center. This fulfillment strategy lowers operating expenses, speeds up processes and ensures seamless, consistent omnichannel logistics.

Flexibility for trends in real time

Social media trends influence purchasing decisions in real time. The highly flexible warehouse automation immediately responds to fluctuations in demand and changes to the product range. The system is always adaptable – a decisive advantage for today’s retail strategies.

Two employees work in a modern warehouse at Kicks

Strategic, solution-oriented and transparent

– a real model for a successful future in beauty retail.

David Heeroma
EVP COO, Matas Group

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What makes logistics in beauty retail so unique?

1) Goods-in: gentle, smart, efficient

2) Storage in the Evo Shuttle – the heart of warehouse automation

At KICKS’ automated distribution center, everything starts in the sophisticated goods-in area. Items arrive in cartons stacked on pallets. They are checked, digitally recorded and repacked into storage containers at the decanting work stations. Delicate or fragile products receive a label to ensure that they’re handled gently throughout the entire material flow.

Around 90 % of all items are stored in the cutting-edge Evo Shuttle system, which has over 64,000 storage locations. Aerosols and delicate products are stored separately. The shuttle system automatically supplies the Pick-it-Easy stations with items for online orders, store delivery and click and collect orders. This intelligent warehouse automation is a key component of omnichannel logistics.

An employee enters a delivered item into the merchandise management system via a touch screen monitor.

Automated warehouse, with section of the Evo Shuttle small parts warehouse, conveyor technology and goods-to-person Pick-it-Easy work stations.

3) Efficient picking for all channels

4) Shipping with a system – fast, secure, flexible

Eighty percent of orders are picked with the help of automation at seven Pick-it-Easy stations. The remaining orders contain delicate articles, which are picked manually. Shipping cartons are automatically folded, glued and loaded onto trays with a performance of up to 680 packages per hour. This is how the automated distribution center helps ensure fast and error-free order processing.

After picking, the cartons are folded to size, closed and labeled. Special items are sent to a separate service area. The vertical push tray sorter automatically sorts items, with manual processing for delicate goods. The result is a flexible shipping process designed perfectly to fit the requirements of omnichannel logistics.

An employee picks items at a goods-to-person Pick-it-Easy Evo workstation

Cartons ready for shipping are automatically labeled with the shipping label.

storage space

SKUs

order lines/day

automatic picking

Automation makes KICKS fast, flexible and ready for omnichannel

The high-performance Evo Shuttle 1D is the central element of the automation solution. This system is freely scalable in terms of length and width and utilizes space very effectively. At KICKS, two further rack line systems have been designed into the plan, so the automation solution can expand to keep up with the company’s success. Another important technology is found in the Pick-it-Easy picking stations, which live up to the modern logistics motto of “work smarter, not harder”. These work stations allow for optimal workflow in terms of ergonomics, efficiency and error-free working, creating a productive and safe work environment. Pick-it-Easy work stations furthermore provide ergonomic workflows and an intuitive easyUse user interface, which employees learn to operate quickly. This eases the physical demand on employees, increases their motivation and creates an attractive work environment.

Pick-it-Easy work station up to 680 cartons per hour and station
Ergonomic workflows and intuitive easyUse interfaces
Fully automatic carton handling for 3 sizes

Vertical shipping sorter
Evo Shuttle 1D small parts warehouse

Why an automated distribution center by KNAPP is the best choice

David Heeroma, EVP COO of the Matas Group, sitting on a chair with a selection of KICKS products behind him.

The beauty sector is under enormous pressure as high demands for speed and stiff competition shape the market. Rising to these challenges requires the help of a powerful logistics solution. After a thorough evaluation process, KICKS picked an automated distribution center by KNAPP, with the goal of taking their efficiency, flexibility and customer satisfaction to the next level.

“We did a long, thorough search during the sourcing phase before we selected KNAPP as our partner,” explains David Heeroma, EVP COO of the Matas Group. “We expect solution-orientation and a proactive approach – and that’s exactly what KNAPP offers.”

Speed is particularly important for beauty retail. Products that go viral on TikTok or Instagram need to be available as quickly as possible. Highly automated, flexible logistics infrastructure is the only way to follow social media trends in real time. And that’s exactly what the warehouse automation solution by KNAPP provides, creating a clear competitive advantage for KICKS.

The new solution allows orders to be ready for shipping in just a few minutes – efficiently, cost-effectively and with a major focus on the employees. All the while, the system provides the support for comprehensive omnichannel logistics that seamlessly connect the online shop, stores and click and collect.