Lidl and Assa Abloy give insight into retail logistics

Security and sustainability are gaining an increasingly important place in supply chains. This is also what Lidl and ASSA ABLOY Entrance Systems Nederland demonstrate during a company visit to the Lidl distribution center in Waddinxveen. Moreover, the main lesson here is simple, says logistics expert Eric Hereijgers: "The basis of a warehouse operation including the building and the docks, must be good or you'll never get it the way you want it."

Hereijgers kicks off with a session focusing on security and sustainability. ASSA ABLOY gives insight into the loading dock of the future and Lidl shows how it combines sustainability and safety in its warehouse operation. Hereijgers was responsible for the election of the Safest Warehouse in the Netherlands for many years. In that role he has seen the inside of many distribution centers and judged them. Hereijgers: "The emphasis was invariably on how things could be done, rather than on what was not right. As a company, you have to invest in how you want to work and make employees feel comfortable." This includes a strong focus on safety, such as preventing accidents and damage. The environment must also be pleasant. "You do that, for example, by not letting dock doors draft and having lighting in order. That gives a sense of comfort and safety."

Close cooperation

Lidl invests heavily in the safe design and operation of distribution centers, including the Lidl distribution center in Waddinxveen. The building is equipped with 178 dock doors and serves as a central location for the delivery of 78 Lidl supermarkets. For the construction of the dock doors, it entered into a partnership with ASSA ABLOY. Dennie Steenbeek, technical services manager at the retailer: "That partnership is broader than just for this branch, by the way. Some choices and specific solutions are of course local." One such choice is to test the brand new overhead door for loading and unloading applications, the OH1142P Dual Drive. The door features double the insulation value compared to other doors. This door does not have a spring system, but two motors that raise and lower the door on either side on a fixed chain rail. ASSA ABLOY business development manager Ron Waleveld "This is significantly faster, but also safer for when maintenance is needed on the door." 

Many developments around dock doors

The dock doors play a major role precisely in the area of safety, although Waleveld also dares to argue that a safe dock is above all a dock where people behave properly. "The developments around docks are going fast. For example, we are developing a new leveler with a higher quality of steel. In doing so, the steel is both more flexible, lighter, stronger and connected to the Internet." The latter, in the form of Internet of Things (IoT), offers opportunities to perform maintenance work smarter. Dock doors today can also be fitted with a sensor, with a green color inside indicating that a truck is docked and the door can be opened from inside. Waleveld: "That makes loading and unloading safer." He also sees increasing demand for autoblock systems. "These ensure that a truck cannot drive off during loading and unloading. There are various solutions for different budgets."

Warehouse as a flexible machine

The Lidl distribution center itself looks like a smoothly organized machine. Even the waste streams are structurally returned from the branches so that the warehouse in Waddinxveen can process them. During a tour, it is also striking that Lidl has deliberately not automated a number of tasks. Steenbeek: "There is no barcode on roll containers." He refers to numbers noted in marker on the load carriers. "Order pickers here transmit the data by voice, in the store they know exactly which aisle a roll container is intended for."

Sustainable steps

The warehouse in Waddinxveen is now just under eight years old. It is Breeam-certified and therefore sustainable. A number of dock doors are fitted with a blow-up seal. This is particularly useful for refrigerated transport because the docks close even more tightly around the trailer. The basis of the building is in order, but progressive insight has already led to the installation of 9,600 solar panels on the roof. In early 2025, Lidl will place the same number more. It is part of the goal to supply all supermarkets electrically by 2030. "We're making really good strides toward that," he said.