Crown's solution helped Decostar's warehouse processes run more than 18% faster

Decostar B.V. is a Dutch wholesaler of home decoration products for indoor and outdoor use. The Apeldoorn-based company has been providing customers around the world with an extensive range of decoration and home accessories for more than 20 years. Decostar's customers include wholesalers, retailers and international chain stores, which Decostar supplies with products from a 21,000 m² distribution center in IJsselmuiden. Products from Decostar's house brand Countryfield form the bulk of the assortment, in addition to items from a select group of manufacturers.

The vigorous growth Decostar has experienced in recent years has also had an impact on warehouse usage, which is why its storage capacity has been continuously expanded. In addition to a modern new building, it also includes storage space rented from a neighboring company. Currently there are about 11,000 items stored on 29,000 pallet positions in the distribution center (now as many as four buildings). Each year, many containers of goods ordered from the Far East arrive at the warehouse. These increased volumes led to growing needs at Decostar in the area of intralogistics. Because of the increasing number of pallets stored and retrieved, the fleet of forklifts had to be modernized and expanded. The focus was on acceleration and organizing work processes more efficiently.

Long-term partnership creates trust

Decostar relied on its long-term business relationship with Crown to achieve its high standards. This partnership began in 2013 with the purchase of seven forklifts. The initial equipment included four WT-series pallet trucks and three GPC-series order pickers. Just one year later, Decostar expanded the fleet to include two SP-series order pickers for putting away and retrieving pallets stored at higher levels.

For more than 11 years, order picking at the warehouse has been carried out with Crown forklifts, and the fleet has now grown to 16 machines, with five WT 3040 Series pallet trucks used for loading and unloading trucks and for order picking. The forks on some of the pallet trucks have been extended to 2400 mm, allowing staff to lift two pallets at once, saving time and unnecessary driving.

Five GPC 3040 series order pickers are also in use for handling pallets stored on lower shelves. These too are equipped with extended forks for transporting multiple pallets. Due to their high efficiency and intuitive operation, the pallet trucks and order pickers perform their pallet handling tasks accurately and reliably. In their daily work, users benefit from the trucks' particular ease of operation, which significantly facilitates driving and maneuvering in narrow aisles.

Productivity boost thanks to Xpress Lower

Decostar leverages the performance of three ESR Series reach trucks for loading and unloading higher shelves. Designed specifically for intensive operations, these trucks offer higher productivity for demanding work at significant heights with their fast lifting and lowering speeds. Supply Chain Manager Bastiaan Vosselman describes the Xpress Lower function of the reach trucks as an absolute highlight. The Decostar manager emphasizes, "The beauty of it is the particularly fast lifting and lowering of pallets. That saves us a lot of time, because we then spend much less time waiting in front of the shelves. Our tallest racks are more than 11 meters high, so those faster processes quickly translate into significant time savings."

Xpress Lower helped to significantly speed up pallet handling processes. This enabled Decostar to shorten processes by more than 18%. While each reach truck previously moved approximately 185 pallets per shift, throughput has been increased to 219 pallets thanks to Crown. In the first year after the changeover, the faster processes resulting from the change resulted in savings of tens of thousands of euros.

However, the strong performance of the ESR series at racking heights of more than 11 meters can also be attributed to other factors. For example, the reach trucks are supported by integrated cameras to ensure safe and precise access at considerable heights. The camera systems are mounted to the forks of the reach trucks, so drivers can see pallet placement on color monitors in the operator compartment. This means they can reliably put away and retrieve pallets, regardless of location.

The SP series supports access at great heights

In addition to the ESR series, Decostar also uses two high-lift order pickers from the
SP series for precise and safe picking. Combined with the performance-oriented lifting, lowering and driving capabilities, these features also ensure effective pick-up processes at great heights. Thanks to the spacious operator compartment, SP Series users also benefit from more than enough room to move and ample access to racking. This allows them to quickly reach pallets and perform picking tasks smoothly.

In addition to Crown's high-performance forklifts, effective utilization was ensured by reorganizing workflows in the warehouse. One reason was the seasonal fluctuation in volumes to be handled. Retailers order many more items leading up to the spring and outdoor seasons and Christmas than during the rest of the year. In the past, this meant that the high seasons at the beginning of the year and in August and September were very busy, straining warehouse capacity to the limit. Therefore, additional forklifts had to be rented for short periods during these periods.

In recent years, peaks in demand have been smoothed out through balanced order management and improved planning. As a result, the former peak periods were somewhat smoothed out and utilization fluctuated less throughout the year. Explaining Decostar's decision to expand its partnership with Crown, Bastiaan Vosselman said, "We have grown strongly in recent years, which has led to demand for more forklifts. We chose Crown because we had had good experiences with the products in the past. Lift trucks from Crown are reliable and safe. In addition, we have always had a pleasant working relationship and have become accustomed to Crown's excellent service."

Pick-by-voice provides greater precision

Employees at Decostar's distribution center are supported in order picking by proven technology tools. Staff have been using headsets with pick-by-voice technology for eleven years now. Voice commands given via the connected WMS system provide precise instructions on where to pick the next line. After executing the commands, drivers confirm via voice message. They are then informed of their next task via their headphones. In addition to the addition of several reach trucks, the number of pick headsets has also been expanded.

Great ergonomics and reliability

What all Crown forklifts in use at Decostar have in common is that drivers' tasks are performed under very ergonomic conditions, which contributes to better employee health. Integrating the fleet also went smoothly. An important reason for this is that employees need very little time to get to know the Crown forklifts and master the intuitive operation of the trucks. This also contributes to user satisfaction, as does the solid design and resulting prevention of downtime. This ensures long-term operational readiness.