A smooth warehouse move

How do you move a fully operational warehouse to a new location without disrupting day-to-day operations? Sunrise Medical, a supplier of mobility products, faced this challenging task. Due to its growth, the global company set up a new warehouse in Nieuwegein with the help of SSI SCHAEFER. Particularly during the implementation phase, it became clear how important good preparation, sophisticated planning and a flexible approach are. While the new warehouse was set up with racking from the old location in less than two months, daily business operations continued as usual. Operations Manager EDC at Sunrise Medical Stanley Meijer: “In a project like this, it is crucial that all those involved operate as one team. ”The new warehouse, with an impressive A+++++ energy status, serves as the European Distribution Center (EDC). Here, mobility scooters, wheelchairs, rollators, seating and positioning articles and parts with a long supply chain are distributed to mobility dealers in Europe. The EDC also plays a crucial role to supply Sunrise Medical's 5 factories in Europe with assembly parts. In addition, it provides strong support to Sunrise Medical's Dutch market. “By bundling this supply through our warehouse, we save significantly on transportation and inventory costs in Europe” says Meijer.

The challenge 

A new warehouse was badly needed. The previous building, which at the time was also equipped with SSI SCHAEFER racking, in Nieuwegein was too small and no longer met today's requirements. Due to lack of space, Sunrise Medical was even forced to rent a second warehouse some distance away. “That was anything but efficient,” Meijer says from the new building that is less than a kilometer away as the crow flies. “Here we have a modern warehouse with an area of 6,789 square meters (5,521 m2 of regular floor space and 1,268m2 of mezzanine floor space), more than 30 percent than before. And because this building is 8.5 meters high, we can use this area a lot more efficiently than in the old 5.5-meter high building.”

The solution

Meijer took extensive time to set up the warehouse. He received help from his colleague Marc van Thuijl, who is responsible for Facility, Safety & Warehouse Improvement at Sunrise Medical. For almost two years, the duo sparred intensively with intralogistics partner SSI SCHAEFER and special sales expert Jessica Pronk. All options were on the table, from a conventional wide-aisle warehouse to a fully automated storage system. “I believe SSI SCHÄFER worked out as many as eighteen drawings. And we made at least as many sketches ourselves,” laughs Van Thuijl. Meijer nods in agreement. “We only get one chance to build a new warehouse and we want to do it well. Jessica Pronk from SSI SCHAEFER, gave us all the time and space we needed for this. The result is a good basis for further growth and improvement of the operation.”

Interchangeable frames

The new warehouse consists of three halls. The first hall consists mostly of extra-deep PR 600 pallet racking to the ceiling. This is where the seat cushions and other positioning products are located, which are collected with a high-lift order-picking truck. “The racks have and depth of 1.20 meters and are in single rows, so we can pick from two sides. This prevents getting too much air in your storage,” Meijer explains. 

The second hall with six docks is partly used for loading and unloading trucks and containers. For bulky products such as lap mobiles and wheelchairs, there are drive-in racks along the wall opposite the docks. “We took those with us from the old warehouse,” Meijer says. “Because the old drive-in racks were just a little too low, we used the frames of the old pallet racks in the new warehouse. Those are fifty centimeters higher, so we were able to create an extra storage level and put away 18 percent more pallets. This is one of the advantages of SSI SCHAEFER: The frames of the drive-in and pallet racking systems are interchangeable.”

No narrow corridors

The third hall offers the most storage space and is largely set up as a reach truck warehouse. That was not the original intention. “Actually, we had wanted to set up a narrow-aisle warehouse here. With that, we could get the +/- 7,000 pallet locations that were needed for a balanced business case,” Meijer says. “The use of narrow-aisle trucks would require induction lines in the floor. As the project progressed, this solution proved unfeasible due to construction conditions. Working closely with SSI SCHAEFER, we quickly adapted and found a suitable alternative. We finally opted for a combination of pallet racks and reach trucks; a flexible set-up that meets our current requirements.”

With additional measures, Sunrise Medical and SSI SCHAEFER still managed to create sufficient pallet locations. “We have taken the mezzanine floor from the old warehouse and rebuilt it above the packaging lines in hall two so that we can place additional pallets on top of it. We also erected additional racking in hall three along the wall opposite the reach truck warehouse for even more pallet locations. Together with SSI SCHAEFER, we puzzled and puzzled until this logistics box was completely filled,” explains Meijer. 

Turning plans into reality 

Once the puzzle was put together, the biggest challenge was yet to come: the realisation of the layout and relocation to the new warehouse. SSI SCHAEFER only had two months to do this. The fact that Sunrise Medical decided to take the racking from the old warehouse with it added to the complexity of the project. “Those racks obviously still contained pallets, because the operation had to continue undisturbed. We first had to move these pallets to the new warehouse before SSI SCHAEFER could dismantle the racking,” explains Meijer. 

Tight planning

The success of a project like this stands or falls with good preparation. After signing the contract with SSI SCHAEFER, a kick-off meeting with all those involved followed first. “This was incredibly important. During a kick-off it becomes clear how everyone starts the game. It is important that everyone involved - from Sunrise Medical, the contractor and SSI SCHAEFER - operate as a team and go for it together,” says Meijer. 

A second success factor is tight planning. When will the racks be empty? When can they be dismantled? And when can they be reassembled in the new warehouse? “It's all very delicate,” says Gijs Eggink, who was responsible for the planning as Project Manager and, like all other Project Managers at SSI SCHAEFER, holds the IPMA D certificate. But if the implementation does not go according to plan, the collaboration comes under pressure. For example, when dismantling some racks, the original bolts could not be unscrewed as expected. They had to be carefully ground through and replaced with new ones. That required quick on-site adjustments, which the team was able to solve efficiently and with great flexibility.“

Flexible assembly team

One success factor that should not be underestimated was the flexibility and commitment of the in-house assembly team. SSI SCHAEFER has its ‘own’ pool of fitters from Latvia who are deployed worldwide on a wide range of high-quality projects. Those fitters are tremendously well trained, all have a wealth of experience, extensive product knowledge, an excellent work ethic and good communication skills. “We have had an excellent team with passionate mechanics who never let up for a moment. I even gave the foreman the key to the building. That proves how much confidence we had in the team” says Meijer. 

Meijer is impressed with the discipline with which the assembly team worked. All disassembled racking was meticulously counted, bundled and noted so that it could be quickly reassembled in the new warehouse. “For six weeks they constantly shuttled between the old and new warehouse. If they couldn't get on at one location for a while, they moved on at the other.”

Sparring partner

Now that the warehouse is fully operational, Sunrise Medical still stands by the choices made. The operation has improved quite a bit. The layout is more logical, the driving distances are shorter and the working methods are clearer. “Not only do we work faster and more efficiently, but also more safely. Moreover, we have room to grow again here,” says Meijer, who is already secretly thinking about new innovations. “We keep looking for improvements. We now know how nice it is to have a sparring partner like SSI SCHAEFER for this.”