New collaboration Picnic and Inther Group

Online supermarket Picnic is growing fast and once again chooses Inther Group as system integrator for the intralogistics automation in a new robotized fulfillment center in the Netherlands. Following the previous successful collaboration for the Picnic fulfillment center in Dordrecht, which was officially opened by Picnic last summer, this is the second collaboration between the two parties. Completion is scheduled for spring 2026.

More automation

Martijn Herder - CEO at Inther Group: "Picnic is a dynamic company that always wants to do things just a little differently, and from our slogan Improving Intralogistics, we too are always looking for better solutions. So together, we designed a fast but solid automation solution for the fulfillment center in Dordrecht, focusing on efficiency and ergonomics for Picnic's shoppers. Here, we pay attention, for example, to heavy tasks being carried out by robots.

The experience gained by both parties in that project can now be applied again in the smart automation of the intralogistics process. The new FC is based on a conveyor system based on Inther's own ICE (Inther Conveyor Equipment) products, integrated with products from Apollo, Qimarox, AWL and Niverplast. The design includes a mechanized solution for efficiently handling a wide range of items. These products will be delivered from an automated storage system to Goods-to-Person workstations, to greatly reduce walking meters."

Good cooperation

Picnic co-founder Frederik Nieuwenhuys notes: "The cooperation with Inther is good, and in this regard it is nice that Inther is a Dutch partner, and also the assembly and production for the European market takes place at Inther in Venray. Increasing labor productivity is an issue in many industries. The fact that we as Dutch companies are joining forces and developing a new generation of warehouse robotization is also good for the Dutch manufacturing industry."

Crossing the border together

Meanwhile, the companies are planning the next step: joining forces in Germany. Herder: "When designing the new location in the Netherlands, we immediately took into account the fact that this should be a blueprint for further expansion, including into Germany. Together with our German branch and the international experience that Inther has had for 27 years in setting up intralogistics plants worldwide, we can therefore meet the demand for automating Picnic's German operation very well. Thus, the Dutch manufacturing industry is also crossing the border."