Success with Recommerce: rebuy Automates Processes of Pre-owned Media with FORTNA

rebuy, the leading European recommerce company, commissioned FORTNA to design and implement a solution to expand its fulfillment operations which includes automating many of its sub-processes. With 36 newly integrated tray lifts, conveyors and automatic packing lines, rebuy will expand capacity to respond to growing market demand.

Facing double-digit growth in inventory turnover, and at the same time, challenges in storage and processing capacities, rebuy was quick to react and partner with FORTNA for the planning and implementation of an expansion project at their new site.

“The driving force for this project was the need to increase efficiency in our fulfillment processes, as a logical consequence of the fact that sustainability is so much more than just a buzzword for a growing number of people. This can be clearly seen in our continuing rapid growth,” says Marcel Erian, COO of rebuy. “Used books, DVDs, Blu-rays and CDs are selling like hot cakes via rebuy.de, and the 7,500 sqm of available logistics space in our existing building in Berlin Rudow was no longer sufficient, so we had to upgrade our capacity.”

Partial automation simplifies order picking

rebuy has leased a second logistics facility next to the existing one to meet growing demands. The current 5-level shelving system with a capacity of 3.7 million SKUs is being used for manual order picking. Thirty-six tray lifts were integrated into the new logistics premises for compact, space-saving storage and for picking small items; these can be scaled to 48 tray lifts when needed. This solution achieves a high level of productivity by reducing travel time and employee workload and increasing accuracy.

Picking is done manually into totes. The items are then conveyed to a sorter based on the specific order and discharged into spring-bottom trolleys. This involves pre-sorting of the articles onto the packaging lines. These were moved from the existing hall to the new hall and enlarged. In the packing area, the fully picked orders are automatically fed to the respective packing station. Once there, a newly installed system produces cartons in real time. These boxes are cut from a corrugated cardboard roll to fit the item to be packed, cost-effectively, efficiently and quickly, at up to 15 cartons per minute. Alternatively, the orders are packed manually into boxes, or with an automatic packing machine for single-line orders, into mailing bags.

FORTNA Can Help

FORTNA helps organisations manage labour costs, optimise inventory management, and leverage a wide range of automation solutions. Using our unique data-driven approach, we can identify the best-fit distribution centre solutions to increase productivity, manage SKU proliferation and optimise warehouse processes.

Published/Updated 5/29/24