Micro-fulfillment Solutions and Systems | FORTNA

Solutions: Micro-fulfilment

Fuelling fast, accurate, local fulfilment with automated micro-fulfilment solutions

Micro-fulfilment offers one solution to increase the speed, agility and responsiveness to dynamically changing e-Commerce demand. At FORTNA, we begin with your business requirements and apply our Optimisation Science™ to deliver a data-driven design that includes best-fit technologies and intelligent software.

Where online demand meets hyper-local fulfilment

Micro-fulfillment implements multiple small-scale warehouse facilities as close to the end consumer as possible. These warehouses, called micro-fulfillment centers (MFCs) are conceptually the same as a standard warehouse but are often much smaller and designed to enable the rapid distribution of products to high-population areas.

FORTNA places order fulfilment operations close to your customer.

  • Improve order fulfilment speed and accuracy
  • Solve for shifting customer demand
  • Optimise profitable order fulfilment

Calculate your potential savings with the FORTNA goods-to-person tool

Improve e-Commerce picking productivity with goods-to-person technologies. Use our assessment tool to calculate potential savings with automation.

Access Your Potential Savings
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Questions to consider before implementing micro-fulfilment solutions:

  • Which stores will serve as micro-fulfilment centres?
  • Will inventory be shared across channels?
  • How often will you need to replenish micro-fulfilment centres?
  • How will order profiles change in the upstream DC(s) as a result of micro-fulfilment?
  • Which channel receives credit for the sale and how do you allocate cross-channel costs?
  • Can you track all of the inventory in the network and match it to real-time demand?
  • How will you handle split shipments and at what cost?
  • How do you communicate with customers about expected delivery times and order exceptions?

For more on this topic, read Six Things to Consider Before Implementing Micro-fulfilment

Flexible automation solutions for micro-fulfilment

Flexible automation technologies, including autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), shuttle (AS/RS) and goods-to-person (GTP) and high-density storage solutions, are proving valuable as part of micro-fulfilment solutions. To determine which of these technologies best fits your operation, you should ask yourself these questions about your business requirements:

  • How many SKUs will the solution handle?
  • How many orders per day with how many lines per order on average?
  • What are the order profiles?
  • Are there variable temperature products? Fresh or fragile items?
  • What are your competitive pressures? What is the service promise to your customers?

Video

AutoStore is the ultimate order-fulfilment solution. It combines the highest storage density of any goods-to-person solution, with a high throughput technology, making it a perfect fit for order fulfilment from large warehouses to small urban stores and backrooms.

AutoStore solutions increase labour productivity with high-density storage

The shift to e-Commerce combined with labour availability challenges are forcing supply chain leaders to re-examine their operations and consider technologies that eliminate wasted travel, reduce risk and achieve greater efficiencies and cost savings. AutoStore solutions offer unparallelled speed, accuracy, cube utilisation and safe physical distancing for workers.

Learn About AutoStore

Thinking about adding ship from store capabilities?

Companies are considering ship from store strategies to enable increased speed and reliability for e-Commerce fulfilment. Ship from store can also enhance flexibility and enable resilience to disruption. To learn more read Twelve Questions to Ask Before Deploying Ship from Store.

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What FORTNA brings to the table is best in class common practice.

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Mr Price

The FORTNA difference drives micro-fulfilment success

It all starts with strategy

We take a holistic approach to distribution strategy, considering upstream/downstream impacts on an entire network of operations.

Design rooted in data science

Scientifically proven proprietary modelling tools and algorithms allow us to design for maximum efficiency and outcomes.

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Best-fit solutions with unique technology selection

Our deep bench of experts selects appropriate and best-fit technologies that optimise your solution. The result is a comprehensive, flexible solution that delivers exemplary business results.

Micro-fulfilment insights and resources