Great Bear DC, Desborough, Northamptonshire, UK

Getting the most out of your operations

Great Bear manages over 3 million square feet of warehousing, 23 distribution centres, 1 50 vehicles and 1,200 people. A true multi-site, multi-client 3PL operation for a range of clients in the grocery, manufacturing and retail markets that includes household names like Sainsbury's, Mars, Umbro, Unilever and Michelin.

Snapshot of Great Bear's distribution centre:

• 475,000 sq.ft. warehousing facility.
• 70,000 Pallet positions in four chambers. 
• 58 Loading bays with four level access doors. 
• Four automated vehicle off load bays
• 105,000 Case picks across 300 orders at peak.
• Serving up to 275 vehicles a day. 

Key benefits

Autostore is networked across sites, co-ordinating and scheduling all stock movements in real-time for faster pallet and goods processing. It communicates with all mechanical handling equipment (MHE) across radio frequency (RF) terminals. The RF system carries the data for receipt of goods, pallet storage and retrieval, marshalling, loading, case picking, rework, yard management and value added services.

Background

Autostore maximises the performance of a warehouse by improving both the quality of information and the inbound/outbound flow of materials, simplifying everyday warehouse management tasks while improving scheduling and planning decisions. It communicates with different computer systems, mechanical handling equipment (for example automated guided vehicles, cranes and conveyors) and integrates seamlessly with existing corporate management/ERP systems to give you full visibility and control over all current stock in real-­time.