Rohlik.cz opens first automated distribution centre in Prologis Park Prague-Chrastany

The system also delivers a threefold increase in picking productivity and up to 30% more warehouse space utilisation. Managing director Olin Novák said the automated solution saves time and costs, and thanks to it Rohlik can afford to cap the prices of basic foodstuffs until Easter. The new distribution centre is the third warehouse in Prague and the fourth in the Czech Republic.

Rohlík, the Czech technology leader in online grocery sales, is streamlining its picking operations with a newly opened automated state-of-the-art distribution centre at Prologis Park Prague-Chrastany. This is the third warehouse opened in Prague and the fourth in the Czech Republic. Rohlik's original warehouses ship hundreds of thousands of orders per month with a relatively high percentage of manpower. The new warehouse in Chrášt'any will allow to reduce the manpower share by almost half and will significantly help to reduce the already low error rate of orders delivered to our customers. In order to better cope with growth and to be able to maintain affordable prices in the long term, Rohlik decided to increase efficiency and automate its new Prague warehouse with the AutoStore solution. The AutoStore system delivers a threefold increase in picking productivity and up to 30% more warehouse space utilisation.

AutoStore will increase efficiency, aid expansion and reduce delivery times

Rohlik.cz is constantly looking for ways to make its service to customers unrivalled and its processes as efficient as possible. The goal is to keep costs as low as possible when storing, dispatching and delivering purchases, so that Rohlik can offer low prices in the long term. Olin Novák, CEO of Rohlik.cz, says: "The distribution centre in Chrastany is our third warehouse in Prague and the fourth in the Czech Republic. Moreover, it is an automated solution that saves us time and costs. Therefore, we can afford to offer our customers an even better service and cap the prices of basic foodstuffs until Easter."

Rohlik already has a fourth warehouse in the Czech Republic, which will help ship out an additional 14,000 orders per day. This will also allow Rohlik.cz to expand and offer its service in other locations, for example in the south of Bohemia from 1 November. In addition, the fourth warehouse will help in shortening the delivery of purchases in selected areas. Olin Novák adds: "In September 2021, we announced a reduction in delivery time to 90 minutes. Even then, it seemed that it couldn't get any faster. However, thanks to streamlined warehouse processes and perfectly planned logistics, the impossible is becoming a reality and Rohlík will deliver purchases in selected areas in just 60 minutes."

The most modern distribution centre in the Czech Republic

The distribution centre at Prologis' park in Prague's Chrášt'any, with the AutoStore solution, makes efficient use of space with storage boxes stacked vertically in a grid and stored in a cubic structure, with the boxes picked by robots that move along the structure on rails. The AutoStore solution includes 44,000 bins, 265 AutoStore R5 robots and 50 ports for receiving and picking. The solution is designed to dispatch up to 1,000 orders per hour. In addition, the distribution centre in Chrastany contains the first refrigerated AutoStore installation in Europe.

Pavel Todt, COO of Rohlik.cz, said: "Market developments clearly show that successful dealers need to respond flexibly to customer needs, both in terms of a wide range of products and an efficient order dispatch system. At Rohlik, we are thrilled to be the first online food retailer in the country with a highly automated fulfilment system. This is because streamlining logistics will allow us to act even faster and more flexibly in the future, which will further accelerate our growth."

The developer of the distribution centre is Prologis: "We are very pleased that Building 2 in one of our newest domestic parks could be tailor-made for Rohlik.cz. We have adapted the hall to the customer's requirements so that the space covers all the needs of their fast-growing business and meets the demands of e-commerce focused on food imports." says David Jakeš, Prologis' Director of Construction in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

For example, the building has been equipped with 20 covered delivery gates to facilitate the loading of orders. The sustainable solutions used include LED lighting with motion and dimming sensors that are controlled by the customer, smart metering systems, strip skylights in the shipping area and electrically operated exterior blinds. It will also undergo BREEAM certification at the "very good" level.