JBC chooses Active Ants as online order logistics partner

Online sales have remained at a high level post-covid in many industries, including fashion. The confirmation of an order at an online store launches a complete logistics process behind the scenes. This September, the Belgian division of Active Ants will begin providing logistics support for retail chain JBC’s online sales – the whole process of storage, picking, packing and shipping parcels in sustainable packaging bearing the JBC logo.

“We see e-fulfilment demand continuing to rise,” says Gert Hellemans, General Manager Active Ants Belgium. “Upon opening in 2021 we provided for the doubling of our capacity but due to growth we have accelerated the process. So we certainly have enough space to launch the partnership with JBC. We are delighted they have given us this sign of trust in choosing a partner that uses state-of-the-art technology to marry efficiency and ecology.”
Sustainability first
At the Active Ants warehouse, people work with robots to prepare orders. Sustainability in the processing of each online order is a key concern in this forward-looking approach. The software always selects the smallest possible box and the shipping label information is printed straight on the packaging to reduce paper consumption. The packaging machines also cut each box to size to minimise the amount of empty space. That also minimises the amount of filling needed. And smaller parcels take up less space during transport. These initiatives have enabled Active Ants to slash its carbon emissions by 40% on average.

“The innovative and highly automated nature of the logistics process future-proofs Active Ants,” says JBC CEO Bart Claes. “Alongside their sustainable approach, that makes them the obvious choice as our new logistics partner.”
Sustainability is a very important concern for JBC, which is why it has chosen a local partner that shares its principles.

Willebroek enlargement
Active Ants enlarged its e-fulfilment centre in Willebroek in April, a year ahead of schedule, in response to the rising demand for logistics support from online stores. This increased the number of storage spaces in the Autostore from 20,000 to 52,000 and doubled the number of gates to 10. In addition, 20 extra employees provide the necessary reinforcement to the teams. Up to 8,000 orders per day can now be processed.

The Autostore is a unique automated system for storing goods very close together in trays. Based on incoming orders, storage robots go to the appropriate trays to pick the appropriate products, which they then take to the filling stations, where employees complete the process.

There is 10,000m2 of floor space available at the Willebroek e-fulfilment centre. This state-of-the-art facility makes innovative use of 30 storage robots and 50 carrier robots to assist the human staff. Autostore is used to prepare thousands of shipments for online stores, including JBC’s. Storage, picking, packing and sorting are all fully automated.

A European business, Active Ants also has two sites in the Netherlands, one in Germany and one in the United Kingdom.

Source: bpost