Sandman Group, Estonia: Estonia’s first AutoStore solution enables rapid and profitable growth
Key benefits of automation for Sandman Group include faster picking, improved accuracy, reduced manual order handling, shorter lead times, and the ability to sustain rapid growth. Additionally, automation has made it easier to attract, train and retain warehouse staff.
A scalable and future-proofed automated solution
Established in 1992, Sandman Group is the leading wholesale distributor of consumer electronics in the Baltics, serving more than 500 distributors, retail chains, manufacturers, and independent resellers. In 2019, Sandman Group moved to a new central warehouse, with approximately 40 percent of the space unused. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors, market demand skyrocketed.
This prompted Sandman Group’s management to consider warehouse automation, and they visited a Swisslog-installed AutoStore-solution in Sweden. The management was impressed by what they saw, and confirmed AutoStore was the right solution for their needs due to its high-density storage capabilities, scalability and flexibility.
Meeting high customer requirements
The installation of Sandman Group’s AutoStore solution began in the summer and was completed by October. Two months later, it was officially inaugurated.
Since then, Sandman Group’s central warehouse has expanded to 22,000 square meters and now processes around 140,000 order lines each month, with over 80 percent handled by the AutoStore system. Most importantly, Sandman Group has ensured they can meet their customers’ high requirements for fast, reliable delivery, whether shopping online or in-store.
Without this investment we wouldn’t have been able to grow as quickly, cost-effective and profitably. Now, we have a space saving, sustainable and flexible fulfilment solution that makes our process faster, more efficient, and accurate.
