Active Ants opens its 5th fulfillment center in the UK
Active Ants, a subsidiary of bpost group, will open its 5th fulfillment center in September 2022. The new site is located in Northampton, England, and is owned by M&G Real Estate, the real estate investment arm of M&G plc.
Wednesday April 27, 2022
Best fulfillment company in Europe
After successfully setting up 2 sites in the Netherlands, Active Ants has expanded in recent years to Belgium and Germany. “Active Ants wants to be the best fulfillment company in Europe”, says Jeroen Dekker, co-founder and Managing Partner. “We are delighted that our arrival in the UK will allow us to increase our presence in Europe and we believe that we are heading towards one of the most interesting online markets. With a focus on innovation and automation, we offer tailor-made Business 2 Consumer (B2C) logistics for online shops (SMEs). We are convinced that this will create added value for our customers”.
About Active Ants
Active Ants was founded in 2010 with the idea of making e-fulfilment more accurate and efficient through innovation, automation and working with robots. Active Ants has since become one of the leaders in the Netherlands, with more than 250 customers and more than 5 million orders per year.
Why choose Northampton?
Northampton is located in the heart of England. The Brackmills Industrial Estate is the UK’s e-commerce logistics hub. Jeroen: “This combination makes it the ideal location for our e-fulfilment activities. We will be close to our customers and have good connections with last mile distributors. »
“When looking for the right location and the right building, it was important for us to find a building that meets our mission and values. Brackmills Estate’s ‘outstanding’ BREEAM certification means that the building is rated as the most environmentally efficient, which is very much in line with our sustainable – and highly automated – way of working. Active Ants is committed to nurturing lasting relationships with all of its stakeholders: customers, employees and the community. »
Michael Wood, Portfolio Director at M&G Real Estate, comments: “With this project, M&G is delivering on its commitment to delivering high quality ESG projects that meet the rigorous demands of modern occupiers, and we are delighted to welcome an innovative international operator. with this important prelocation. »
Effective cooperation between human and robot
“Storage, order picking, packing and sorting are also fully automated in this brand new fulfillment center,” says Jeroen. “For order picking, the employees collaborate effectively with the robots. The receipt of goods and the return flow remain manual processes. Mechanization guarantees efficiency, high quality and a pleasant working environment for our employees. This configuration is unique in the world. »
Warehouse with AutoStore
The basis of our warehouse is the Autostore, a unique system where goods are stored very compactly in bins. The AutoStore is surmounted by a structure of rails on which robots move. Thanks to intelligent software, a robot knows exactly which bin to bring to employees at picking stations. The autonomous mobile robots (AMR) bring the empty boxes to the employee who fills them with the goods delivered by the storage robots. Thanks to the innovative AutoStore solution, we take up 6 times less space than in a traditional warehouse.
This good-to-man system has a small footprint. The system can store up to six times more products per square meter, and the robots reuse their own energy, so electricity consumption is minimal.
Carrier robots
The carrying robots then go back to different packaging machines which close the boxes to the right size, weigh them and affix a shipping label. It is therefore no longer necessary to add filler material. In this way, Active Ants transport on average 40% less “vacuum” to the customer. It also allows us to carry more parcels in the truck and further reduce our CO2 emissions. Once filled, closed and printed, the carrier robots pick up the packages and sort them to their respective carriers.
Custom printed box
The built-in-printer closing machine, specially designed for Active Ants, is also used in Northampton. Jeroen: “This allows each sender to create their own personalized printed box. With this unique feature, we enable large online shops, but now also smaller ones, to make personalized packaging. It is no longer necessary to keep pre-printed boxes in stock. This allows our customers to reduce their costs and reduce their ecological footprint. »
Note for journalists, no broadcast:
For more information, please contact Edwin Koene of the Active Ants Marketing & Communication Department via email [email protected] or by telephone +31 (0)30-2271000 (during office hours between 9 a.m. and 17 hours).
Website:www.activeants.com
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