All operations at the new warehouse site will be automated (Photo: Panattoni)
One of Europe's leading commercial developers is constructing an AI controlled distribution centre for a Polish retailer.
The site in Wilcza GĂłra, near Warsaw, will service retailer's Auchan Polska customers from its updated internet platform.
Within the centre, which is being constructed by Italian developer Panattoni, all operations will be automated using proprietary systems from Ocado based on artificial intelligence and machine learning.
This year in April, Auchan Polska unveiled its new internet store, which prioritises convenience and more personalised shopping for its customers.
This represented the first stage of a partnership between Auchan and UK-based Ocado – a leader in logistics automation and robotics for the e-grocery business.
The next stage will involve the opening of an automated distribution centre to support customers with artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Such systems will broaden the range of goods on offer to as many as 40,000 products and enable deliveries – including same day deliveries – to be improved with more flexible timings, thus increasing the convenience of shopping online.
“We can confidently say that our hi-tech distribution centre is going to be a real game-changer for the Polish market,” says Piotr Dopierała, the Supply Chain & Logistics director at Auchan Polska.
“It is an honour and a mark of Auchan Polska’s confidence to have been entrusted with the development of such a strategically important project.
"The new distribution centre will enable our client to scale up its e-commerce operations, which is a particularly promising part of its business.
"Because of the extensive automation and customisation to meet the demands of the e-grocery business, this project is exceptionally innovative."
A special mezzanine is to be fitted in the 18,000 sqm centre for the installation of the Ocado system.
Due to the specific nature of the goods to be stored, separate zones are to be created including chilled areas and freezer areas with a temperature control system to ensure the highest quality and safety of the food.
The control system will maintain a temperature of between 2°C and 5°C in the refrigerated section and between -20°C and -22°C in the freezer area.
The client’s requirements also specify roofing above the external loading dock gates for trucks and courier vans, a sprinkler system that meets the FM Global standard and reinforced flooring with a load bearing capacity of 165 kN per foot, and zoned up to even 210 kN.
Construction work on the new distribution centre was launched in the third quarter of this year with the work scheduled for completion in June 2025.