Dufry: direct access and massive storage of 30,000 SKUs

More than 60 years of travel retail experience

Dufry Ltd is a leading travel retailer that operates 2,400 duty-free and duty-paid shops located at airports, on cruise liners, in seaports and in other tourist locations.

Founded in 1865, the Swiss-based company employs 31,000 workers and sells more than 50,000 products. The firm also has developed a strong portfolio of long-term concessions with airport authorities and other landlords, managing almost 47 hectares of commercial space across the globe.

Adjustable and compact push-back racking

Dufry needed a well-organised warehouse in order to manage the enormous number of products it sells to nearly 2.5 billion potential customers. Interlake Mecalux, in partnership with Andersen Material Handling, outfitted a new 13,935 m² warehouse for Dufry in Miami, Florida, with a combination of conventional pallet racking and high-density push-back racking.

“The customer brought us in for a fantastic opportunity to help with its growth,” says Anthony Merkel, Warehouse Products Manager at Andersen. “After a lengthy consultation period, we were finally in a position to provide a proposal for a list of materials. At that point, we brought Interlake Mecalux to the table for its superior pallet racking products. We felt it gave us the best chance for a successful project.”

Interlake Mecalux and Andersen Material Handling worked closely to determine the appropriate solutions for Dufry. “Interlake Mecalux is always heavily involved in proper engineering of a solution,” Merkel continues. “It’s meticulous in ensuring that the customer will receive a solution that not just meets immediate needs, but also ensures the durability to last in a rugged environment. Initially, we bring Interlake Mecalux the data; its team analyses them and, in turn, provides the list of componentry to construct a system.”

The racks installed for Dufry are 9 and and 11.5 metres high with four to seven storage levels, and they can hold 9,200 GMA pallets measuring 1,016 x 1,219 mm with a capacity of 1,134 kg. There are 31 aisles of racking in the facility, and the storage systems hold two to three pallets per level.

Adjustable pallet racking was the perfect choice for Dufry, as it sells such a diverse range of products, such as liquor, chocolate, perfume, textiles, cigars and jewellery. The racking provides direct access to all the products, which was essential for a warehouse with so many SKUs. Direct access speeds up the work of operators when managing the warehouse’s 30,000 SKUs and picking orders. It also ensures accurate stock control because each location stores a single SKU.

The compact push-back racks provide Dufry with excellent accessibility and high-density storage that allow it to house more products. This system’s trolleys can deep-store up to five pallets at a time. As operators load each pallet, they place it on the set of trolleys and push it back into the lane by loading additional pallets. Gravity moves the pallets forward to the aisle on the telescopic trolleys during unloading. As such, it is not necessary to reach or drive equipment into the racking.

An active warehouse

Both of the storage systems provided by Interlake Mecalux and Andersen help this facility to prepare 40 orders per day with 20 lines per order. Each day, the installation receives and delivers 300 pallets, mainly from and to the United States and South America.

Dufry also benefited from the building’s height, allowing it to store even more products. “What did make this unique is that South Florida has traditionally had lower ceiling elevations,” Merkel said. “This was a spec building with significantly more height than what is traditional in the region. The elevation flexibility allowed us to properly slot and utilise the full extent of the vertical limits.” The advantages provided by this extra height, in addition to the new storage systems, have enabled Dufry to increase its storage capacity by more than 20 percent.

Merkel credited the partnership between Andersen and Interlake Mecalux for devising a solution that satisfied Dufry’s needs.

We’re thrilled with the Interlake Mecalux product and support. We’ve designed and implemented substantial projects as a partner with Interlake Mecalux and can speak to the point that it always delivers. Its racking is rugged, its componentry is solid and its service doesn’t disappoint.

Advantages for Dufry

• Direct access to the goods: the adjustable pallet racking enables operators to have direct access to the 30,000 SKUs stored in Dufry’s facility.
• Increased storage capacity: Dufry’s new storage systems helped to boost the company’s storage capacity by over 20 percent.
• High-density storage: the push-back racking installed in the Dufry warehouse gives the firm the ability to store more products while maintaining excellent selectivity.