Description

Bol.com opened its web shop on March 30, 1999. More than twenty years later bol.com has 10 million active customers in the Netherlands and Belgium and a range of more than 20 million products. Bol.com is one of the most popular web shops in the Netherlands and Belgium. In 2018 bol.com realized over 2 billion turnover.

At bol.com, customers find the largest selection in a large number of product categories with books & e-books in Dutch and other languages, music, films, games, electronics, toys, baby items, garden and DIY items and everything for living, animals, sports, leisure and personal care.

Opportunities

In 2014 bol.com decided, for strategical reasons, to set up an own fulfillment center (bol.com fulfillment center = BFC). Up till that moment bol.com logistics was fully outsourced to a 3PL.

The total project encompassed the realization of 250.000 m² floor space within a building block of 100.000 m² on a land plot of 20 hectares in Waalwijk, the Netherlands. The first phase (BFC1) was the design, tender, realization and commissioning of the first half of the total fulfillment center with a semi-mechanized logistics solution.

Solution

Groenewout started to design the optimal logistics solution, together with the bol.com process design team, including the types of storage systems, level of mechanization, capacity definition, the business case (CAPEX/OPEX) and a project implementation time schedule. The proposed set-up was approved by the steering committee. During implementation process Groenewout acted as part of the bol.com team for tendering, contracting, detailed engineering, realization  and commissioning.

The project team for logistics was working continuously in close alignment with the building stream. Groenewout was involved in that team as well.

Benefits

• Proven logistics process solution for the fast growing bol.com operation.
• Structured approach during tendering leading to attractive proposals of the candidate suppliers.
• Early and smart alignment of building engineering with storage systems, conveyors (8 km) and other logistics solutions.