Latin America’s Largest AutoStore Brings Innovation for Dafiti Group Retail Ecommerce

Carlos Galbiati | 2 March 2022

Featuring capacity for goods to person system storage of 3.6 million products, Dafiti Group’s newest warehouse, called LEAP, houses one of the most advanced automation systems in the world providing fast delivery across Latin America.

As part of the Global Fashion Group, Dafiti leads fashion and lifestyle ecommerce, retail sales in Latin America and needed a facility and supporting technology to match their spirit for innovation and top-level customer satisfaction.

This fast-moving system was expertly integrated with Dafiti’s current and future ecommerce growth in mind, offering a reliably convenient shopping experience for years to come. 

“[LEAP’s] scale and sophistication speak to the transformational growth of the fashion ecommerce industry and will help to propel our next ten years of growth in the region,” says Christoph Barchewitz, Co-CEO of the Global Fashion Group.

Retail Ecommerce Automation

Located in Extrema (MG), Brazil, LEAP occupies an area of 54,000 m² and includes AutoStore, a goods to person order fulfillment system, Interroll conveyor, and Bastian Solutions’ Exacta software. Expertly integrated, this solution reduced order cycle time from 24 hours to 2 hours.

In total, key warehouse technologies include:

• AutoStore goods to person system
  • 450,000 bins
  • ~300 robots
  • 3.6 million units inside the AutoStore
  • 500,000 SKUs
• Exacta WES
• Interroll Conveyor
• Intralox Activated Roller Belt Sorter

Software Unlocks Potential

The ecommerce fulfillment process is operated by software that combines artificial intelligence and predictive analytics. It works to map the products and creates efficient routes for robots to collect them within the AutoStore high-density storage. The goods to person software is integrated to communicate with the WES (warehouse execution system) for accurate, real-time operations data. This tight software integration is leveraged to provide operators the correct picking information to fulfill orders efficiently and without error.

With all this technology, the process of picking items has become three times faster. This is supported by the AutoStore goods to person software and Bastian Solutions’ Exacta intralogistics software suite, which helps to synchronize with the automation equipment and greater visibility for operational efficiency.

A System Designed for Growth

Already managing more than 500,000 SKUs and requiring storage for 3.6 million units, Dafiti Group needed a solution that could continue to grow, evolve as consumer demands change during peak season shifts and market changes, but also continued to remain as efficient as possible.

“Both Brazil and other countries in which we operate in the region still have ample growth potential for online fashion retail, and the scenario is favorable to take the sector’s development to a new level. LEAP is key to this movement and to strengthen the acceleration that the group has been presenting in recent years,” says Philipp Povel, co-founder and CEO Of Dafiti Group.

AutoStore proved to be the right technology for the job.

The modular and flexible structures store products arranged vertically in crates. When an order is placed, products are picked up by robots that move on top of the structure, making picking faster and more efficient.

Results for the Consumer

For the consumer, the main advantage of an operational model such as designed at the LEAP warehouse facility is an increasingly convenient shopping experience: the total product separation time is reduced from an average of 24 hours to 2 hours. This equals even more reliable and faster delivery.

The ecommerce fulfillment center achieves:

• 4,800 items picked per hour
• 400% more throughput per hour than previous facilities
• Maximized storage density
• Automatic inventory counting and management
• Low energy consumption

Delivering Innovation in Warehouse Automation

Helping Dafiti deliver an improved value proposition for both partners and end customers, we engineered a system that could tackle today’s load and meet the pioneering spirit that Dafiti Group wanted to accomplish with this project. Together with Bastian Solutions, LEAP was designed to give Dafiti the retail advantage they needed.

Bastian Solutions South America is dedicated to helping our customers increase their productivity through proven automation, information systems, and sound operating procedures. Talk to an engineer today about your next project.

Author: Carlos Galbiati