"Wholesale-Retail Smart Link": A 20,000-Position Intelligent Warehouse for Retail & Wholesale by Four-Way Shuttle

The traditional warehousing model struggled to meet omni-channel demands: low manual sorting efficiency (<5,000 orders/day) with a 1.5% error rate for over 50,000 SKUs; chaotic warehouse flow and only 30% space utilization due to mixed wholesale and retail order operations; and slow online order response times exceeding 8 hours, impacting customer experience. An intelligent upgrade via a four-way shuttle-based AS/RS was urgently required.

• High-Density Storage: A combination of four-way shuttles and automated racks, with dedicated storage zones for different order types, created 20,000 positions. Space utilization increased to 85%, expanding capacity by 183% compared to traditional warehouses.

• Full Automation: 30 four-way shuttles, 10 high-speed elevators, and an intelligent conveying and sorting system enabled automatic storage, retrieval, wave picking, and inventory, achieving a throughput of 1,500 pallets/hour.

• Smart WMS Integration: A Warehouse Management System integrated with OMS enabled intelligent order splitting, dynamic inventory allocation, expiry alerts, and omni-channel inventory visibility, with real-time linkage to stores and e-commerce platforms.

• Mixed Wholesale & Retail Orders: The system needed to handle both full-pallet wholesale orders and split-case retail orders, demanding advanced shuttle scheduling algorithms and flexible sorting systems.

• Multi-Category Compatibility: Goods ranged from lightweight FMCG to heavy home appliances and fragile electronics, requiring customized location and shuttle fork designs for safe and efficient storage.

• High System Real-Time Requirements: Real-time inventory and order data synchronization with e-commerce platforms and store POS systems was necessary, presenting significant challenges to system response speed and stability.

• Efficiency Leap: Order processing efficiency increased by 300%, online order fulfillment time shortened to 2 hours, and error rate reduced to below 0.05%.

• Cost Optimization: Labor costs were reduced by 75%, space utilization increased by 183%, resulting in annual warehousing cost savings exceeding 8 million yuan.

• Experience Upgrade: Omni-channel inventory sharing and rapid transfer were achieved, reducing store out-of-stock rates by 60% and increasing e-commerce customer satisfaction to 98%.