The new facility, known as RE D 39, has 53 outbound dock doorsREWE Group has opened a EUR250 million (USD268 million) logistics centre capable of distributing 286,000 packages a day.
The 49,500 sqm facility, which took three years to build and has 53 outbound dock doors, has space for 20,000 items from the supermarket chain’s dry goods range.
"With this high-tech storage facility in Magdeburg, we are not only securing the supply of goods to our stores in the north and east of Germany, but we are also entering a new dimension in terms of automation and performance,” says Peter Maly, who sits on the REWE Group Management Board and is, among other things, responsible for logistics and supply chain management.
Half of the storage and picking processes at the new facility, known as RE D 39, are fully automated.
REWE Group opened its first semi-automated distribution centre in Neu-Isenburg in 2014, followed by a second in Henstedt-Ulzburg in 2022.
“Now, with 50% of all process fully automated, the RE D 39 marks the next evolutionary step in central logistics positioning Magdeburg as one of the most modern logistics hubs - not only within the REWE Group but throughout Europe," Maly says.
REWE says it’s working closely with technology partner Swisslog to achieve full automation.
The new distribution centre will supply nine regional warehouses and 1,900 stores with.
When operating at full capacity, around 270 employees will work at the center.
The automation of the order picking process ensures highly ergonomic workstations, with only 50% of the handled products - predominantly light and small goods - manually packed.