Elektramat Scaling Smart with AutoStore

To support rapid e-commerce growth, Elektramat partnered with Reesink Logistic Solutions to design and implement a future-proof automated fulfilment solution at its new distribution center in Almelo, The Netherlands.

The objective was clear: deliver high performance from day one while ensuring seamless scalability for the years ahead.

Prepared for Exponential Growth

In recent years, Elektramat experienced strong growth in online order volumes. The facility in Enschede, including its logistics setup with Vertical Lift Modules, was no longer sufficiently future-proof to support continued growth.

To safeguard scalability for the future, Elektramat decided to relocate to a new facility in Almelo, combined with large-scale automation of its logistics processes.

The goal: a building and system that deliver high performance from day one while being fully prepared to grow in line with the company’s ambitions.

The fulfillment center in Almelo plays a central role in this strategy, where speed, accuracy, and reliability are essential.

Data-Driven Design

Designing an AutoStore installation typically involves extensive data analysis to achieve an optimal configuration. Due to Elektramat’s rapid growth, it was especially important to design not only a system that performs well today, but also one capable of handling the expected growth in the coming years.

The starting point was the current order volume, based on processed order data. In close consultation with Elektramat’s management and the Lalesse team, a growth plan was established through 2027.

Based on this, Lalesse designed an AutoStore solution that delivers high performance from day one and can be easily expanded as order volumes increase.

Simulations demonstrated that the chosen configuration can achieve the required capacity of 2,350 picks per hour, with minimal operator waiting times. In other words: fast, efficient, and ready for the future.

Speed and Scalability

The main objectives of this project were:

• Achieve a high processing capacity of order lines (up to 27,440 per day).
• Improve picking efficiency and accuracy.
• Create a maximally scalable solution without operational disruption.
• Prepare the system for future duplication.

These objectives align seamlessly with Elektramat’s broader growth strategy: ensuring an excellent customer experience within a rapidly growing e-commerce environment.

Integrated Solution

The heart of Elektramat’s new logistics system is an AutoStore installation featuring 70,000 storage bins, 64 Red Line robots, and 16 multifunctional workstations.

The entire installation is controlled by LogiCS, Lalesse’s Warehouse Control System (WCS), ensuring smooth and efficient coordination of all inbound and outbound processes.

Key Components and Smart Features

Pick Tunnel Under Steel Construction
The workstations are centrally positioned beneath the grid. This reduces robot travel distances within the grid and increases maximum performance per robot.

LogiCS WCS: Smart Software as the Connecting Link
LogiCS connects Elektramat’s Warehouse Management System (WMS) to the AutoStore installation. The software manages order processing, product information, and system performance, while monitoring all processes in real time.

Light Pointers for Maximum Pick Efficiency
Each workstation is equipped with “light pointers”: visual indicators that show exactly from which bin compartment items must be picked. This accelerates the picking process and minimizes the risk of errors.

Flexible Workstations: Inbound and Outbound in One Line
All workstations are designed to be multifunctional. Depending on warehouse demand, they can be used for inbound (goods receiving) as well as outbound (order picking) processes.

Smart Integration with Conveyor Technology
In collaboration with Arco Solutions, the internal conveyor system was seamlessly integrated into the logistics process. Just like the workstations, the conveyors can switch between supplying empty shipping cartons and handling incoming goods.

Modular and Scalable Design
The entire infrastructure is prepared for growth. Frames for easily adding extra workstations, electrical preparations for future charging stations, and an extended steel structure are already integrated into the installation. The conveyor system is also designed so that all inbound and outbound flows can take place from one side of the AutoStore, making expansion possible without disrupting operations.

Tight Coordination and Strong Collaboration

From planning to commissioning, the project was managed by an experienced project team. Thanks to the constructive cooperation between Elektramat, suppliers, and Lalesse specialists, the system was realized within the agreed timeline.

Comprehensive on-site training was provided for operators, supervisors, and technical teams. Preparatory infrastructure such as IT facilities and the steel structure was implemented in a future-proof manner from the outset.

For the electrical installation, exclusively EMAT components were used.

Increased Efficiency and Reliability

• Picking capacity increased to > 2,000 picks per hour.
• Immediate improvement in error rates and processing times.
• Streamlined operator workflows through LogiCS and visual support.
• Significantly improved inventory accuracy thanks to sleeve registration and compartmentalization.

Investing in Flexibility

By choosing a modular setup for both infrastructure and software from the start, Elektramat ensured the ability to scale quickly and without disruption in the future.

If order volumes continue to grow, the system can be expanded easily — without temporarily shutting down the warehouse.

Advanced Fire Protection

The chosen fire protection solution also serves as a best practice for companies with similar technical or structural constraints.

The warehouse already featured a roof sprinkler system. However, due to the installation of AutoStore, an additional advanced system was implemented with two remotely controlled fire monitors equipped with powerful, directional nozzles.

The fire protection system is further equipped with infrared cameras that continuously scan the AutoStore grid for elevated temperatures. Combined with an aspiration system that actively detects smoke particles in the air, this ensures highly effective early fire detection.

In case of a threat, the nozzles can intervene immediately and locally, preventing major damage.

Importantly, the fire monitors are positioned at the edge of the current AutoStore layout, enabling them to also protect future expansions of the system. The result: an additional safety layer combining maximum protection with future readiness.

Ready to Scale

The AutoStore installation is designed for expansion on two sides. The steel structure has already been extended, and additional frames and connections are prepared.

In the short term, Elektramat can expand the grid and build a complete second grid adjacent to the existing one, without impacting ongoing operations.

Reliability and Scalability in One System

With this AutoStore solution, Elektramat now operates a powerful, scalable, and reliable system that forms the foundation for continued growth.

Through this project, Lalesse Logistic Solutions demonstrates how intralogistics automation not only optimizes processes but also creates strategic room for growth.