SKUtopia partners with Swisslog on automated micro-fulfillment center

E-commerce order fulfillment company SKUtopia, based in Australia, is working with Swisslog to introduce an automated Micro-Fulfillment Center (MFC) in Sydney, according to a recent announcement from Swisslog. SKUtopia will use its Coworking and eCommerce Hub company Workit Spaces (fully owned by SKUTOPIA Pty Ltd) to enable eCommerce businesses to scale their business from one order to 10,000 orders.

“This is a truly exciting MFC project, and one of the first of its kind in Australasia. Swisslog’s customized and automation-driven solution will allow us to provide outstanding value and ROI to our customers,” said Talea Bader, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Workit Spaces.

SKUtopia enables profitable scalability for the ecommerce industry through software-enabled operations, the Swisslog announcement explained. The company’s four-in-one software package includes inventory management, order management, shipping management and warehouse management.

“Swisslog’s solution provides flexibility to grow as SKUtopia grows, and as our customers grow, which means all companies can stay agile and responsive to growth or changes in product or offering,” said Mr Bader. “The automated solution has also increased efficiency, accuracy and throughput, allowing us to deliver products to customers faster. The system provides an average increase of 1200% (12 times) compared with a manual warehouse.”

SKUtopia’s new configuration will be a 4PL operation serving up to 300 entrepreneurial businesses focusing on eCommerce, including managing inventory, orders, shipping and warehousing. Swisslog Australia Managing Director, Francis Meier, says Swisslog’s global experience with 4PLs was a major asset in developing an optimal solution for SKUtopia.

“Our 4PL experience shows us that increases in efficiency and throughput are highly valued, because they allow the 4PL provider to deliver better ROI to its customers,” Meier said. “Another important consideration is customization to add flexibility and futureproof operations. SKUtopia was seeking an automated solution that increased storage density to keep up with increasing customer demand, and Swisslog was able to provide a customized solution that met all their needs, and had the flexibility for future growth.”

The solution will utilize SKUtopia’s in-house developed WMS, to support home delivery and automated click and collect functionality with 24/7 availability. 

Meier added that the system’s click and collect functionality appealed to SKUtopia, because it allowed them to offer a service-focused advantage to all their customers. “Their customers can then provide this efficient service to the end consumer, creating a positive delivery experience,” he said.