Lyko

The Swedish e-commerce giant Lyko has rebuilt and expanded their warehouse logistics system resulting in having twice the capacity. The new automated solution was being built in the same building and integrated with the existing solution which would be running at full capacity during installation. The two tasks could have easily led to the costumers getting a worse service, and that the management wouldn’t be able to keep the focus on the operation and the continuing growth of the company.

This could of course not happen. Lyko, located in Dalarna, has a yearly growth of 35-40 percent, and a high service delivery quality is a crucial parameter. This is the reason that the management in Lyko made the decision to team up with external support in the process of implementing this automation project.

- We started our automation journey in 2017 to be able to continue growing the business, and we soon realized that in order to succeed with our plans within the tight timeframe we had we would need to team up with more experienced external resources, says Anna Persson, Hair and beauty chief Logistics Officer in Lyko. She adds:

- We asked around in the business, for who were the best to advise us strategically and help during the implementation. A trusted source suggested us to contact Langebæk. They came with what we needed, and we made our first deal with them.

- The automation gave the planned effectivity and capacity, but we grew faster, and already after one year there was a need to expand from 20.000 to 40.000 orders pr. day.

- And again, we agreed with the logistics consultant, Langebæk, to continue our partnership. They had shown us they were able to accommodate our culture and to guide us in our decision process during the implementation of the project.

Partnership between experts

In October 2020, the project was kicked off. At first, Langebæk were involved in detailing the designing of the expansion and in choosing the potential suppliers. After a run-through of several suppliers, SSI Schäfer was selected, and as of February 2021 they began the work on installing the warehouse system, new picking stations and a shuttle warehouse (Cuby). The new automation was ready for integration with Lyko’s WMS-platform in June. After testing, they were ready for use on November 1^st, ready for the large amounts of orders on Black Friday.

- We have been met with great trust from Lyko during the project, says Anders Bartholin, Partner & Project Director at Langebæk. He continues:

-Supporting Lyko on their journey into automation has been very exciting. The project has been carried out based on a close collaboration with Lyko's very professional people.

In the meantime, integrating consultancy assistance to lead a project in this scale in close collaboration requires a very well thought out management approach.

- This ability is something that Lyko has, and it drives their entrepreneur spirit. They have grown from five to 800 employees in 11 years, and the organization is very adaptive to changes. Also, without being aware of all the outcomes beforehand.

Anders states:

- Lyko are experts in their business, and we are experts in logistics. Together, we have created a successful solution for their business. And he continues:

- During this process we were able to offer Lyko security by minimizing the risks, provide proven project models which creates the structure, and secure development in the project. The work has been supervised by a small team with a hands-on approach by key stakeholders.

- The success for the project has been high involvement from the project team and Lyko’s ability for quick decisions during the project. All other things being equal, the most important keywords must be commitment and readiness for change, finishes Anders Bartholin.

The team had from the beginning decided on clear roles, responsibilities, and competences, all with a focus on the building process and the day-to-day operations should run parallel without stops.

This also meant that SSI Schäfer would implement the expansion at night from midnight to 06 am without disturbing the daily order production. After the last employee left at night, and before the morning team started the next day.

Anna Persson adds:

- One of the greatest strengths of the team from Langebæk is their abilities to understand and respect our culture. Many challenges are solved by the people in the first line of a positive partnership. You can always design a technical solution. The real challenge is to get people to cooperate. This was successful.

- With the partnership with Langebæk, we have been able to focus on the operation and the project through joint efforts, concludes Anna Persson.

The new logistics center covers 15.000 square meters and is part central warehouse supplying e-com orders for 8 markets and 35 own stores in Sweden and Norway. The warehouse has more than 65.000 products from more than 1.500 assorted brands. 10 picking stations and 52 packing stations handles the orders.

Third project on the way

Two Langebæk employees were a permanent part of the project and four specialists contributed with expert knowledge during the project through about one and a half years. Lyko’s own team was in charge of the IT-development and WMS-integration.

The cooperation between Langebæk and Lyko has been running for more than four years, where this is the second project Langebæk has conducted for Lyko. And the cooperation will continue. Lyko has made the decision to make Langebæk the strategic advisor and project manager on a new logistics center at 20.000 m², which will give a combined capacity of 100.000 orders daily. Lyko is planning to grow their revenues from 2021 at two billion SEK to 10 billion SEK in 2028.

Info on the expansion

5 shuttle road with 150 shuttles

5 goods-to-man stations

24 packing tables

 

Fact-box

Builder: Lyko AB

Logistics advisor: Langebæk

Automation: SSI Schäfer

Project period: February 2020 - October 2021

 

About Lyko

Lyko is the leading company in the Nordics in haircare and beauty and sell products through their 35 stores and hair salons in Sweden and Norway as well as a hast growing international e-commerce platform established in 2003. Lyko is noted on First North Premier Growth Market with principal owner of the Lyko-family. The group has approx. 800 employees and is located in Vansbro in Dalarna, Sweden.