To improve store replenishment and increase capacity within a limited footprint, Consum implemented AutoStore as the core of a new regional fulfillment operation in Murcia. The result was a 40% increase in picking efficiency, improved fulfillment performance, and a scalable platform to support future growth.
Until recently, order preparation for shops in the Region of Murcia was concentrated at the cooperative's logistics platform in Valencia. That put distance between the fulfillment operation and the delivery point, and added load to a hub already running at full stretch. Consum decided to bring replenishment closer to its Murcia shops with a dedicated operation for slow-moving dry goods, the long tail of the assortment that is hardest to pick efficiently and most prone to stockouts.
The new operation had to make every square meter count while raising fulfillment performance. Consum built it around AutoStore, empowered by Smartlog.
“We have increased the number of lines per hour, reduced picking errors, and productivity has risen significantly.”
David Silvente, Order Supply Unit Manager, Consum
Serving Murcia's shops from Valencia lengthened the path to the shelf and tied up capacity that the wider network needed. Opening a dedicated platform in Murcia solved the geography, but only if the available space could be used to the full.
The new operation had to meet three requirements at once:
Prepare orders for multiple shops while maintaining sequencing by section and category
Guarantee the traceability of each unit through weight control
Ensure ergonomic working conditions for operators across long shifts
The solution also had to integrate with Consum's corporate warehouse management system (WMS), scale without stopping the operation, and run its own control software to protect service continuity in the event of an incident. In grocery, a missed delivery window is not an internal problem. It is an empty shelf.
AutoStore is a goods-to-person solution. Inventory sits in Bins stacked directly on top of one another inside an aluminum Grid, with no aisles and no wasted air. Robots travel across the top of the Grid, retrieve the Bin needed for the next order, and bring it to an operator at a Port. The goods come to the person, and the most-requested Bins naturally rise toward the top of the stack.
At Murcia, 60 R5 Pro™ Robots serve five intake stations and 8 CarouselPorts™ for picking, where put-to-light guidance directs each operator across 10 concurrent shop orders. Every unit is weight-checked before its Bin joins the Grid, and outbound boxes pass an automatic weight check with a correction circuit for any mismatch.
What makes the operation work end to end is how readily AutoStore integrates with complementary automation. Validated boxes are sealed and strapped, then pass into a sorting multishuttle and on to the palletizing operator via gravity chutes at a constant ergonomic height, with conveyors linking each stage.
“Previously, an operator had to walk through the warehouse to find the items, which meant a lot of movement of goods, operators, and machinery,” said David Silvente, Order Supply Unit Manager at Consum.
“Now the Robots retrieve the Bins, and bring them to the picking stations, while the operator simply has to pick-to-light with minimal travel.”
AutoStore forms the high-density storage and picking core, and the surrounding technologies plug into it cleanly, giving Consum the flexibility to design the downstream flow around how its shops actually receive goods.
“Customer service has improved. We arrive more punctually with fewer incidents and that is noticeable on the store shelves.”
David Silvente, Order Supply Unit Manager, Consum
Faster replenishment, closer to the shops. Fulfillment of slow-moving dry goods is now managed from Murcia rather than Valencia, shortening the distance to the delivery point and freeing capacity at the Valencia platform for the rest of the network.
40% more efficient picking. The gain in picking efficiency for these SKUs translates directly into a lower cost per order and greater capacity to absorb seasonal demand peaks when store service levels are hardest to protect.
Sustained daily throughput. Running 18 hours a day at up to 1,251 items per hour, the operation gives Consum a long, predictable fulfillment window, with each picking station advancing 10 shop orders at a time.
A broader assortment from one site. Because the system uses storage capacity better than conventional automated systems within the same physical space, Consum can widen the range of slow-moving SKUs managed from Murcia, adding assortment depth without adding building.
“We place the order, and it is in the store the next day. When customers come in, they always find the product they are looking for.”
Vanesa Rodríguez, Store Operations Manager, Consum
Inventory accuracy and traceability. Complete traceability, including batch control and expiry dates, reinforces quality control, simplifies audits, and reduces dispatch errors. Orders arrive sequenced by section and category, which means a more reliable assortment, fewer stockouts on slow-moving SKUs, and simpler replenishment at the point of sale.
Service continuity the network can rely on. AutoStore's redundant architecture keeps the operation running if any single Robot needs attention, a reliability characteristic that matters when delivery deadlines directly affect on-shelf availability.
Better days for the team. Intake, picking, and palletizing positions are all designed ergonomically, reducing physical strain across long shifts. Automating the flow removes unnecessary travel inside the warehouse and limits exposure to machinery traffic areas, improving safety while helping the team handle increasing demand.
Room to grow. The modular architecture allows Consum to extend the Grid and add Robots and picking stations without structural work, so the infrastructure can follow the cooperative's growth rather than constrain it. Low Robot energy consumption and fewer movements through order batching also support Consum's sustainability objectives.
“AutoStore gives us much more capacity within the same footprint and frees up space for other operations.”
David Silvente, Order Supply Unit Manager, Consum
For Consum, the Murcia platform is not simply a new building. It is a structural improvement to how the cooperative supplies its shops. Slow-moving dry goods are now picked 40% more efficiently, sequenced for the shelf, and dispatched from a site closer to the stores that need them, while Valencia gains back capacity for the wider network.
“We have gone from working entirely in a reactive way whenever an urgent issue came up to being able to plan our tasks.”
Fernando Paco Montalbán, Process Technician, Consum
With a scalable Grid that can grow without structural work, AutoStore gives Consum's regional distribution network the density, throughput, and reliability to widen its assortment, absorb demand peaks, and keep shelves full as the cooperative continues to grow.
Project Specifications:
Robots: 60 R5 Pro
Workstations (Ports): Eight CarouselPorts and five intake stations
Bins: 34,524 Bins
Units: Approximately 3,000 slow-moving SKUs
WMS: Consum corporate WMS, integrated with Smartlog Galys
Integrated technology/automation: Conveyors, sorting multishuttle with 166 storage locations, put-to-light, weight control and correction circuit, sealing and strapping machine, gravity chutes
Partner: Smartlog