Rhenus is a global logistics service provider, and a family owned company. We operate in more than 70 countries, in 1330 sites. We have 41,000 employees and achieved last year 8.2 billion in turnover. Today we are on the Rhenus site, in Hörselgau, Germany. Here we implemented an AutoStore system with 240,000 bin locations at the site of about 8000m². Before implementing AutoStore, we had a conventional operation on multiple levels. Meaning that the operators had to walk or drive long distances, to fulfill their put away or picking tasks. They walked up to 16 kilometers a day, and in the end, that conventional set up reached its limits, as Thalia is a strong, growing customer. Thalia is a leading book retailer, within the market of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. We operate in more than 500 stores, in these three markets, and in e-commerce business. Rhenus, a significant player in the logistics market within Europe, is a long lasting partner of Thalia. With the automation in Hörselgau, we created a scalable solution for our long time partner, Thalia. We designed a wonderful warehouse that is scalable and evolves with the ambitious growth targets of our customer. It is a very easy and robust solution which we can easily scale. We doubled productivity, reduced our employee training times by 75%. We increased our throughput, optimized our service level, towards Thalia, and reduced our cycle times. For Rhenus, we are always looking to create a meaningful value. So this means, especially in the warehousing sector, with innovation, we try to improve processes reduce lead times and speed up the efficiency in our warehouses. This is one of the AutoStore systems with the highest throughput, worldwide. I'm so excited to be here at the Rhenus site. This is one of the most impressive systems AutoStore has installed. Implemented worldwide, together with our partner Kardex, and Rhenus. And of course with the support of Thalia. Higher productivity combined with shorter training times enables us to ramp up and scale up faster for peak season. And our staff is very happy with the ergonomic workstations. AutoStore is a central component in our future warehouse approach. Our partnership with Thalia is a prime example of what co-innovation could look like. We try to improve the scalability, the resilience and the speed of the supply chain of our customer. The AutoStore system is a central component in our future warehouse approach. There we combine standardized technology in a customer tailored solution. Where we are able to fulfill customer needs, not only for books, but for many other goods.
Rhenus achieves record speed with AutoStore; 13,100 Bin presentations per hour, to meet Thalia’s growing omni-channel demand.
One of the Fastest-Performing AutoStore Systems in the World
Rhenus has achieved a remarkable leap in efficiency and operational performance with AutoStore, implementing one of the highest-throughput systems ever built worldwide. Empowered by AutoStore partner Kardex, this large-scale installation powers Thalia, the leading omni-channel bookseller in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The result is an automated warehouse that combines extraordinary speed, precision, and scalability, setting a new benchmark for logistics excellence.
"We designed a wonderful warehouse that is scalable and grows with the ambitious growth target of our customer."
- René Rudolph, Managing Director, Rhenus Warehousing Solutions Germany
About Rhenus and Thalia
Rhenus is a leading global logistics provider operating across 1,330 sites in more than 70 countries, with extensive experience in warehousing and managing complex supply chains. For over 20 years, Rhenus has been the trusted logistics partner of Thalia, managing distribution to hundreds of physical stores and a rapidly growing e-commerce network.
As Thalia’s order volumes expanded, so did the demand for faster fulfillment and higher flexibility. Together with AutoStore and Kardex, Rhenus designed and implemented an automation solution that could scale dynamically while maintaining exceptional accuracy and reliability.
The AutoStore system significantly improved Thalia's productivity and fulfillment capacity.
The Challenge: Keeping Up With Growing Demand
Rhenus’ manual processes were reaching their limits. Serving hundreds of stores while handling surging e-commerce orders required a system that could deliver high throughput, space efficiency, and process reliability, all within existing warehouse constraints.
The company needed a solution that would:
- Increase order accuracy and fulfillment speed
- Reduce processing times
- Optimize available space
- Simplify training and onboarding for seasonal staff
Rhenus also needed flexibility to meet future growth and changing demand patterns across Thalia’s omni-channel operations.
Rhenus needed to improve order accuracy, reduce processing times, and utilize warehouse space more efficiently.
The Solution: AutoStore’s Automated Warehousing
The Solution: AutoStore’s Automated Warehousing
To meet these goals, Rhenus implemented an AutoStore automated storage and retrieval system, empowered by Kardex.
The system occupies a footprint of just 8,000 m² (86,112 ft²) and includes:
- 530 R5 Robots
- 94 CarouselPorts (workstations)
- 240,000 storage Bins
- 2.5 km conveyor system
All components are seamlessly integrated with Rhenus’s warehouse management system. Within this compact space, the AutoStore Grid achieves an impressive 13,100 Bin presentations per hour, making it one of the highest-throughput AutoStore systems ever built.
Goods are stored in stacked Bins within an aluminum framework called the Grid, where Robots move across the top, retrieving items as needed and delivering them to workstations for picking or replenishment. The system’s design ensures fast, continuous operations with minimal manual handling, combining speed, reliability, and scalability.
The goods are delivered by robots to designated workstations, where items are picked or replenished.
Key Benefits: Productivity, Speed, and Scalability
The AutoStore system transformed operations at Rhenus, enabling 100% productivity growth and 75% faster training for new employees. Without expanding its workforce or warehouse footprint, Rhenus can now process significantly higher order volumes with exceptional accuracy and consistency.
Key Benefits
- 13,100 bin presentations per hour, among the highest globally
- 100% increase in productivity enabling higher order volumes
- 75% faster training for new staff
- Space optimization with 240,000 Bins in only 8,000 m²
- Reduced errors through automated processes
- Scalable system design ready for future expansion
“The AutoStore system is a central component of our future warehousing approach.”
- René Rudolph, Managing Director, Warehousing Solutions Germany, Rhenus
Set For Growth
The Rhenus project reflects a strong partnership between Rhenus, Kardex, Thalia, and AutoStore, bringing together logistics expertise and cutting-edge automation. The result is a solution that meets today’s high demands while giving Rhenus the flexibility to grow for years to come.
Project Specifications
- Implementation type: Brownfield
- Robots: 530 R5 Robots, 1 Bin ResQ Robot
- Workstations (Ports): 94 CarouselPorts
- Bins: 240,000 Bins
- Integrated technology: KCC Software; IPA Picking Assistant; 2.5km Conveyor System
- Integration partner: Kardex