Sabarot says it has ‘doubled throughput’ of its AS/RS

Sabarot, a French family business specialising in dried legumes, cereals and wild mushrooms, says it has “doubled the throughput” of its Mecalux automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) to boost its operational capacity.

Sabarot achieved the milestone at its historic centre in Chaspuzac, France. The company says it is noe “forging ahead with expansion and further enhancing its logistics capabilities” with the assistance of Mecalux, a warehouse automation specialist.

Under the leadership of Antoine Wassner, CEO of Sabarot, this initiative aims to support the continued growth of the organisation’s business.

Sabarot houses its production line output (finished goods) in an automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS). It decided to expand this AS/RS to double its storage capacity to 12,000 pallets.

Mecalux will set up four aisles in total, each spanning 92 metres. A stacker crane will operate autonomously in these aisles, loading, unloading and transporting pallets as instructed by the Easy WMS warehouse management system.

Another particular characteristic of this AS/RS is that, at the request of Sabarot, it is prepared to operate at ambient and frozen temperatures (-5 °C).

Wassner says: “We decided to add on to our AS/RS because we needed to increase our operational capacity and respond proactively to the growth of our business. We’re extremely satisfied with this expansion. It provides us with high flexibility, allowing us to manage peak activity with great responsiveness.”

At the Chaspuzac centre, Sabarot produces, stores and distributes goods for clients in more than 70 countries. Its primary markets are France and the UK, although it also exports its products to countries such as Malaysia, the UAE and Singapore.

Mecalux’s Easy WMS will oversee the new storage aisles. This software supervises all of Sabarot’s goods in real time, ensuring the complete traceability of its 7,800 SKUs.

Wassner says: “Digitalisation and automation enable us to track all our products. This has helped us tremendously in making inventory management more reliable.”

In addition to aligning with Sabarot’s current logistics needs, the AS/RS expansion will accommodate the business’s annual growth, which has stood at close to 15 percent over the last 15 years.