66 advaShuttles and around 20,000 tote storage locations at a height of 10 meters: advasolutions’ first facility outside Germany will be built during ongoing operations by early 2028, connected to SAP EWM.
Polish drugstore chain Hebe is advancing the modernization of its intralogistics and has chosen technology from advasolutions.
As part of this newly secured major project, advasolutions, the German provider of modular warehouse automation will implement a tote-based storage system in the retailer’s existing building (brownfield project).
Implementation will take place in phases during ongoing operations, with go-live scheduled for early 2028.
Hebe is part of the international retail group Jerónimo Martins and operates more than 400 drugstores in Poland as well as stores in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, alongside a rapidly growing e-commerce business.
With a consistent omnichannel focus – from store replenishment to e-commerce fulfillment – demands on logistics are rising: High product diversity, growing order volumes, and short delivery times require processes that can scale without complete redesigns. To support this long-term growth, the company is modernizing its existing warehouse capacities.
Modular shuttle technology in an existing facility
advasolutions’ technology stands out for its ability to maximize available storage space and room height. Designed specifically for Hebe, the tote system spans ten aisles with 13 levels reaching a height of around ten meters, offering space for approximately 20,000 standard totes (600 × 400 mm).
Fully automated transport within the racking system is handled by 66 autonomous advaShuttles. To ensure consistently high system availability during multi-shift operations, the system is equipped with both an automatic and a manual battery swapping station for the shuttles.
A special feature of the system layout is the integration of flow-racks positioned directly beneath the main storage area. In the future, Hebe will handle fast-moving items via these dedicated zones.
The replenishment (refill) of these flow-racks is fully automated and handled directly by the advaShuttles, eliminating time-consuming manual replenishment trips in the warehouse.
Employees at the picking stations can thus access fast-moving items without interruption. The solution is complemented by ergonomic goods-to-person workstations for accurate order processing.
Integrated conveyor technology also includes a reject lane (NIO lane) to automatically divert totes with detected discrepancies – such as unreadable barcodes or overfills – from the main material flow.
For an end-to-end data and process chain with real-time transparency, the entire system is seamlessly connected to Hebe’s SAP Extended Warehouse Management (EWM) system.
Flexible integration into existing building structures
Retrofit and brownfield projects present unique challenges in intralogistics, as the automation system must adapt to the structural parameters of an existing building.
Thanks to the modular architecture of advasolutions’ technology, the racking and shuttle infrastructure can be integrated precisely into the existing warehouse layout without requiring major structural alterations or a new build.
Marcin Dopierala, supply chain and logistics director at Hebe, says: “In warehouse automation projects, the design of processes and technology must balance automated and manual steps. Only then can we optimize the project’s OPEX and CAPEX and align it with the overall business strategy.
“We have reached the performance we needed, with a very good payback period. In our case, we are not building a new central warehouse, but retrofitting our existing one.
“This resulted in two key conditions: The system had to fit into an existing building where we cannot alter the structure, and it had to be installed without interrupting our outbound shipments. Both factors were decisive in our choice.”
Dr Marcus Englert, CEO of advasolutions SE, says: “Especially in the highly competitive drugstore and retail sector, rising order volumes and a broad product range demand flexible storage systems that grow dynamically with the business.
“Hebe’s decision shows that our scalable end-to-end solution delivers exactly the flexibility and performance required by modern retail logisticians today – particularly in demanding brownfield projects within live operating environments.”
With this project, advasolutions continues its journey from an innovative technology developer to an established, international solution provider for intralogistics.
