Case Study: Foodstuffs South Island Ltd boosts South Island distribution capacity with Dematic order fulfilment systems

Grocery Retailer Develops New DC to Support Growing Distribution Needs

Foodstuffs South Island Ltd (FSSI), a major grocery retailer, faced a fragmented and inefficient supply chain with an aging distribution centre that was landlocked and unable to support business growth. To address this, they partnered with vendor Dematic to design and implement a new, highly automated 490,000 sq ft ambient distribution centre that would consolidate operations and introduce advanced order fulfillment technologies.

Dematic implemented an integrated solution featuring a seismic-design racking system and a two-level voice-directed picking module controlled by Dematic iQ order fulfillment software. This automated system routes order totes only to required pick zones, significantly improving accuracy and productivity. The results were a highly efficient DC capable of distributing 450,000 cases weekly, with the capacity to handle over 1,000,000 cases during peak periods, successfully consolidating Christchurch operations onto a single site.

Foodstuffs South Island Ltd

Kris Lancaster

FSSI Logistics Operations Manager