Material Handling

Leen Bakker (NL)

3,200 mobile containers for the warehouse

At around 100,000 m², the warehouses of the Leen Bakker furniture store are located at the company headquarters in Raamsdonksveer in the southern Netherlands. Good transport links to the A27, the Utrecht-Breda motorway, make the locations perfect for speedy delivery by truck. A furniture volume of around 600,000 m³ leaves the warehouse each year, destined for over 170 branches in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Around 10,000 items are stored in Raamsdonksveer, everything is top quality at low prices, whether chairs, dining tables, beds, sofas, cupboards, garden furniture or home accessories. 3,200 Wanzl roll cages are used to move furniture in the Leen Bakker warehouse so that the right items are picked and quickly delivered to the stores.

The containers have been used in Raamsdonksveer since July 2015

The "Container" project began around nine months earlier. "Leen Bakker was looking for the ideal warehouse solution for order picking, and also for transport," says Paul van Zwieten, logistics manager at Leen Bakker. A four-month project phase between Leen Bakker and Wanzl followed. The result was a mobile container which is tailored exactly to the logistics needs and items sold by the Dutch company, both with regard to design and size. The Leen Bakker buyers travel the whole world to offer their customers

top-quality furniture at the best price. This philosophy of course also applies to warehousing and delivery. “The wire roll cages are light with a low net weight, but at the same time robust in handling. Even with a load of up to 300 kg, they can be comfortably and precisely manoeuvred," says Paul van Zwieten, based on his own practical experience. Box spring beds, garden furniture and mattresses are among the top sellers that are picked and delivered by the Wanzl roll cages.

Customers can look at furniture in over 170 stores, feel and test fabric and leather upholstery themselves, and they can of course sit on sofas, chairs and beds if they want to. Once they have made a choice, the order is sent to the distribution centre. "We guarantee delivery of the requested furniture within two to three days."

Customers collect their ordered items free of charge from the nearest branch. Alternatively, there is a click & collect option – simply order in the online shop and then collect the order from a branch without any additional charge. Leen Bakker can of course also deliver furniture directly to the customer's home for a delivery fee.

“Development of the roll cages was a joint effort between Leen Bakker and Wanzl. The quality and price were right. That's why the contract went to Wanzl.”
PAUL VAN ZWIETEN, Logistikmanager Leen Bakker