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~ Active Ants ~


            ACTIVE ANTS








            FURTHER FOCUSES ON




            MULTI-WAREHOUSING BY



            OPENING FULFILMENT



            CENTRE IN THE UK





            Text: Jasmijn Missler & Edwin Koene // Photos: Active Ants

            Nearly one year ago, Active Ants announced the opening of its fifth fulfilment centre in
            Northampton in the United Kingdom. Today, the advanced Autostore is fully operational,
            and the first parcels have already been shipped. What services does Active Ants offer in the
            UK? And what are the advantages of having multiple warehouses in Europe?



              Reach end customer cheaper and faster’          parcels to exactly the right size, so no excess filler material is
              In a warehouse right in the heart of England, smart   needed. “Because of our level of automation, error margins are
            ‘robots are quickly moving over a grid which houses   close to zero while efficiency is high.”
            60,000 storage bins. This innovative system is called the
            Autostore, a staple of Active Ants. Not that long ago, the over   At the same time, the warehouse offers flexibility as well,
            250,000-square-foot warehouse in Northampton was still   Cruceru says. “Because of the Autostore, we can scale up and
            empty. “I was the first one employed in the UK, so I have seen   down fast, for example, during peak times. In addition, the
            the progress from the beginning,” says David Fowler, Active   packing machine can print a custom design on parcels for
            Ants’ UK Business Development Manager.            more personalised packaging.”

            The first advantage to being in the UK is exactly that, Fowler   Sustainable fulfilment
            says, “operating locally, you can reach your end customer   Active Ants is dedicated to a sustainable operation in all
            within 24 hours with no extra paperwork. And because you   its warehouses, including the UK, Fowler says. “Our parcel
            operate domestically, you can offer a much lower price than   machines help minimise packaging waste and save room in
            when you ship from overseas.” Active Ants has a contract   the delivery truck, for example.”
            with the biggest postal service in the country, Royal Mail.
            “We also work with EVRi, DPD, FedEx and more. Our   The Northampton location recently received an A+
            shipping rates are competitive because we can negotiate based   sustainability rating as well. This is the highest level of the
            on the volume of all our customers combined.”     BREEAM certification, a label for buildings with the lowest
                                                              possible impact on the environment. Less than 1% of all
            98% automation                                    registered non-domestic buildings in the UK have received
            What makes Active Ants unique, explains Business   this mark. “At least 40% of our energy usage comes from solar
            Development Manager Bianca Cruceru, is that 98% of the   panels on the roof. We also harvest and reuse rainwater for
            fulfilment process is automated: “Competitors will offer some   everything in the building except drinking.”
            automation, but not like this.” Smart robots take the products
            to an employee at a picking station. Next, warehouse robots   Expand to the UK and Europe easily
            move the order to a packing machine. This machine cuts   With the new fulfilment centre, Active Ants caters to UK







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