Warehouse Management Case Study

40 kilometers from Ankara city center, the Ekol Lavanta Facility comprises 43,100 square meters of indoor space on 51,000 square meters of land. The facility became fully operational in 2008, and has a 29-vehicle capacity trailer truck parking area, 21 ramps, two of which allow loading from the side. The Ekol Lavanta Facility provides free-zone storage, bonded warehousing, added value services, order preparation, return handling, and shuttle transportation services with high standards.

The advanced-technology facility carries out 85 percent of all handling operations without human intervention by employing the Automatic Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS). The system boasts a 52,800-palet storage capacity, comprising of five cranes and a 300-meter conveyor belt offering an input and output capacity of 150 and 250 pallets, respectively. Pallet operations are performed automatically between all middle floors using the automation system-integrated elevators. Full pallets of goods to be shipped are prepared at 50 drop points without any human intervention, and mixed-pallets are prepared flawlessly using the pick-by-voice system, without any need for a pen, paper, or hand terminal.

The automation system ensures unit cost savings of 12 percent compared to conventional solutions by achieving nearly 60 percent and 40 percent savings in personnel and space, respectively.