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Case study: Supply chain automation
Client challenge
A major online retailer wanted to create a better experience for its customers and people. In recent years, the company experienced unprecedented growth in demand and had reached capacity at its various sites.
The client wanted to continue increasing demand and explore how they could do this through a mixture of automation and human customer fulfilment.
The solution
Grant Thornton’s management consulting team helped design, program and monitor the custom-built Customer Fulfilment Centre (CFC) fitted with autonomous mobile robots from Locus Robotics. Working alongside the online retailer’s team, they were able to improve product flow and pack books faster and more accurately – keeping customers happy and coming back to order more.
The challenge of increased growth needed a solution to create a better customer experience, while creating efficiencies for warehousing staff.
The team worked with the client to decide on technology and design, ensuring a sustainable solution that would grow with the business.

The outcome
The benefits of this solution included:
- A solution for the business now and into the future.
- End-to-end program management from design, technology selection, RFP process, transition planning, through to implementation and build.
- Development of multiple build scenarios with supporting business cases.
- A future-proofed design so that additional investments can be made in the future to further improve productivity and capacity.
- Ensuring a scalable solution with robotic technology able to be added or removed in line variations in demand.
Fast facts
Industry
Retail & Consumer Goods
Solution
Warehouse operation processes
Service line
Management consulting
Meet our team
Richard Bycroft
Primo Danieletto
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