Warehouse of the future - TFG Riverfields DC

Store fulfilment across Southern Africa, nationwide home deliveries to Bash e-commerce customers, and highly automated processes to move products from all The Foschini Group brands, all from the same Distribution Centre! Too good to be true? Not anymore. The Foschini Group recently opened their brand new Riverfields DC in Johannesburg and is ready to let this DC take a leading position in Africa’s supply chain management landscape.

Omni-channel solution

Where most warehouses in the Africa and Middle-East regions have either a retail or an e-commerce focus, Riverfields DC will run both channels in the same environment.

Retail order profiles are typically recognised by a large number of items and a large order quantity per item. Also, store ordering and delivery schedules may allow for bulking up quantities, which creates opportunities for the warehouse to do bulk picking and packing.

Customer orders have a different build-up, with generally smaller quantities and less items per order. This, in combination with a wide variety of delivery options, requires the warehouse to be able to pick small quantities and rapidly respond to customer demand.

To effectively fulfil this omni-channel environment, Riverfields DC is equipped with a wide variety of picking and packing methods. Retail orders will be fulfilled through cross-dock, put to store, and fine picking. Customer orders from TFG’s online platform Bash.com, are batch picked in the fine pick tower, sorted in putwalls, and packed into recyclable polybags at pack stations.

Real-time warehouse controls integration

With large order volumes across stores and e-commerce customers, TFG’s Riverfields DC is equipped with extensive warehouse automation. 

The inbound docks are fitted with extendable conveyers that move cartons through RFID tunnels that perform auto-receiving of inbound stock. The RFID tunnel integrates directly with the Manhattan WMS. Inside the WMS, stock may instantly be allocated to cross-dock, put to store, or to replenish the fine pick tower. The WMS informs the WES what cartons are allocated and must be diverted for sortation.

All levels of the fine pick tower have takeaway conveyers installed that take batch picked totes to the putwall sortation and packing area. After the Bash orders are packed into polybags, the bags are inducted on a conveyer that takes the parcels to the automated sorter that sorts store cartons and customer parcels to the relevant shipping lanes.

Other than the extensive automation and controls integration, Manhattan WMS also supports semi-automated flows through RF integration. Being able to receive inventory with RF devices and RFID tunnels, and using numerous picking methods, the DC is provided with maximum flexibility as the business transforms over the next decades.

Implementation part of long-term partnership between TFG and SCJ

The phased implementation of Manhattan WMS in Riverfields DC is the next milestone in a long-term strategic partnership between TFG and SCJ. 

Since 2018, four flagship TFG DCs have had Manhattan WMS successfully implemented, multiple sites have been upgraded, and continuous optimisation through WMS enhancements are taking place.

SCJ is proud to be one of TFG’s trusted partners and looking forward to many more years of successful collaboration.