Bol.com

Background blocks

Bol.com has been growing at a rapid pace for years. In 2016, this led to the construction of a new fulfilment centre in Waalwijk. It was decided not to outsource all logistics processes in the new fulfilment centre, but to house them in-house. The more than 800 bol.com pick-up points at the Albert Heijn were also included in the transition. This was a year-long project in which 15 parties cooperated in total. With a total solution in mobile hardware and software, Dalosy helped realise the growth ambitions of bol.com.

About Bol.com

Bol.com opened its doors on 30 March 1999. The internet shop started with the sale of Dutch books and has grown into a shop where you can find almost anything you are looking for. Bol.com is one of the most popular shops in the Netherlands and Belgium and is consistently in the top 5 of the most customer-friendly companies in the Netherlands. Bol.com is also in the top 3 of most influential brands on social media. Over 1,400 experts work at the headquarters in Utrecht. Through fulfilment partner Ingram Micro, hundreds of people work every day in the bol.com ‘parcel house’ in Waalwijk (also called the fulfilment centre).

Only green lights for e-commerce giant bol.com

What bol.com required was flexibility and independence in order to be able to innovate. They asked Dalosy to advise them on new equipment and the associated layout in the field of order picking, barcode scanning and label printing.

The process began with guidance on selecting the right hardware for the various logistic processes. The second step was to test these devices on site by means of a pilot and a test with the WMS, both of which were positive. After the opening of the bol.com fulfilment centre, all devices were delivered. Bol.com and Dalosy then started a phased rollout and upscaling.

In order to manage, monitor and provide support for all the devices, bol.com uses the SOTI Mobicontrol Mobile Device Management tool. Due to the daily management, bol.com can now identify, analyse and act on problems more quickly.

"Simply put: there are fewer links, which means we can now respond more quickly to problems"

Robin Nijhof, IT-manager at bol.com

A bol.com pick-up point platform

In addition to the delivered solution for the fulfilment centre, Bol.com had a second question. The success of the bol.com pick-up points at Albert Heijn was increasing and the devices used were due for replacement. Therefore, in August 2016 Dalosy was asked to develop a pick-up point platform. For this too, bol.com wanted all logistics processes to be able to be accommodated ‘in-house’. This way they wanted to be able to develop new solutions independently and thus be able to innovate quickly. A platform that made the logistics process from picking up a parcel from the Albert Heijn shops to delivery more efficient, customer-friendly and future-proof.

Dalosy supplied over 900 mobile devices via its installation partner Hollander Techniek from Amersfoort: the handy but robust Zebra TC51. Joint venture party iCapps developed the Afhaalpunt App. This app was developed specifically for bol.com and contains functionalities that are completely focused on the carriers that deliver the parcel, the employees at the bol.com collection points and the consumers who pick up and return the parcels. During the development of the app, all kinds of scenarios were mapped. Based on this, complex technical decisions were made.

"Dalosy was our linking pin. The cooperation felt good. Even when things got tense and time was running out. John and his colleagues gave us the support we needed, managed expectations and solved problems for us. We want to grow and are looking for partners to help us do so. Dalosy took responsibility, for both the hardware and the software."

David Rauws, Business Analyst at bol.com

The result

In addition to efficiency on the shop floor, flexibility in possibilities and control over processes and data, the cost aspect was also an important reason for the transition of bol.com. The new way of working has already saved bol.com dozens of percent in operational costs and because of the scalability of the platform, the savings will only increase in the future!

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