KICKS - Rosersberg Beauty Products Automated Distribution Center

Project Overview

KICKS, a leading beauty retail chain in the Nordic countries with over 250 stores across Sweden, Norway, and Finland, faced significant challenges in the competitive beauty market. The company needed to accelerate its logistics to quickly bring trending products from social media platforms like TikTok to market, while maintaining extreme efficiency to stay profitable amid numerous competitors entering the beauty sector.

Operating since the 1990s with both physical stores and e-commerce operations in three countries, KICKS required a scalable and flexible logistics solution that could handle the unique demands of beauty products distribution. The core objectives were to improve speed to market, enhance operational efficiency, and create a scalable infrastructure that could support business growth and peak season demands.

After a thorough selection process, KICKS partnered with KNAPP to implement an automated solution at its Rosersberg facility. The project focused on integrating high-speed automation technology that could handle diverse product types while providing the scalability needed for future expansion in the dynamic beauty retail market.

Technical Solution

Vertical Push Tray Sorter System

The centerpiece of the automation solution is a vertical push tray sorter that efficiently handles package classification and sorting. The system automatically scans incoming packages and sorts them based on whether they are classified as droppable or non-droppable. Droppable packages are directed to autodrop stations, while non-droppable items are routed via conveyors to appropriate shipping options. The vertical design is space-efficient despite its high output capacity, enabling KICKS to increase throughput without expanding the facility footprint.

Key Features

The vertical push tray sorter's space-efficient design delivers high output capacity without requiring significant facility space. This efficiency enables KICKS to handle increasing volumes without proportional increases in work hours or space requirements.

Automatic package classification (droppable vs. non-droppable) streamlines the sorting process, ensuring that each package type follows the optimal path through the facility. This intelligent routing minimizes handling time and reduces the risk of damage to sensitive beauty products.

The integration of high-speed shuttles with the sorting system creates a rapid-response capability that aligns with KICKS' need to quickly bring trending products to market. This speed is critical in the fast-paced beauty industry where social media trends can drive sudden demand spikes.

Multi-unit handling capability ensures that the entire range of KICKS' packaging—from small cosmetic items to larger skincare products—flows seamlessly through the automated system, maintaining efficiency across all product categories.

Comprehensive system monitoring and support processes, including the KNAPP Resident team and Service Desk, provide operational reliability and quick issue resolution, minimizing disruptions to KICKS' critical supply chain.

Results & Benefits

Within just six months of implementation, KICKS has seen all key performance indicators trending positively, demonstrating the immediate impact of the automated solution on operational efficiency.

Store availability has reached unprecedented levels across KICKS' 250+ stores in Sweden, Norway, and Finland, ensuring that customers have access to products when they visit physical locations.

Picking efficiency has significantly improved through the optimized picking stations, contributing to faster order processing and more accurate fulfillment for both store replenishment and e-commerce orders.

The automated system has enabled capacity increases without additional labor hours, providing KICKS with a cost-effective scalability path as the business grows and seasonal demands fluctuate.

The facility has achieved good capacity utilization in Rosersberg, successfully handling all volumes to date while steadily increasing throughput in preparation for peak season, demonstrating the system's reliability and scalability.

Challenges & Solutions

KICKS' primary challenge was the need for extreme speed to quickly capitalize on beauty trends emerging from social media platforms. The solution integrated high-performance, top-speed shuttles with an already fast system, creating the rapid response capability required in the dynamic beauty market.

Handling multiple package types—including various sizes of cartons and padded bags—in a fully automated workflow presented a technical challenge. KNAPP designed the system to automatically transport and sort all unit types, ensuring comprehensive automation without manual intervention points.

Maintaining operational efficiency amid intense competition in the beauty retail sector required space-efficient technology that could deliver high output. The vertical push tray sorter provided this efficiency, enabling KICKS to process high volumes within existing space constraints.

Ensuring system reliability and quick issue resolution was addressed through established support processes including the KNAPP Resident team, Service Desk, and comprehensive system monitoring in collaboration with KICKS' IT department, creating a proactive maintenance and response framework.

System Integrator

KNAPP served as the system integrator and technology partner for the project, delivering a comprehensive automated solution tailored to KICKS' specific needs in the beauty retail sector. The company was selected after a long and thorough selection process, with KICKS valuing KNAPP's solution-oriented and proactive approach to partnership.

KNAPP's responsibilities included designing and implementing the vertical push tray sorter, high-speed shuttle system, optimized picking stations, and the integrated control software. The company's expertise in handling diverse product types and creating scalable logistics solutions was critical to addressing KICKS' unique challenges in the competitive beauty market.

The partnership has been characterized as strategic, solution-oriented, and transparent, with KNAPP providing ongoing support through their Resident team and Service Desk to ensure operational continuity. The successful implementation has positioned KICKS for continued growth with a scalable, efficient logistics infrastructure that supports both current operations and future expansion in the Nordic beauty market.