Decathlon has provided sporting goods since 1976 and now has 1,817 stores and about 101,100 employees. The retailer recently deployed Skyfleet automation from Exotec SAS across seven warehouses across Europe.
“We were looking for a partner to support us in rationalizing our logistics network,” explained Jérôme Saillour, head of logistics automation at Decathlon. “We chose Exotec because they were able to deploy many sites in a short time and integrate scalable solutions that adapt to our evolution. In five years, we have profoundly transformed the experience of our warehouse employees and written the next chapter of logistics for Decathlon.”
Exotec said the deployment represented a new step in positioning it as both a manufacturer and integrator of inbound to outbound systems with a unified architecture. The Wasquehal, France-based company claimed that the program, which it announced last month at LogiMAT, simplifies processes to accelerate multi-site deployments.
Decathlon standardizes store replenishment
Villeneuve-d’Ascq, France-based Decathlon deployed its first Skypod robotic system in its Tilburg warehouse in 2021. To standardize store replenishment across Europe, the company asked Exotec to design a warehouse based on an architecture that it could replicate across sites in France, the U.K., Portugal, Germany, Italy, and Germany.
Each Skyfleet warehouse is based on a typical configuration:
- A fleet of 150 to 200 Skypod robots
- 100,000 to 125,000 storage locations
- Capacity of 3,000 to 4,000 lines per hour
- 150,000 to 200,000 items per day
- Seven to 13 picking stations (single stations and stations with order movers)
- Parcel buffering before shipping within the same storage system
- Full automation of inbound and outbound flows
Exotec integrated additional intralogistics equipment at each Decathlon site, including automatic palletizers and depalletizers, carton-opening machines, and RFID scan tunnels. Its Deepsky proprietary warehouse execution system (WES) orchestrates robots and product flows to ensure operational continuity.
The company added that it developed a single software codebase shared across all seven warehouses, further simplifying and accelerating deployment.
“Most importantly, we learned how to optimize team functions across all sites as each phase of deployment was complete,” Romain Moulin, co-founder and CEO of Exotec, told Automated Warehouse. “For example, the team tasked with rack installation completed their work in warehouse one before moving into the next warehouse.” “
“Once the rack installation team finished in one warehouse, the workstation team then came in and finished their work in warehouse one, and so on,” he recalled. “Each completed site made the processes in the next more predictable and efficient.”
Skyfleet eases collaboration, performance
Decathlon and Exotec said the standardization of Skyfleet made it easier to train and support teams as they adopted new technologies, freeing them for other value-added activities. The partners noted that the program also improved working conditions.
For example, at a site in Northampton in the U.K., a picker now walks only 1 km (0.6 mi.) per day, compared to 10 km (6.2 mi.) previously. At the same site, workplace incidents related to order picking dropped from 1 in 5,000 to 1 in 10,000, Moulin said.
Northampton also reduced the space required for preparing orders from 17,000 sq. m to 5,000 sq. m, freeing space for storage.
The new operating model has enabled Skyfleet sites to expand the number of Decathlon stores they serve, driving more efficient store replenishment across Europe. For example, the retailer‘s site in Ferrières, France, now serves 73 stores, up from 37, while its facility in Setúbal, Portugal, has increased from 41 to 73 stores.
Throughput has also significantly improved, said the companies. The Setúbal site now prepares 114,000 orders per day—double its previous capacity of 57,000 prior to the Skyfleet program.
Standardization has further streamlined operations and long-term maintenance, said Decathlon. While each site remains locally managed, harmonized tools and dashboards enable teams to benchmark performance, share best practices, and continuously optimize warehouse operations.
In addition, Exotec said its systems provide flexibility and scalability. During peak demand periods, robots can be redeployed among sites in accordance with demand. For instance, the Ferrières site has already expanded its fleet with 13 additional robots.
Exotec to provide site visits, show at MODEX
“When we launched our first Skypod robotic system nearly 10 years ago, we brought flexibility and resilience to storage and order picking.” said Moulin. “As intralogistics has become strategic for our clients, we now create value across the entire warehouse.”
Lyreco today said it has completed the modernization of its logistics center in Mayenne, France, which is responsible about 60% of the 50,000 parcels it ships daily. The project began in 2021, involved more than €25 million ($29.2 million U.S.) in investment, and included a new 3,000-sq.-m (32,291.7 sq. ft.) facility.
Exotec has deployed more than 100 Skypod robots, as well as its systems for sequencing outbound flows, algorithms for sortation and pallet building, and ergonomic pallet preparation.
Exotec plans to conduct site visits, or “Exotours,” across Europe this year. The company will also exhibit at Booth B14302 at MODEX next week in Atlanta.
