"The opening of the Center is clearly the most important step in the further development of Wedo, not only for this year, but also for the future. This is a key moment for us to further expand and improve customer comfort, simplicity and speed of delivery. Our capacities are increasing many times over and we are completely changing the way we operate, "explained WeDo CEO Daniel Mareš.

The total investment in the construction of a super hub near Ostředek will exceed half a billion crowns, which is, according to available data, one of the largest logistics investments in the Czech Republic in recent times. "We started the construction a year ago and even then we talked about wanting to open Ostředek in the spring of 2022," said Daniel Mareš, adding that thanks to Ostředek, Wedo's transport capacity could immediately double, in the future up to five times current values.

Starting the central transhipment facility will change the way Wedo works. All shipments will be collected in one place and will be sorted centrally and automatically there. This eliminates the need for manual sorting at each depot, speeds up the process, simplifies it and reduces the potential for error.

The Superhub in Ostředek can handle up to 100,000 packages in one shift. On the new automatic sorting line, shipments weighing from 0.5 to 50 kilograms in length from 20 cm to 1.75 meters can be sorted. The Superhub is also equipped with a second semi-automatic line for non-standard shipments. The size of the new hall is over 8,500 square meters, and there are 48 loading ramps available for trucks. Another 12,000 square meters include outdoor handling areas.

The Superhub in Ostředek can handle up to 100,000 packages in one shift.

Photo: WeDo

"Over the last year, the economic environment in the Czech Republic has changed significantly, with Czech logistics and e-commerce facing a number of problems and challenges, led by high inflation, rising energy prices and a shortage of workers. Many thanks to all colleagues who participated in the construction of Ostředek for not deviating even a millimeter from our plans in the last year, we have completed the opening of Ostředek and we are continuing further innovations. All this will allow us to bounce back to the continued expansion not only in the Czech Republic, "he added.

Alternative modes of transport

For Wedo, this year is primarily a year of consolidation and launch of innovations that will speed up work and simplify contact with the client. In addition to Ostředek, another big step is to launch a customer application, which the operator will present in a few weeks. Already in recent weeks, Wedo has launched other partial innovations, such as a chatbot or a traffic light of individual depots. At the same time, the operator is researching the possibilities of alternative modes of transport, is part of the bicycle depot at Prague's Anděl and, for example, is also testing delivery via e-bikes in the center of Prague.

Superhub in Ostředek is one of the most efficient transhipment facilities in the Czech Republic. The capacity of the transhipment facility will be up to 12,000 shipments per hour. "We will not use the full capacity from the very beginning, but we will be ready for our further development in the coming years. We want to constantly grow, in addition to Ostředek, we are investing in the improvement and expansion of other regional depots, and we are expanding the number of dispensing points and boxes. In total, our investments in the near future will exceed one billion crowns, "concluded Daniel Mareš.

We will return to the operation of the depot in Ostředek with other photographs directly from the operation in one of the next issues of the printed monthly Logistika.

General information about the hub
• Start of construction - 01/2021
• Hub area 8,546 m2 - (20 percent larger than the football field)
• Office 574 m
• Paved areas of 11,000 square meters
• 47 gates + 1 drive in (11 unloading, 36 loading)
• Connection to D1 exit 34

Technology
• Technology - VanRiet (Netherlands) - boot sorter with a capacity of 7500 pcs / h
(100,000 pcs / shift), speed 2.8 - 3.0 m / s
• 110 m sorter divided into two parts (eastern, southern)
• 350 m belt conveyors available
• More than 200 m driven roller conveyors
• Gravity conveyor - 600 m
• 2,200 sorting shoes take care of sorting
• 2 dynamic scales

Attractions
• Each shipment will travel 200-400 m before being sorted
• Must overcome 7 m height differences
• Drive at speeds of over 13 km / h
• And it has power - 300kW / h
• In the event of a power failure, a backup unit with a truck power (400 kW) is available
• Over 11,000 rollers (it would be possible to stack them side by side from Ostředek to Benešov)
• Over 50 trucks unloaded and loaded during the night shift