How a 3PL Tripled Picking Efficiency Across 13 Warehouses

Client: Skipper Groupe — third-party logistics (3PL) operator, 13 warehouses · Sector: Warehousing & Logistics · Result: 3× picking efficiency

The challenge: manual processes across 13 warehouses

Skipper Groupe, a third-party logistics company from the global Flexpipe network, warehouses everything from soap and electronics to linens and housewares for international B2B and e-commerce customers. Like every 3PL, it lives and dies by time-critical KPIs — on-time delivery above all. With 13 warehouse sites and largely manual pick-and-pack processes, the team needed picking infrastructure that could keep pace without a costly automation programme.

The solution: modular tube & joint racking, standardised across every site

Rather than fixed steel racking or bespoke welded frames, the operations team built their picking and wagon-preparation stations from the Flexpipe modular pipe and joint system. Because every structure uses the same interchangeable pipes, joints and casters, a design proven at one warehouse could be duplicated at all 13 — including a custom cherry-picker boom-lift platform engineered for their high-bay areas.

• Gravity-fed pick lanes matched to each site's order profile
• Mobile wagon-preparation carts sized to their aisles
• One parts standard across every location — no vendor lock-in, no welding

The results

• Picking efficiency tripled across the network
• Proven designs duplicated to all 13 sites at a fraction of custom-fabrication cost
• Structures modified in-house as customer contracts and volumes change

What this means for your Australian operation

Australian 3PLs and DCs face the same squeeze: labour-intensive picking, changing client contracts, and capital budgets that won't stretch to automation. A modular racking standard lets you refit a pick zone over a weekend with your own maintenance crew — and rebuild it when the next contract changes everything. Flexpipe Australia designs, kits and ships these systems locally, with the same components used above.