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Panabad Optimizes Frozen Logistics With Mecalux Easy WMS
New -20°C distribution center improves traceability, storage capacity, and overnight order picking efficiency for 2,000 customers.
www.mecalux.com
Application area: Warehouse management and automated logistics
Industry sector: Food and beverage manufacturing, cold chain logistics
The food manufacturing company Panabad has launched a new 2,500 square meter logistics center in Sant Quirze del Vallès to modernize its storage infrastructure and scale up its distribution capacity. As part of this expansion, the company has deployed a specialized warehouse management system alongside automated and high-density racking configurations. The integrated facility is designed to optimize low-temperature operations, manage complex inventory tracking, and accelerate overnight distribution schedules to meet strict delivery windows.
Scaling operations for temperature-controlled logistics
Operating from its primary manufacturing facility near Barcelona, the company produces and distributes frozen bread, pastry, and cake products to over 2,000 clients across the hospitality, food-service, catering, and retail distribution sectors. Processing more than 7,000 tonnes of flour annually, the manufacturer experienced substantial business growth that outpaced its legacy logistics capabilities.
To maintain market competitiveness and regulatory compliance, the company required a more organized logistics setup capable of managing over 200 distinct frozen product stock keeping units. The primary technical and operational challenges centered on maximizing storage capacity within a restricted footprint, ensuring precise lot and batch tracking, and improving warehouse safety. Specifically, the company needed to streamline order picking workflows to drastically minimize the time warehouse operators spend exposed to extreme temperatures of -20 °C.
High-density storage and digital workflow optimization
To address these capacity and environmental challenges, the company implemented Mecalux's Easy WMS warehouse management system integrated with a combination of specialized racking solutions. The structural installation includes selective pallet racking, push-back pallet racking, and Movirack mobile pallet racking, providing a total storage capacity for more than 3,000 pallets.
The mobile racking system utilizes motorized bases that move along floor rails to open specific aisles when access is required, maximizing spatial efficiency in the temperature-controlled zone. The push-back racking uses slightly inclined lanes where pallets move forward by gravity, simplifying loading and unloading routines. The warehouse management software directs all inventory placement and extraction, communicating with operators via radiofrequency terminals to coordinate overnight order fulfillment.
Increasing efficiency and operator safety at -20 °C
The chosen software solution was selected for its ability to automate routing and ensure strict inventory accuracy. In the frozen food sector, strict cold chain preservation and operational speed are critical. The daily logistics model relies heavily on a rapid overnight picking cycle that starts late in the evening to prepare shipments for a fleet of 20 delivery vehicles departing early in the morning.
By tracking product turnover and volume, the software automatically assigns incoming pallets to optimal locations, placing heavier goods on lower levels to improve structural safety. The system dynamically calculates the most efficient picking paths for the workforce. This routing optimization reduces unnecessary travel across the facility, speeding up order fulfillment while protecting staff health by limiting physical exposure to sub-zero environments.
Quantifiable improvements in traceability and capacity
The deployment of the integrated warehouse management software and high-density racking systems has established a structured operational model. The facility successfully manages its 200 stock keeping units with a high degree of precision, eliminating human error from the tracking process.
"We have always maintained product traceability to comply with industry regulations. With Mecalux’s digital solution, we have increased accuracy and minimized the possibility of error," explains Julián Martín, General Manager of Panabad. "Each operator receives a pick path on their radiofrequency terminal designed to eliminate unnecessary travel. By following instructions from the software, they fill orders faster and reduce their exposure to low temperatures."
The technical synergy between the mobile bases and the management software has provided a scalable foundation for the company’s nationwide distribution network, ensuring precise inventory control from the production line to the final commercial client.
Edited by Natania Lyngdoh, Induportals Editor, with AI assistance.
www.mecalux.com
Industry sector: Food and beverage manufacturing, cold chain logistics
The food manufacturing company Panabad has launched a new 2,500 square meter logistics center in Sant Quirze del Vallès to modernize its storage infrastructure and scale up its distribution capacity. As part of this expansion, the company has deployed a specialized warehouse management system alongside automated and high-density racking configurations. The integrated facility is designed to optimize low-temperature operations, manage complex inventory tracking, and accelerate overnight distribution schedules to meet strict delivery windows.
Scaling operations for temperature-controlled logistics
Operating from its primary manufacturing facility near Barcelona, the company produces and distributes frozen bread, pastry, and cake products to over 2,000 clients across the hospitality, food-service, catering, and retail distribution sectors. Processing more than 7,000 tonnes of flour annually, the manufacturer experienced substantial business growth that outpaced its legacy logistics capabilities.
To maintain market competitiveness and regulatory compliance, the company required a more organized logistics setup capable of managing over 200 distinct frozen product stock keeping units. The primary technical and operational challenges centered on maximizing storage capacity within a restricted footprint, ensuring precise lot and batch tracking, and improving warehouse safety. Specifically, the company needed to streamline order picking workflows to drastically minimize the time warehouse operators spend exposed to extreme temperatures of -20 °C.
High-density storage and digital workflow optimization
To address these capacity and environmental challenges, the company implemented Mecalux's Easy WMS warehouse management system integrated with a combination of specialized racking solutions. The structural installation includes selective pallet racking, push-back pallet racking, and Movirack mobile pallet racking, providing a total storage capacity for more than 3,000 pallets.
The mobile racking system utilizes motorized bases that move along floor rails to open specific aisles when access is required, maximizing spatial efficiency in the temperature-controlled zone. The push-back racking uses slightly inclined lanes where pallets move forward by gravity, simplifying loading and unloading routines. The warehouse management software directs all inventory placement and extraction, communicating with operators via radiofrequency terminals to coordinate overnight order fulfillment.
Increasing efficiency and operator safety at -20 °C
The chosen software solution was selected for its ability to automate routing and ensure strict inventory accuracy. In the frozen food sector, strict cold chain preservation and operational speed are critical. The daily logistics model relies heavily on a rapid overnight picking cycle that starts late in the evening to prepare shipments for a fleet of 20 delivery vehicles departing early in the morning.
By tracking product turnover and volume, the software automatically assigns incoming pallets to optimal locations, placing heavier goods on lower levels to improve structural safety. The system dynamically calculates the most efficient picking paths for the workforce. This routing optimization reduces unnecessary travel across the facility, speeding up order fulfillment while protecting staff health by limiting physical exposure to sub-zero environments.
Quantifiable improvements in traceability and capacity
The deployment of the integrated warehouse management software and high-density racking systems has established a structured operational model. The facility successfully manages its 200 stock keeping units with a high degree of precision, eliminating human error from the tracking process.
"We have always maintained product traceability to comply with industry regulations. With Mecalux’s digital solution, we have increased accuracy and minimized the possibility of error," explains Julián Martín, General Manager of Panabad. "Each operator receives a pick path on their radiofrequency terminal designed to eliminate unnecessary travel. By following instructions from the software, they fill orders faster and reduce their exposure to low temperatures."
The technical synergy between the mobile bases and the management software has provided a scalable foundation for the company’s nationwide distribution network, ensuring precise inventory control from the production line to the final commercial client.
Edited by Natania Lyngdoh, Induportals Editor, with AI assistance.
www.mecalux.com
