Case Study

The Quality Group (TQG) is one of Germany’s fastest growing e commerce companies in functional food and sports nutrition. Through its brands ESN and More Nutrition, TQG combines premium, locally produced products in Germany with a highly digital, influencer driven go to market model. Frequent product launches, limited drops and weekly promotions create short, intense peaks and rapidly shifting demand patterns. This means SKU velocity is not stable. Any product can become an overnight fast mover, and the set of A movers changes repeatedly throughout the months.

Initial situation and project objectives

TQG built a new 40,000 m² greenfield fulfilment centre in Elsdorf to support its rapid growth and to consolidate its network. Two previously separate warehouse operations were migrated into Elsdorf, allowing TQG to centralize fulfilment, simplify flows, and free up the former main site to be transformed into a second production location. The Elsdorf facility was designed to start at roughly 45,000 e commerce orders per day and 300,000 units per day, and to scale quickly to 60,000 orders per day and beyond during peak seasons. The key requirement was to create a fulfilment operation that could deliver goods to person level throughput without locking the business into rigid fixed automation and high capital investments. In other words, TQG needed maximum performance with the flexibility to change flows, zones, and fast mover placement as campaigns and product trends shift, while keeping automation investment lightweight and primarily OPEX based.

The challenges

The project was shaped by four realities of TQG’s business model and network strategy.

• First, volatility is structural. Influencer campaigns and drops create massive demand spikes on a small, rotating subset of SKUs. The operation must follow demand immediately.
• Second, peak periods are frequent, not seasonal only. Events such as ESN Week and Black Week require step changes in capacity several times per year.
• Third, Elsdorf was not an “add on” site. It replaced two existing warehouse operations, and TQG needed to shut down the former main location on a defined timeline to repurpose it into a second production site. That created a hard requirement to ramp the new building to meaningful scale quickly, without waiting for a long automation build out.
• Fourth, any fixed AS/RS or goods to person automation would have required decanting products from inbound pallets into totes or bins before storage and picking. That extra handling step adds time, labor, and complexity, and it breaks down completely when fast movers rotate constantly. For TQG, decanting inventory (repacking of goods – usually from the original packaging into another transport unit) just to pick it again shortly after is wasted effort and the opposite of what their business needs: maximum throughput with zero loss of flexibility.

The solution

Locus Robotics deployed the LocusONE platform with a fleet of Locus Origin AMRs. LocusONE integrates with TQG’s Logistics Reply WMS and orchestrates robots and workers in real time across multiple halls and picking zones. The system was designed around two principles: first, software driven orchestration that can reallocate work instantly as campaigns shift; second, scalable robotics capacity that can grow with demand rather than forcing a one time overbuild.

Staged ramp up to full scale
The deployment followed a deliberate staged ramp that mirrors TQG’s growth and the build out of the new facility.

• Phase 1: Go live with about 40 robots in a temporary pallet pick zone while the final infrastructure was still being installed. This allowed TQG to start fulfilling orders from Elsdorf immediately.
• Phase 2: Expansion into high bay racking, growing the fleet to more than 100 robots. LocusONE absorbed layout changes through configuration rather than structural redesign.
• Phase 3: Integration of a second and third hall and rollout of FastPick zones for high velocity SKUs, with the fleet scaling further to support rising order volume.
• Phase 4: Full scale operation with around 350 robots across three connected halls, achieved in under eight months from initial go live. The site is now running at peak daily capacity with fully synchronized picking, packing, conveyance and outbound flows.

This staged approach is a core innovation element. Instead of forcing TQG into a fixed automation build timeline, robotics capacity and orchestration scaled exactly when demand required it.

FastPick for rotating fast movers
A central feature of the solution is LocusONE FastPick. TQG uses dedicated wide aisle or gravity rack FastPick zones where bots cluster on demand to form pick walls. These zones are intentionally designed for SKU volatility. As campaigns change and different products become A movers, TQG can reslot those SKUs into the FastPick area and LocusONE automatically concentrates robots and work on that demand peak. If reslotting cannot happen in time, the system still performs: LocusONE can create a pick wall in standard zones as well, dynamically pulling bots to wherever the new fast mover sits so throughput is protected even before the physical layout is adjusted. Pallets are replenished from the back through dedicated lanes, keeping high velocity picking flowing without decanting into fixed systems. This allows TQG to reach extremely high throughput on fast movers while keeping placement fully adaptable.
Integrations and operational flow
The Locus system operates alongside the wider Elsdorf automation set up, including Vanderlande conveyance and Ranpak on demand packaging. Robots feed picked orders into the downstream flow, while conveyors and packaging systems handle transport, carton creation and final parcel processing. LocusONE provides real time visibility and workload balancing across pick zones.

Customer benefits

The integrated solution delivers clear outcomes aligned to TQG’s objectives.

Throughput comparable to fixed automation, with flexibility preserved. FastPick areas enable goods to person level productivity on high velocity SKUs without decanting or rigid infrastructure. TQG achieves high density picking with minimal walking and constant bot arrival at stations.
Instant adaptability to demand shifts. LocusONE reallocates robots and tasks in real time, so whichever SKU becomes a fast mover can be absorbed immediately without changing hardware.
Peak resilience through scalable robotics. The fleet ramped from 40 to 350 robots in eight months, including the ability to add temporary peak bots during campaigns (30 additional bots for Black Week). This removes the need for large labour spikes or over dimensioned fixed automation.
Faster time to value. The site went live in under 90 days from signature and reached full three hall scale far ahead of the original roadmap.
Improved ergonomics and ramp training. Walking is largely eliminated in FastPick zones. Pickers remain focused and productive, and new associates reach competency quickly, which is critical for a fast growing workforce.
Risk reduced investment. The RaaS model enables continuous scaling without a large upfront CAPEX bet. As the business evolves, zones and flows can be reconfigured in software.

Key data

Location: Elsdorf, Germany.
Site size: 40,000 m² with expansion capability.
Storage: high bay racking and pallet density designed for fast mover rotation.
Robots: about 40 at first go live, about 350 at full scale.
Capacity: designed for 45,000 orders per day and 300,000 units per day at launch, scaling to 60,000 orders per day and beyond in peak.
Integrations: Logistics Reply WMS, Vanderlande conveyance, Ranpak packaging, with full LocusONE orchestration and FastPick zones.

Conclusion and Outlook

This project demonstrates why flexible, software defined warehouse automation is a perfect match for today’s promotion driven e commerce environment. At The Quality Group, LocusONE delivers the throughput traditionally associated with fixed G2P automation while staying fully adaptable to rotating fast movers, frequent campaign peaks and rapid business growth. The scaled ramp to Europe’s largest Locus fleet in under eight months makes Elsdorf a benchmark reference for high performance automation without sacrificing flexibility.

Beyond the current origin based picking operation, TQG’s growth trajectory is already opening the next use cases. The B2B channel is increasing in importance, and together we are evaluating Locus Vector as a complementary robot type for heavier transport and replenishment flows connected to wholesale shipments. In parallel, TQG is also reviewing Locus Array, the next evolution of the Origin platform, as a future option for even higher density and AI driven task automation as volumes and SKU complexity continue to rise.

The robotics as a service model is a key enabler for this roadmap. It allows TQG to flex fleet size and robot types over time without taking on fixed capital risk or committing to a single automation architecture. Capacity can expand or contract with campaign intensity, channel mix, and product velocity, while the orchestration layer stays constant. This keeps the operation ready for whatever demand pattern emerges next and supports TQG’s goal to build a fulfilment engine that can scale into a future that cannot be predicted in advance.