Altadis, the strategic alliance between the French Seita and Spanish Tabacalera companies, is one of the world's major tobacco suppliers. As the No. 3 on the European
cigarette market, and the world's leading cigar manufacturer, Altadis operates a unique distribution network in Europe serving 140,000 retail outlets in France, Spain, and
Portugal. Seita solved this logistic challenge with a new flow torage system located in southwest France.
|  | Success in numbers
The Seita tradition dates back to the days of the French Sun King. Today, the company's sales figures are enough to make other tobacco suppliers envious: with a 98% share of the
French market, Seita supplies 34,100 retail outlets annually with 93 billion units from a range of 1,100 different products. This amounts to 2,700 deliveries every day. At the
same time, Seita guarantees consistent quality, irrespective of outlet location and size.
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Logistics: A prime area of expertise
It comes as no surprise that, in addition to its primary businesses in cigars and cigarettes, Altadis operates logistics as a third business division. Nearly 16% of the
company's sales are generated by logistics services. Virtually all of the new Altadis logistics projects are centrally controlled from Paris.
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| | Cigarettes in flow storage
To organize the distribution of cigarettes, cigars and tobacco products in the Atlantic and Mediterranean coastal regions more efficiently and cost effectively, two distribution
centres were combined to form one major regional centre. The planners wanted to double capacity whilst avoiding the expense of new building projects. Seita opted for a compact
Interroll flow storage system with 1,400 pallet places as an integral constituent of the new logistics centre.
The right mix of static and dynamic storage and of FIFO/LIFO functions allows flexible handling perfectly tailored to the product characteristics and demand. Pallets are delivered
from all over Europe by truck and train. The trains are shunted directly into the warehousing and distribution centre. Some 200 pallets are turned over daily, 252 days per year.
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Smooth, careful handling
Each EURO or industrial-size pallet weighs 600 kg. A pallet load of tobacco must be handled with extreme care - especially considering the fact that it has a value of nearly
e 40,000. This is where the control, safety, and Separation mechanisms of the Interroll flow storage system benefit the final product.
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