Swiss discount e-commerce specialist QoQa has opened a new 7,500 sqm logistics site at Eclépens, north of Lausanne, fitted out with mechanized and automated systems from Austrian supplier Knapp. The centre replaces an older 5,000 sqm building in the same Vaud canton and is already handling the retailer’s full order flow.
Automation across the building
Inside the 20-metre-high warehouse, Knapp installed dynamic racking for fast-moving items, conveyors for totes and pallets, stacker cranes, automated packaging stations and Pick-to-Light workstations. On the software side, the integrator deployed the WMS and WCS modules from its KiSoft suite to orchestrate the operation.
Built for growth
The distribution centre receives 130 pallets and ships 21,700 items across 7,500 parcels five days a week. Knapp says the design already carries 30% of spare throughput capacity, with total storage reaching 371,901 items at Eclépens. The site, the vendor noted, is a central piece in QoQa’s planned expansion across Switzerland and German-speaking markets.
For a flash-sale retailer, where order peaks can be sharp and unpredictable, that built-in headroom matters as much as the day-one figures. The question now is how quickly QoQa fills it.
The project also reflects a wider pattern in European e-commerce: mid-sized online retailers are turning to full mechanization earlier than before, betting that automated fulfilment is the only way to defend delivery promises as order volumes climb. Knapp, for its part, continues to widen its footprint among regional online players rather than relying solely on large multinational contracts.
