A look inside the warehouse of ZO in Lekkerkerk
The first thing you notice when you arrive is the truck with large lettering: "Never clean again". A bold statement for a webshop selling cleaning products. But once we sit down with the team at the kitchen table, it makes perfect sense.
The idea behind ZO: cleaning should be a routine, not a chore. It's about staying clean rather than getting clean. No buckets, no soapy water, no scrubbing. All you need is a sprayer within reach, so you can tackle things the moment they need it.
The colorful sprayers, cloths, and refill pouches stand in neat rows throughout the warehouse. At the front, orders are picked and starter kits are packed. At the back, refill pouches are filled. The atmosphere is relaxed and friendly. And the place is spotless.
We sit down with co-founder Bert Groen, right in the middle of the warehouse. He talks passionately about ZO, the move to the new space, and how they work today.
From a small shed to a full warehouse
ZO started six years ago in a small shed. As order volumes grew, so did the chaos. Storage in one corner, shelving in another, assembly somewhere else entirely. It was a lot of walking and searching.
When a 1,000m² warehouse became available in Lekkerkerk, the decision was easy. ZO was moving. And the move was the perfect opportunity to rethink both the layout and the way they work.
Now, a month after the move, everything has clicked into place. The warehouse runs smoothly.
What ZO is doing differently now, and why
Moving doesn't fix anything if you bring your old habits with you. Bert is very clear on that. Two things have made the real difference for ZO.
Structure everything. In the old warehouse, products went wherever there was space. Now everything has a fixed location. Fast-movers are close to the packing tables, saving a lot of steps every day. The packing tables are set up identically so anyone can work at any of them. Each order gets a recommended shipping box, no more guesswork. The warehouse is kept clean and tidy. It's a good place to work.
Scan everything. Every product now has a barcode. Nothing leaves the building without being scanned. The result is a near-flawless operation. Bert: "When you're processing a few hundred orders a day, you'll make picking errors without scanning, you just won't notice them. Scanning doesn't just make the work faster, it makes it nearly impossible to get things wrong."
The result: the operation doesn't need to be explained, it explains itself. That's not just great for the regular team; it also helps people who fill in to get up to speed quickly.
Advice for other webshops
We close with the question we ask every entrepreneur in this series: what would you recommend to a webshop looking to improve its daily warehouse operation?
Bert doesn't hesitate: "Speed is everything. Not just how fast you get an order out the door, but also the speed of your webshop, your CRM, all your tools. Because if something takes time, if something lags, you're losing customers. I use Picqer as an example all the time: I can click through everything instantly. No spinner, no waiting. It's just fast. That's a great foundation to build on."
