Short Dictionary of Logistics Illiteracy
A Collection of Nonsense Terms and Concepts In the world of logistics, there are a lot of terms and concepts that are completely useless, yet seem to be ubiquitous. You…
ABC Analysis with a Twist: Using the Gini Coefficient for Interpretation
Most people in logistics know about Pareto charts and ABC analysis. Some people in logistics know how to read a Pareto chart and how to derive conclusions for the planning of…
Review of Jungheinrich PowerCube and Comparison with AutoStore
At Logimat 2022 in Stuttgart, Jungheinrich officially launched its goods-to-person picking system PowerCube, making Jungheinrich – an established brand name for warehouse trucks – the newest member of the ever-growing…
On the Power of „Good Enough“
Sometimes, we see companies with fantastic products – and they fail commercially. Sometimes, we see companies with fantastic products, and they can even solve real problems for real customers – and yet, they fail commercially. Now, there is certainly no shortage of reasons why companies can fail commercially in spite of having fantastic products, and I will not attempt to enumerate and discuss them here. Instead, I would like to highlight only one very specific reason which in my opinion often remains neglected, or even unnoticed altogether: competitors or substitutes that are good enough. Good enough is a very powerful concept. I claim that having a product that is good enough is often preferable to having a product that is superior. Let’s have a look at three examples of products or systems in the warehouse automation industry that are failing to meet commercial expectations through the lenses of “good enough”.
Nachhaltigkeit im Online-Handel: Anmerkungen zur Digitalstudie 2022 der Postbank
Kürzlich wurde die “Digitalstudie 2022” der Postbank zum Thema Online-Shopping vorgestellt, welche verschiedene Aspekte des Online-Bestellverhaltens der Deutschen repräsentativ untersucht. Die Zusammenfassung der Ergebnisse können als Pressemeldung auf den Internetseiten…
Der Customer Happiness Manager zur Gewinnung von Wiederholkunden
Es ist kein Geheimnis, dass man im Anlagenbau sehr von Wiederholkunden profitiert: Man kennt sich, die Kommunikation ist etabliert und man versteht einander. Aufwändige Referenzbesuche braucht es nicht mehr, man…
There is no such thing as Supply Chain Management. Let’s abandon the field.
I have wanted to write this text for a long time but have put it off – for about ten years. There isn't much to be gained by criticizing established…
Combining Goods-to-Person Picking with Zone Picking Systems
In this article, we want to explore the combination of goods-to-person (GtP) picking systems with zone picking systems. This particular solution design will be discussed in the context of high-performance picking requirements – systems that will have to cope with strong customer demand, i.e., several thousand orderlines per hour. Combining GtP picking with zone picking counts as advanced solution design; it is nothing a warehouse operator should aim for with a warehouse automation provider with no prior experience with that solution design. First, we will look into the reasons as to why you combine these two picking systems (as opposed to just using one). Then, we will discuss control aspects of this solution. Finally, we will explore if there are restrictions with respect to the choice of the specific automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) one would use to power the GtP picking system.
Two Strategies for eGrocery Automation
Having worked with a number of online supermarkets in the past couple of years, I found that there are two strategic approaches to making eGrocery operations profitable. And which one…
Zone Picking Systems: Beautiful and Complicated
Zone picking systems (often called zone routing systems) have been around for decades. And yet, it seems they are being underappreciated these days. Part of the reason might be that…