New eBook on ABC Analysis in Warehouse Logistics
There are topics and tools that everyone knows. Everyone has used them or been confronted with them; they are familiar and considered important, but receive no special attention beyond that.…
Takeoff Technologies and the Predictable Demise of the MFC Model
A few weeks ago, Takeoff Technologies filed for bankruptcy (Douglas Moran 2024). Takeoff Technologies was one of the first, if not the first start-up to coin the term Microfulfillment Center.…
MODEX and LogiMAT 2024: What’s there to see?
MODEX has just ended, LogiMAT begins next week. As always, the exhibitors – the industry is represented almost in its entirety – are busy advertising and vying for the attention…
Review of Volume Dive and Comparison with AutoStore
Introduction I have been following the cube storage market for some time. It is remarkable how many variations of the original AutoStore concept have emerged in recent years, some with…
Fire Safety Systems in Warehouses
Reflections on Oxygen Reduction Systems This week I had the pleasure of attending a small conference on fire safety in warehouses. The conference was hosted by Wagner Group GmbH of Hannover, Germany…
Cube Storage Systems: Market Overview & Comparison
Inspired by the success of AutoStore, a number of entrepreneurs and established vendors have developed their own variations of cube storage systems. In another article, I compared AutoStore to its…
Warehouse Automation for 3PLs
Why Adoption is Slower Than you Might Expect Introduction We are moving more goods from warehouses to consumers than ever before. And the more e-com replaces brick-and-mortar, physical commerce, the…
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
Jungheinrich officially unveiled its PowerCube goods-to-person (GtP) order picking system at Logimat 2022 in Stuttgart. This makes Jungheinrich – an established brand name in warehouse equipment – the latest member…
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”.
