7. May 2020
Single-stage picking – order-oriented, parallel picking
With parallel picking, an order is divided between different picking zones and processed simultaneously. Compared to order-oriented, serial picking, this means the following: Larger orders are split before the picking and carried out in different…
7. May 2020
The Bullwhip effect
The bullwhip effect describes coordination and communication problems in multi-stage supply chains - mostly in so-called fragmented supply chains. It can be localised thanks to fluctuations in production planning and logistics planning (price…
1. April 2020
Turnover rate and Rotation of goods: Fast and slow movers
The inventory turnover, also known as the inventory turnover rate or inventory turnover coefficient, expresses how often an average inventory is completely withdrawn and replaced in a given period (usually a financial year). As a key figure, it can…
13. January 2020
Movement strategies within warehouse operations
The aim of utilising movement strategies is to adhere to specified guidelines in warehouse operations and, at the same time, achieve the best possible throughput performance. The respective movement strategy determines in which arrangement stacker…
24. April 2019
Production, dispatch and intralogistics: the rush order
A rush order is an order - in production, shipping or in intralogistics - which for various reasons has to be fulfilled faster or at shorter notice than its usual throughput time (see also order throughput time). Urgent orders can be placed by the…
15. April 2019
AutoStore: Storage technology from Norway
AutoStore is a Norwegian storage technology and, according to the company of the same name, is especially suitable for use as an automated small parts storage. The respective storage system dispenses with classic racks; instead, modular containers…
21. March 2019
The packaging logistics
Packaging logistics is a sub-area of logistics; it is a link between production and distribution. In addition to packaging materials, packaging logistics also deals with the corresponding processes and structures of packing and packaging; as a…
6. February 2019
Advantages and disadvantages: centralized and decentralized warehouse
In distribution logistics, the determination of warehouse locations represents a strategic decision. A basic distinction is made between centralized and decentralized locations, which can have different effects on logistics costs (see also…
20. June 2018
Cyber-physical systems and logistics
Cyber-physical systems, or CPS for short, are system units or components that are linked together by means of software, electronics and mechanics, the so-called cyber-physical infrastructure. The technologies from the 'Internet of Things' (IoT) and…
24. May 2018
Logistics management and the supply chain
The integrated planning, organization, management, processing and control of the entire flow of materials and goods and the corresponding information flow is called logistics management. This is not a tangible work step, but rather countless process…
16. May 2018
Vogel’s approximation method
The approximation method according to Vogel is a heuristic procedure that is mainly used in distribution logistics, for example to solve a transport problem. It belongs to the field of mathematically oriented statistics, also called operations…
19. April 2018
The screw conveyor / spiral conveyor for bulk material
Transport systems are needed in warehouses to transport goods. For this purpose, there are various possibilities for different requirements in conveyor technology. In addition to roller, vibratory and circular conveyors, screw conveyors (also known…
24. October 2017
Picking method Pick-by-robot
The picking type Pick-by-Robot means the picking of goods, carried out by so-called perception-controlled logistics robots - without human intervention. Perception-controlled logistics robots are a further development of autonomous systems that…
16. October 2017
Multicopter: Drones as parcel carriers of the future
Goods delivery by automated or even autonomous drones? What we know at best as a vision from science fiction films could soon become everyday life. At least when it comes to Amazon, UPS, Mercedes Benz and DHL. What are the challenges, what is…
11. July 2017
Replenishment in intralogistics
Replenishment (also referred to as Supply) is an elementary process in today's merchandise management, which contributes to the overall efficiency of the material flow if it is integrated as well as possible into the existing warehouse management…
8. May 2017
Logistics – Definition
The term logistics stands for the planning, control and monitoring of the material and immaterial flow of goods within a company, between partner companies and between suppliers and end customers.
18. April 2017
Effects of shipping options on loyalty to the online store
Buying on the Internet offers almost endless possibilities and shipping options. Whether books, clothes, food - regardless of the time of day, one can buy almost any imaginable product in countless stores. The providers are also becoming more and…
30. March 2017
Conveying aids in intralogistics
In intralogistics, conveying equipment is used to combine individual goods into larger load units. In general, the following definition applies: intralogistics uses conveying equipment to protect different goods, make them ready for loading,…
22. March 2017
Order picking times – Dead time
Dead time is an unproductive but unavoidable so-called auxiliary time, which arises during picking due to preparatory and follow-up activities (e.g. search and identification of the storage location). It can be optimized by simple measures.
9. March 2017
The (hanging) bag sorter
The Pouch sorter / Bag sorter belongs to the category of logistic sorting and distribution systems. A (hanging) bag sorter system makes it possible to transport hanging and flat packed goods fully automatically on the same line - even classic…
16. February 2017
The picking travel time
The order-picking way time is the sum of the time required for picking a single order or batch; measured from the starting point of picking via the picking locations to the delivery point - depending on the picking method, including the way back to…
9. February 2017
The storage location management
The storage location management ensures that a storage location is recorded or occupied in width, height and depth. It covers two different topological aspects. On the one hand the overall structure of the warehouse and thus the positions of the…
19. January 2017
Last-mile logistics in e-commerce – challenges and solutions
Online commerce has shown considerable growth in the past decades. The B2C sector in particular recorded massive growth rates, leaving the B2B sector far behind. According to the statistics portal Statista, the turnover in e-commerce (B2C) has…
17. October 2016
Swarm intelligence – What we logisticians can learn from ants – Part I
Surely you use a navigation system. So then you are already relying on the performance of ants and swarm intelligence. Why? Because the current navigation systems are programmed with the so-called ant algorithm and this shows you the "best" way from…
25. April 2016
Definition – WMS – The Warehouse Management System
The Warehouse Management System (WMS) is an indispensable software for the control and administration of stocks (see also Inventory Management) and storage locations within closed operations (e.g. distribution centers or manufacturing plants). It…
7. April 2016
CMR: the consignment note
The term CMR comes from the French, Convention relative au Contrat de transport international de marchandises par route. It describes the agreement of all participating states on the contract for the international carriage of goods by road. All…
23. March 2016
What can logistics accomplish?
In recent decades, the term "logistics" has developed into a general term. This is a good thing. But what is not so positive is that "logistics" - especially in the media - is often misused and misapplied in some companies for all kinds of…
10. February 2016
Material flow control as a service for a distribution center
Material flow control, also known as material flow computer or material flow control system (MFCS), is very often described as an order management directly assigned to materials handling equipment. However, this view does not do justice to the task…
28. January 2016
Cut-off time in intralogistics
In intralogistics, the cut-off time describes the time at which an order must leave the warehouse and be transferred to the carrier so that it can still be delivered within a predefined period of time. On the other hand, a retailer understands…
26. January 2016
The Newsvendor Model in SCM
Many supply chain management (SCM) approaches can be explained using the Newsvendor Model (NVM). This model, which originally comes from inventory management, evaluates both the costs of excessively high inventories and the costs of excessively low…
18. January 2016
Function and advantages of the ant algorithm
The Ant Algorithm, also often called Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) in the literature, is an algorithm for the approximate solution of complex optimization problems. This method of combinatorial optimization, also known as metaheuristics, is based on…
15. January 2016
The cost of unused opportunities in supply chain management
No company can afford not to have the cost side under control. The figures from financial accounting serve as the basis for this. In many cases, the figures for the companies' cost accounting are derived from this. A look into the cost accounting of…
7. December 2015
Definition – The Milk Run Concept
The milk run concept is a method for optimizing inter-company procurement logistics, often used in conjunction with just-in-time production. Based on existing consumption values, it describes a logistics supply cycle in which goods or empties are…
19. October 2015
Buffer line
A buffer section is used to intercept jams within the material flow, to avoid bottlenecks and idle time within different processes and to collect inventories for forwarding. It can be integrated fully automatically into the flow of goods, but can…
21. September 2015
Information in intralogistics
Information describes the meaningful content of a message, which is of value for the recipient. The receiver can be either a human or a machine. The sent or received information does not contain irrelevant or redundant transmissions. In the…
18. September 2015
Returns processing
Returns handling describes several processes in the return of goodsordered - mostly - online. They are processed and handled by the distribution centeraccording to the client's specifications. Looking at returns processing as a whole, the process…
22. July 2015
Heijunka lean method
The Japanese lean method Heijunka pushes a production where the production flow of the parts market is continuously guaranteed despite market fluctuations. This avoids transport and idle times and distributes the time needed for materials over the…
6. July 2015
Modularization of materials handling equipment – approach to a standardized system architecture
The current market development shows the following challenges: New component technologies require new measures to be taken Uncoordinated function modelling leads to fragmentation Large projects can only be managed with extreme engineering effort…
17. April 2015
Lean Production
Lean Production describes a method with the goal to react quickly to outside influences on production systems. This is a concept that affects the efficiency increase of all company activities within a value chain. This includes, for example, the…
14. April 2015
The distribution center
A distribution center is an interface in the form of a building complex that functions exclusively within a logistics network. This can be a warehouse, a transshipment point or both in combination. Usually it is the combination in which goods are…
6. March 2015
Order throughput time
When an order is received in a logistics centre, it passes through various processes until it is completed. For each of these individual processes, the lead time is measured. If you add the lead times of the individual processes, you get the total…
8. January 2015
Temperature-controlled logistics (environmental measurement)
The market for temperature-controlled logistics in particular has been growing in volume over the past few years. Refrigerated and frozen foods, as well as medication logistics, rely on the benefits of RFID technology. The core functions in such…
10. October 2014
Production management
According to business economist Werner Kern, production management is an operational service provision. "Production is any kind of internal transformation of goods into higher-value goods". In his opinion, terms such as production, costs, planning,…
3. February 2014
Storage and retrieval machine
A storage and retrieval machine (SRM) is a storage device with which load units can be stored, transferred and retrieved. The storage, transfer and retrieval performance of a storage system depends on the following factors of the storage equipment…
20. December 2013
Definition – Value chain
A value chain describes how value is created through a chain of activities and combined in processes. The value chain is also referred to as process chain or performance chain. Establishment of a value chain To analyze a value chain, a company's…
6. December 2013
Lean Management
Lean management also has several sub-categories, such as lean thinking, lean production and lean supply chain. It describes various methods and procedures to optimally plan the processes of the value chain for industrial goods. The goal of this…
3. December 2013
Definition – Transshipment logistics
Goods handling is a function of intralogistics and takes place between the external goods flow and the internal material flow. The cargo of a means of transport is loaded onto an internal means of transport or vice versa, i.e. from an internal means…
29. November 2013
Replenishment – Basics
Before, during or even after the picking business process, goods are often replenished. Managing and allocating replenishment is one of the tasks of supply chain management. By using a warehouse management system, it can be ensured before starting a…
14. November 2013
Overview of common manufacturing principles
Different principles can be applied in manufacturing. Some products are manufactured according to forecasts, without specific sales order With other products production only starts after the reception of a sales order. Push and pull systems…
12. November 2013
Push system and pull system in supply chains
Supply chain management refers to the value chain from the supplier to the end consumer. Depending on the direction of the supply chain, there are two systems. The push system and the pull system. A company can trigger the production or delivery of…
- 1
- 2
7. May 2020
Single-stage picking – order-oriented, parallel picking
With parallel picking, an order is divided between different picking zones and processed…
7. May 2020
The Bullwhip effect
The bullwhip effect describes coordination and communication problems in multi-stage supply chains…
1. April 2020
Turnover rate and Rotation of goods: Fast and slow movers
The inventory turnover, also known as the inventory turnover rate or inventory turnover…
13. January 2020
Movement strategies within warehouse operations
The aim of utilising movement strategies is to adhere to specified guidelines in warehouse…
24. April 2019
Production, dispatch and intralogistics: the rush order
A rush order is an order - in production, shipping or in intralogistics - which for various reasons…
15. April 2019
AutoStore: Storage technology from Norway
AutoStore is a Norwegian storage technology and, according to the company of the same name, is…
21. March 2019
The packaging logistics
Packaging logistics is a sub-area of logistics; it is a link between production and distribution.…
6. February 2019
Advantages and disadvantages: centralized and decentralized warehouse
In distribution logistics, the determination of warehouse locations represents a strategic…
20. June 2018
Cyber-physical systems and logistics
Cyber-physical systems, or CPS for short, are system units or components that are linked together…
24. May 2018
Logistics management and the supply chain
The integrated planning, organization, management, processing and control of the entire flow of…
16. May 2018
Vogel’s approximation method
The approximation method according to Vogel is a heuristic procedure that is mainly used in…
19. April 2018
The screw conveyor / spiral conveyor for bulk material
Transport systems are needed in warehouses to transport goods. For this purpose, there are various…
24. October 2017
Picking method Pick-by-robot
The picking type Pick-by-Robot means the picking of goods, carried out by so-called…
16. October 2017
Multicopter: Drones as parcel carriers of the future
Goods delivery by automated or even autonomous drones? What we know at best as a vision from…
11. July 2017
Replenishment in intralogistics
Replenishment (also referred to as Supply) is an elementary process in today's merchandise…
8. May 2017
Logistics – Definition
The term logistics stands for the planning, control and monitoring of the material and immaterial…
18. April 2017
Effects of shipping options on loyalty to the online store
Buying on the Internet offers almost endless possibilities and shipping options. Whether books,…
30. March 2017
Conveying aids in intralogistics
In intralogistics, conveying equipment is used to combine individual goods into larger load units.…
22. March 2017
Order picking times – Dead time
Dead time is an unproductive but unavoidable so-called auxiliary time, which arises during picking…
9. March 2017
The (hanging) bag sorter
The Pouch sorter / Bag sorter belongs to the category of logistic sorting and distribution systems.…
16. February 2017
The picking travel time
The order-picking way time is the sum of the time required for picking a single order or batch;…
9. February 2017
The storage location management
The storage location management ensures that a storage location is recorded or occupied in width,…
19. January 2017
Last-mile logistics in e-commerce – challenges and solutions
Online commerce has shown considerable growth in the past decades. The B2C sector in particular…
17. October 2016
Swarm intelligence – What we logisticians can learn from ants – Part I
Surely you use a navigation system. So then you are already relying on the performance of ants and…
25. April 2016
Definition – WMS – The Warehouse Management System
The Warehouse Management System (WMS) is an indispensable software for the control and…
7. April 2016
CMR: the consignment note
The term CMR comes from the French, Convention relative au Contrat de transport international de…
23. March 2016
What can logistics accomplish?
In recent decades, the term "logistics" has developed into a general term. This is a good thing.…
10. February 2016
Material flow control as a service for a distribution center
Material flow control, also known as material flow computer or material flow control system (MFCS),…
28. January 2016
Cut-off time in intralogistics
In intralogistics, the cut-off time describes the time at which an order must leave the warehouse…
26. January 2016
The Newsvendor Model in SCM
Many supply chain management (SCM) approaches can be explained using the Newsvendor Model (NVM).…
18. January 2016
Function and advantages of the ant algorithm
The Ant Algorithm, also often called Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) in the literature, is an…
15. January 2016
The cost of unused opportunities in supply chain management
No company can afford not to have the cost side under control. The figures from financial…
7. December 2015
Definition – The Milk Run Concept
The milk run concept is a method for optimizing inter-company procurement logistics, often used in…
19. October 2015
Buffer line
A buffer section is used to intercept jams within the material flow, to avoid bottlenecks and idle…
21. September 2015
Information in intralogistics
Information describes the meaningful content of a message, which is of value for the recipient. The…
18. September 2015
Returns processing
Returns handling describes several processes in the return of goodsordered - mostly - online. They…
22. July 2015
Heijunka lean method
The Japanese lean method Heijunka pushes a production where the production flow of the parts market…
6. July 2015
Modularization of materials handling equipment – approach to a standardized system architecture
The current market development shows the following challenges: New component technologies require…
17. April 2015
Lean Production
Lean Production describes a method with the goal to react quickly to outside influences on…
14. April 2015
The distribution center
A distribution center is an interface in the form of a building complex that functions exclusively…
6. March 2015
Order throughput time
When an order is received in a logistics centre, it passes through various processes until it is…
8. January 2015
Temperature-controlled logistics (environmental measurement)
The market for temperature-controlled logistics in particular has been growing in volume over the…
10. October 2014
Production management
According to business economist Werner Kern, production management is an operational service…
3. February 2014
Storage and retrieval machine
A storage and retrieval machine (SRM) is a storage device with which load units can be stored,…
20. December 2013
Definition – Value chain
A value chain describes how value is created through a chain of activities and combined in…
6. December 2013
Lean Management
Lean management also has several sub-categories, such as lean thinking, lean production and lean…
3. December 2013
Definition – Transshipment logistics
Goods handling is a function of intralogistics and takes place between the external goods flow and…
29. November 2013
Replenishment – Basics
Before, during or even after the picking business process, goods are often replenished. Managing…
14. November 2013
Overview of common manufacturing principles
Different principles can be applied in manufacturing. Some products are manufactured according to…
12. November 2013
Push system and pull system in supply chains
Supply chain management refers to the value chain from the supplier to the end consumer. Depending…