The factor Light in warehouse and logistics
The illumination of distribution centers is a rather rarely addressed aspect of warehousing. The…
Rack zones – Overview
A storage rack, both in intralogistics and retail, can be divided into different horizontal racking…
Single-stage picking – order-oriented, parallel picking
With parallel picking, an order is divided between different picking zones and processed…
The Bullwhip effect
The bullwhip effect describes coordination and communication problems in multi-stage supply chains…
Turnover rate and Rotation of goods: Fast and slow movers
The inventory turnover, also known as the inventory turnover rate or inventory turnover…
Storage techniques in intralogistics
Depending on the nature of the stored goods and the frequency of use, different storage techniques…
Swarm intelligence – What we logisticians can learn from ants – Part II
You may think estimating the weight of an ox, as described in Part 1 of this article, is hardly a…
When risk minimization becomes a risk in logistics
Logistical decisions are ultimately economic decisions. This applies, for example, to major…
SAIL – the system architecture for intralogistics from VDI / VDMA
"Innovation and Standardization" is the title of a working group of the Intralogistics Forum of the…
Enterprise Resource Planning – the five most important questions when choosing an ERP system
An Enterprise Resource Planning System (ERP for short) is used in many different sized companies.…
Advantages and disadvantages: centralized and decentralized warehouse
In distribution logistics, the determination of warehouse locations represents a strategic…
Storage maintenance costs – warehousing costs or storage costs
Trading companies and manufacturing companies usually have a warehouse or distribution centre. Raw…
The Jidoka principle in production and logistics
The Jidoka principle describes the ability of a machine, a plant or an entire system to switch…
Set-up time in production and intralogistics
If a machine or a production site, i.e. individual facilities or entire production lines, is set up…
Logistics management and the supply chain
The integrated planning, organization, management, processing and control of the entire flow of…
Vogel’s approximation method
The approximation method according to Vogel is a heuristic procedure that is mainly used in…
Opportunity costs in logistics
Opportunity costs, also known as alternative costs or foregone costs, express a foregone benefit in…
Human-machine interfaces in the industry
The human-machine interface represents the analog or digital interaction interface between a…
Kanban and swarm intelligence at management level
In manufacturing and industry, a supply concept called Kanban(Japanese for card or sign), invented…
The control center in intralogistics
The control panel in intralogistics represents a central point of a warehouse management system and…
Smart Data
Smart Data stands for the detailed and structured result of an analysis of unstructured data masses…
The Supply Chain Management (SCM)
Supply chain management (SCM) stands for the monitoring process as well as the coordination and…
Order picking – process steps
Picking stands for the combination of predefined orders from a warehouse assortment. The process…
The storage location management
The storage location management ensures that a storage location is recorded or occupied in width,…
The process-oriented warehouse planning
The process-oriented warehouse planning already takes into account in detail key positions relevant…
Materials management in production and logistics
Materials management controls the material flow within a company as well as order-related material…
The end of the 6 Rs of logistics? – Part 1
The tasks of logistics and the logistician are memorably explained with the famous 6 Rs. The 6 Rs…
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…
Optimization through process chain management
Process chain management serves to organize business processes in intralogistics and other…
Functions of the warehouse
When considering the functions of a warehouse, the purpose of the warehouse arrangement is in the…
Ergonomics in the warehouse
Ergonomics in the warehouse aims at the adaptation and creation of workstations which, taking into…
Specifications and requirement documents in intralogistics
The specification sheet generally contains the project requirements predefined and described in…
Definition – WMS – The Warehouse Management System
The Warehouse Management System (WMS) is an indispensable software for the control and…
Picking times – base time
In picking, the base time is the time required for picking. It only describes organisational…
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),…
Cut-off time in intralogistics
In intralogistics, the cut-off time describes the time at which an order must leave the warehouse…
Function and advantages of the ant algorithm
The Ant Algorithm, also often called Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) in the literature, is an…
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…
Definition – The Milk Run Concept
The milk run concept is a method for optimizing inter-company procurement logistics, often used in…
The degree of utilisation/the capacity utilisation
The degree of capacity utilisation describes the proportion of the capacity used by…
Definition of Accounting / Bookkeeping
The term accounting describes the comprehensive recording, storage and analysis or evaluation of…
Buffer line
A buffer section is used to intercept jams within the material flow, to avoid bottlenecks and idle…
Returns processing
Returns handling describes several processes in the return of goodsordered - mostly - online. They…
Storage capacity/storage economy
Storage capacity is defined as the maximum number of loading units that a warehouse can hold. It…
Assortment width and assortment depth
The assortment available in a warehouse and in the retail trade is subdivided into the assortment…
Order throughput time
When an order is received in a logistics centre, it passes through various processes until it is…
Production management
According to business economist Werner Kern, production management is an operational service…
Defintion and advantages of consignment
The term consignment refers to a form of delivery of goods in which the supplier acts as consignor…
Master data
In intralogistics, master data, also known as primary data or reference data, is data that contains…
VDI 3601 – Warehouse Management Systems
In Guideline 3601 - "Warehouse Management Systems", the Association of German Engineers (VDI)…