KÖRBER GROUP - THE GLOBAL TECH LEADER CONQUERING SUPPLY CHAIN COMPLEXITY

Conquer Your Supply Chain Complexity: Your supply chain is the lifeblood of your business. It is absolutely mission critical—your strategic advantage.

It is also increasingly complex. You are handling more products, from more suppliers, and fulfilling through more channels. It is harder to recruit and retain people. Your customers’ expectations for choice, convenience, speed, and price continue to rise. That’s why you need more than a vendor. You need a global partner with a proven track record of delivering efficiency and a lower cost of ownership today — plus the flexibility, agility, and smart innovation to help you realize your strategic roadmap. Today, tomorrow, and beyond.

We have a broad range of best-in-class supply chain solutions to fit a company’s size, business strategy, and appetite for growth. A range that goes beyond software to include automation, voice, robotics, materials handling – plus the systems integration expertise to tie it all together.

Körber helps AS Arbeitsschutz increase throughput by 50 percent: The manufacturer of personal protective equipment and workwear relies on WMS to optimize intralogistics processes.

Körber expanded AS Arbeitsschutz’s logistics network and modernized its software and processes. The manufacturer of personal protective equipment and workwear, known mainly for its NITRAS brand, relies on an innovative warehouse management system (WMS) from Körber. The WMS is seamlessly integrated with the company’s automation components – e.g. an AutoStore® – at its headquarters in Bedburg, Germany.

AS Arbeitsschutz banks on flexibility in order to handle unprecedented fluctuations in demand. Jens Thome, MD at AS Arbeitsschutz, explains: “The past few months have presented companies with unexpected challenges, especially in terms of occupational safety. We have been able to deliver the necessary products at the right time and to the right place mainly due to the intelligent WMS software and the reliable support it provided to meet the challenges of our industry.”

Especially during the go-live, the project partners faced special challenges, for instance due to test phases which had to be planned and carried out remotely. Intensive simulation scenarios ensured a smooth go-live in a very short amount of time. This became necessary due to the increase in demand for protective equipment, such as protective gloves and breathing masks, which increased throughput by 50 percent compared to the previous year for AS Arbeitsschutz.

"We have arange of solutions to fit a company’s size, business strategy, and appetite for growth. A range that goes beyond software to include automation, voice, robotics, materials handling – plus the expertise to tie it all together."

Kicking off the next-gen supply chain: HARTING runs at full speed with Körber.

Körber is taking big steps towards the future with the HARTING Technology Group; a leading global supplier of industrial connectivity technology. The new European Distribution Centre (EDC) opened in 2019 in Espelkamp, Germany, is running smoothly and setting new standards: up to 10,000 parcels and 200 pallets are dispatched by 110 trucks and transporters each day.

HARTING invested more than 40 million Euros in the EDC, representing the biggest single investment in its history to increase capacities in light of the company’s growth. Construction on the 7.6 hectare (18.78 acres) site started in 2017, with the first operation following the next year. HARTING now relies on a highly integrated logistics system of modern automation solutions and SAP EWM (Extended Warehouse Management) including SAP EWM MFS (Material Flow System). Automated guided vehicle systems are taking over most goods movements. The highly modern plant counts 19 programmable logic controllers – an integrative masterpiece.

The new warehouse capacities are impressive: its highlights are storage systems in form of a 20 m tall high-bay warehouse with 6.900 pallet spaces, a ten-aisle automatic small parts storage with 120.000 bin spaces as well as a downstream two-aisle shuttle small parts storage serving as a sequencing buffer. Thanks to many years of experience in system integration, Körber was able to contribute consultation, software and automation solutions to increase flexibility significantly in critical areas. Optimizations were taken up in the 6,500 square meter picking area in particular to improve the order picking of up to 20,000 customer order items daily being picked and packed according to individual customer requirements. In total, HARTING improved its delivery performance significantly.

Your supply chain is the lifeblood of your business. It Is mission critical —your strategic advantage.

Increased throughput for occupational safety: Körber Enables Modern, Award-Winning Supply Chain Operations for dm-drogerie markt.

Körber has contributed to the expansion of the logistics network and implementation of modernized operations for Germany’s leading drugstore chain dm-drogerie markt. With Kӧrber, the retail company capitalizes on the latest innovations to provide the flexibility it needs to overcome supply chain complexities today and beyond.

Supply chains are increasingly complex. Along with more products, the number of suppliers and distribution channels is growing and consumer expectations are ever-changing. New and emerging technologies can help. However, many businesses struggle with implementation, integration, maintenance, training and costs. Körber turns these challenges into opportunities.

As Anja Kircher, project manager at IT subsidiary dmTECH, emphasizes: “At the Wustermark location, the WMS, which is already in use in several other dm logistics centers, was able to be flexibly adapted to the new requirements in a manageable implementation period. Intelligent emulation tools made it possible to test the complex software processes intensively in advance and to guarantee smooth commissioning. An excellent performance by all involved.”

The Wustermark site near Berlin, Germany, is one of the most modern distribution centers in Europe. Its go-live in 2020 created an estimated 200 jobs. In the 30,000 m2 facility, dm also relies on efficient logistics IT in form of Körber’s warehouse management system (WMS), which dm-drogerie markt has banked on for many years at other locations. Kӧrber’s WMS enables dm-drogerie markt to configure and optimize storage and retrieval on its own.

“A highlight is the store-specific distribution of orders on pallets – based on a 'digital twin' – to prepare a robots-based process. This saves walking distances in the store,” explains Wilfried Pfuhl, Chief Operating Officer at Körber Supply Chain – Software. “What makes this site stand out are the digital and highly automated logistics processes. These create clear advantages for dm employees."

The collaboration between Kӧrber and dm-drogerie markt continues in the form of a pilot project at a site in Karlsruhe. There, Körber and partner Fetch Robotics enabled the use of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) to support internal goods transport in the picking area. Decisive for the use of an innovative solution from the robotics field were the possibilities resulting from a simultaneously collaborative and scalable solution which supports the further growth of the retail chain. This project won the German Logistics Prize 2020.

WDT goes new ways to conquer supply chain complexity with Körber.

Körber, the global supply chain technology leader is taking big steps towards the future with WDT and the first logistics center in Germany specifically designed for veterinary medicine. It stands for an expanded business model that adds sustained value for veterinary practices throughout the region. Thereby, WDT is relying on the SAP consulting and implementation expertise of Körber.

For over 100 years, WDT has been manufacturing and purchasing consumables and items for the veterinary industry. With its own high-quality products as well as medical supplies, human and wholesale products, the company is the basic supplier of veterinary practices and thus more than just a wholesaler and producer. In the future, the company will provide comprehensive logistics services via its specially founded logistics company VetLogOne GmbH and supply goods to veterinary practices, clinics and other businesses in the industry. The portfolio includes approximately 12,000 products from the areas of veterinary drugs, animal feed and articles for medical practice.

“Up to now, veterinarians regularly placed orders with 20 to 30 different suppliers. These processes are very time-consuming, prone to errors and pollute the environment. Faster ordering processes and less packaging waste are just some of the benefits we can provide through centralized logistics services as part of our expanded business model,” explains Dr. Thomas Nonnewitz, Board member responsible for supply chain at WDT.

The expanded logistics services, which include shipping, invoicing and returns management, will be available in 2021. To this end, WDT is investing in a new 20,000 m² logistics center in Wunstorf near Hanover, Germany. In the future, the new location will bundle all existing logistics processes and rely on SAP EWM (Extended Warehouse Management) and Körber’s SAP-based Courier, Express & Parcel (CEP) add-on. The new logistics center is scheduled to go live in spring 2021. WDT plans to invest 12 million euros by 2025, including cold storage for more than 1,000 pallet locations.

As Thomas Gries, CEO of SAP Solutions at Körber Supply Chain, emphasizes: “Logistics processes are becoming increasingly complex. This makes powerful software solutions and proven partnerships all the more important. We have been working together with WDT for many years – an excellent foundation to move towards the future together and play a decisive role in establishing the expanded business model.”

Supply chains are increasingly complex. Along with more products, the number of suppliers and distribution channels is growing and consumer expectations are ever-changing. New and emerging technologies can help. However, many businesses struggle with implementation, integration, maintenance, training and costs. Körber turns these challenges into opportunities.

Körber: An international technology group with about 10,000 employees, more than 100 locations worldwide and a common goal: We turn entrepreneurial thinking into customer success and shape the technological change. In the Business Areas Digital, Pharma, Supply Chain, Tissue and Tobacco, we offer products, solutions and services that inspire. We act fast to customer needs, we execute ideas seamlessly, and with our innovations we create added value for our customers. In doing so, we are increasingly building on ecosystems that solve the challenges of today and tomorrow.

For more information, please visit: www.koerber.com