WELCOME TO INSPIRATION TOMORROW SWISSLOG WAREHOUSE & DISTRIBUTION SOLUTIONS GLOBAL MAGAZINE ISSUE TWO PLUS: E-COMMERCE // EMERGING NATIONS // SELF DRIVE // HISTORY OF INNOVATION INSPIRATION // PAGE 3 WELCOME // PAGE 4 IN THE PROCESS OF CHANGE // PAGE 6 A HISTORY OF INNOVATION // PAGE 8 E-COMMERCE & BEST PRACTICE // PAGE 10 NATURAL SELECTION // PAGE 12 BEST PRACTICE: SULSER GROUP // PAGE 14 EMERGING NATIONS // PAGE 16 SELF DRIVE // PAGE 18 UNDERGROUND CARGO // PAGE 20 FINANCE // PAGE 22 SEASONAL LOGISTICS DESIGN DEVELOP DELIVER 02 WELCOME WELCOME Welcome to our second issue of Inspiration magazine. We were delighted with the response to our first issue on the ‘Future of E-commerce’, and this time we look to the past, present and the future. We examine the history of automation and past trends, as well as current issues in different markets and where we might be heading in the near future. From under- ground transportation to driverless cars, Christmas shopping to cash handling, it’s all here! It is amazing to consider how far we have come in the last few years, let alone in the 20 years since the Swisslog name first appeared. It has been 30 years since our precursors Sprecher & Schuh Automation AG came into being and our first fully auto- mated project took place, back in 1967. We hope you enjoy this issue and as always welcome your inspirational feedback! Contact us via Twitter @swisslogInspire or via email: [email protected] Joe Doering Division President Warehouse and Distribution Solutions 03 INSPIRATION IN THE PROCESS OF CHANGE WHAT FACTORS ARE DRIVING THE WAREHOUSE OF TOMORROW? WE SPOKE TO OUR REGIONAL MDRs TO FIND OUT. ANDREW MANSHIP: EMEA How well known is on the retail, food & beverage and pharma- What support is most appreciated? automation in your ceutical industries, although we experi- Service agreements with guarantees or territory? ence interest throughout a wide range of several Key Performance Indicators are Europe has had a significant adaption rate markets including banking, manufacturing, becoming more prevalent; these KPI agree- of automation, far ahead of that in the automotive and paper and print. ments provide the customer with peace of Middle East, but we see signs that this too, mind as the service provider will also ‘feel is set to change. E-commerce appears to be the fastest the pain’ should critical equipment not growing sector in the market and many perform as expected. Having spoken recently with a number of organizations are still coming to terms with professionals at the Materials Handling the challenges presented by multichannel Many companies are also reviewing the Middle East exhibition, it is clear that there logistics; here we find a great deal of inter- life expectancy of existing equipment; we is a lot of interest, excitement and enthu- est in Swisslog’s solutions. typically find that companies are looking siasm surrounding the increased take-up to extend the operational effectiveness of of automation within the region. However, How important are legal, environmental, their current equipment by three to five this is expected to be at a fairly basic ‘semi- safety considerations? years beyond their original plans, ‘sweating automated’ level as confidence builds. Benefits related to health and safety are a their assets’ to the maximum level. top priority for our customers. Automation How quickly is the market developing? reduces the number of personnel in the What are the next challenges for businesses In Europe we see steady growth. It is a rel- warehouse and allows those operators utilizing automation? atively mature market. Here, a continuous remaining to work within an ergonomic Top pressures which drive automation are: improvement culture focuses on developing environment. Energy efficiency is high on companies running out of space, needing operations in order to tighten efficiency the agenda for most companies due to both to fulfill orders faster and having to tackle and evolve with the changes brought about economic and Corporate Social Responsi- the high cost and/or low availability of by factors such as multichannel operations bility (CSR) factors. labor. and more stringent customer expectations. Customers are asking up front about ener- We see the quickest change currently gy usage and it is an important criterion taking place in the Middle East where the for evaluating systems and business majority of warehouses have manual ma- cases. terials handling operations. This market has experienced an on-going period of prosper- Automated warehousing systems ity and demand with significant levels of also support companies in the phar- investment in the fast track development of maceutical and food & beverage its warehousing facilities. industries to adhere to stringent regulatory requirements thanks Which businesses are showing interest? to its ability to perform continu- Swisslog’s solutions and services are tar- ous quality control and distribute geted at storage, picking and replenishment products efficiently, accurately and for all industries. We tend to focus primarily securely. 04 IN THE PROCESS OF CHANGE MARKUS SCHMIDT: USA How well known is Which type of businesses are showing potential issues before they can impact op- automation in your interest? erations. Customers also want to be able to territory? This depends on the solution. Pallet ASRS adapt and upgrade their aging systems in The largest part of the market is case con- types mostly in food & beverage applica- line with their business. Support in enabling veyor based with solutions that are often tions, while goods-to-person very much in this change is the second most important less complex than ASRS type applications. retail and e-commerce applications. stream. Those conveyor / sortation solutions are well known and accepted. The automation How important are legal, environmental, What are the next challenges for businesses level we promote with ASRS and goods- safety considerations? utilizing automation? to-person picking is less common in the Legal and safety considerations are must- The challenge for customers is clearly market. However the trend is toward more haves, while environmental aspects can financial justification for automation. With advanced solutions, providing end users give Swisslog an edge in some cases. labor rates still relatively low and land with higher-performance systems which almost free, the justification is not quite as deliver lower overall life time costs. What factor is land availability playing in easy as in Europe. the take-up of automation? There is a clear drive towards better control How quickly is the market developing? Land in the US is generally still available. and tracking of inventory and automation The North American materials handling However, when investment in automation helps with this tremendously. market is growing by around 6% a year at helps avoid expansion, value is generated. At the same time we see an increase in present. The trend is for more sophisticated orders with a decrease in order size. This solutions and the market we serve is likely What support is most appreciated? makes the control and tracking topic even to outgrow the wider market developments. Customers demand that operations be more pressing. supported on a 24x7 basis. In addition, our support team now proactively monitors our customers’ installations to anticipate RUDOLF HAUSLADEN: APAC How well known is Which type of businesses are showing for example, is very important, environ- automation in your interest? mental and energy saving concerns are territory? There is interest across all industries and important everywhere, while safety issues Generally, it is well accepted around the hence good opportunities for automated are particularly important in Australia. Asia-Pacific region. Pallet technology is solutions in areas where land is scarce, common, the light goods sector is appear- labor costs high or growing rapidly, What support is most appreciated? ing slowly. and throughput challenges require automa- Delivering turnkey solutions and providing tion to solve complexity. after-sales service are very much appre- How quickly is the market developing? ciated. It means the customers can focus China, Korea and Singapore have embraced If we talk about scarcity of land, for exam- on their own business without delaying automation and are showing good poten- ple, mega-cities such as Singapore, Hong progress. tial for growth. Thailand and Indonesia Kong, Shanghai, Beijing or Seoul come to are emerging countries, which are devel- mind. On top of that, land prices are grow- What are the next challenges for businesses oping fast, and growth in automation will ing fast, hence companies want to make the utilizing automation? increase mid-term. most effective use of a given plot of land. Highly flexible automation, that is, being able to scale up or down your automated Australia is a quite mature market where How important are legal, environmental system as you go. As e-commerce, m-com- automation has been used for some time. and safety considerations? merce and other types of retail become Given the smaller population there, demand All are important, but the magnitude de- more prevalent, the ability to respond to is growing slower. pends on the circumstances. Working time changes in SKU ranges, throughput, peak restrictions in deep-freeze environments, days, etc. becomes even more important. 05 INSPIRATION A HISTORY OF INNOVATION SWISSLOG TRACES ITS ROOTS BACK TO THREE DIFFERENT COMPANIES, MERGED TOGETHER OVER THE YEARS INTO THE BUSINESS WE KNOW TODAY. The Next Level Swisslog has always been faced with adapting to fulfill customer require- ments in the best way. As a result we have learned to become the expert in integration, and that it is important to have our own key technology. As a dynamic company we aim to keep the balance between our own key proven technology and 3rd party inte- gration, as well as the balance between standardization & customization. In 1902, Specher & Schuh What followed was a number of Ultimately, we look to keep the good produced the first electrome- acquisitions (including Buchs-based technology and practices, while adding innovation and new ideas.