Around 15 percent of the retail sector’s annual revenue is generated in November and December alone, while it is even higher at 25 percent for e-commerce. And that figure is set to climb as more than half of Germans for example prefer shopping online without the stress and the crowds and now buy most of their presents on the internet. Over these two months, ‘buy’ buttons will be clicked millions of times every day. Each click sets off a complex intralogistical and logistical process, And at the end of all of this, the items ordered will be delivered exactly where they belong: under the Christmas tree at home.
Seamless processes from purchase to shipping
Preparations start well in advance. Companies go to great lengths to anticipate customer wishes and plan production and inventory so that there is sufficient availability; a mammoth task requiring seamless processes. “When we received those first wish lists via the internet, it was clear that we would need to overhaul our warehousing and supply chain from the ground up,” says S. Claus, CEO of Christmas. He has relied on the KION Group brands for years. With the help of automation and supply chain specialist Dematic, his logistics company has optimized its warehouse capacity over recent years. Everything runs like clockwork now, from warehousing and inhouse goods transport to order picking, packaging and shipping management. “Multi-shuttles, stacker cranes, AGVs made me a little afraid of losing control at the beginning,” says C. Elves, head of material flow and warehouse management for the large distribution center at the North Pole. “But exactly the opposite happened: the Dematic iQ software platform gives me a better overview than I ever had before, even though we now handle far more items than we used to.”
The figures certainly are mind-blowing. In 2018, 330 million packages were delivered across Germany alone in the run up to Christmas. But this year, the German Association of Parcel and Express Logistics estimates the figure will reach 335 million, which works out to 19 million packages a day. “A huge challenge, even for experienced pros like us,” says chief logistics expert R. Red-nosed. The package delivery services are facing the challenge with new, larger distribution centers and innovative ideas for the last mile. “We will be testing the new ‘PackMySleigh’ system for the first time this year,” says a visibly delighted Red-nosed. The system sorts packages into a sensible order and stores them automatically in practical racks, which then only need to be pushed on to the sleigh.
