Who is TUP?

The Dr. Thomas + Partner GmbH & Co. KG (TUP) is a medium-sized family business based in Stutensee, about 15 kilometers northeast of Karlsruhe, which plans and implements customized, modular intralogistics solutions. Founded in 1980, the company has a workforce of around 140 employees and generated a turnover of around 14 million euros in 2018.

What does TUP do?

The medium-sized company sees itself as a “software manufactory” that develops customized software for intralogistics. In the implementation of all projects, TUP focuses on the functionality of the software. Specialized areas include information and control systems for goods distribution centers, production logistics, multichannel e-commerce, aircraft maintenance and the vehicle and spare parts trade. Customers include the Otto Group, Zalando, Canyon, Arvato, Adidas, Bosch, Subaru, Haba, Brillux and TUIfly.

Are there examples of TUP products?

TUP.WMS: A modular IT system for warehouse management (WMS). On a standard platform with basic services, only those modules are implemented that the customer needs: From goods receipt, storage, picking, packing and packing to goods issue

TUP.MFC: A likewise modular IT system for material flow control in a warehouse. It translates the WMS orders into commands for controlling the warehouse technology. The computer also coordinates sorting systems, labeling connections and the management of internal shuttles. The goal is to achieve the highest possible throughput of the goods distribution center by controlling all material flows with millisecond accuracy.

TUP.MAS: A system module specially designed for intralogistics in the aviation industry, which can be connected to a WMS to enable the use of mobile terminals for logistics processes. The areas of application range from goods receipt to return storage, picking and annual inventory. TUP.MAS supports various mobile devices, from classic logistics handheld terminals to Android smartphones and data glasses, and thus replaces the previous paper-based booking processes.

E-Commerce Multichannel: This system enables brand manufacturers and retail chains to sell their products directly to consumers via their own brand webshop. The special feature: Order processing is left to authorized brand dealers, who can deliver the goods to the desired address or have them ready for collection in the store.

What does TUP offer beyond the core business?

With the website Logistik KNOWHOW ein Nachschlagewerk sowie Informations- und Innovationsforum als Hilfsmittel für Logistiker, Fachjournalisten und an Logistikthemen interessierten Laien. Dort werden Fachbegriffe erläutert und die Vor- und Nachteile verschiedener Logistikstrategien neutral gegenübergestellt. TUP erweitert kontinuierlich die Inhalte und passt sie an aktuelle Entwicklungen an. Das Unternehmen kooperiert hierfür auch mit Forschungsinstituten aus der Branche, unter anderem dem Fraunhofer Institut für Materialfluss und Logistik (IML) und dem Lehrstuhl für Fördertechnik Materialfluss Logistik (fml) der TU München, so dass die Informationen stets auf dem neuesten Stand sind.

Thanks to its close contacts to logistics and computer science chairs, TUP can regularly offer interesting topics for final theses to bachelor and master students as well as doctoral candidates. Some TUP employees have teaching positions or even professorships and thus help to ensure that the training at the universities is practice-oriented.

Does TUP contribute to environmental protection?

In 2016, the “TUP Campus” was built as a modern office building based on the passive house principle for the headquarters in Stutensee. The new building is heated or cooled with heat pump technology and is equipped with a photovoltaic facility. TUP products, such as nExtCOMbag, also contribute to environmental and climate protection: For example, they help to avoid oversized packaging and at the same time reduce transport damage.

RULS (Realtime Urban Logistics Solution) is also developed by TUP. The cloud-based solution is aimed at cities and municipalities and transfers the logic of intralogistics processes to the challenges of urban logistics. In the future, this could make it possible to route transport orders across delivery service providers, including unconventional subsidies, such as public transports. The aim is to make the last mile more efficient and thus reduce the volume of traffic in cities.