In this series of interviews, we talk to employees of E. Breuninger GmbH & Co. about the joint project of the multi-channel warehouse in Sachsenheim. In the first part of the interview series, we talk to Frank Postel, CTO, who provides an insight into the collaboration from his strategic perspective.

What is your position and role in the company?

My name is Frank Postel and I am Breuninger’s Chief Technical Officer. As a member of the management team, I am responsible for our IT, including software engineering operations, digital product management and logistics.

What does digital product management involve?

Essentially, it includes all digital products with a focus on the retail environment. This ranges from controlling, HR and finance systems to merchandise management, logistics systems and so-called consumer systems, such as cash registers, point-of-sale solutions, as well as all CRM and customer interaction processes that we offer digitally to our employees via our in-house app and to our customers via our Breuninger app.

So, you are at the center of it all. That’s a good introduction to our joint project, the aim of which was to consolidate several locations in the Sachsenheim distribution center. What was the initial situation?

Initially, we had a very fragmented logistics system that was to be centralized with the construction of our goods service center in Sachsenheim. During the set-up of the intralogistics and the corresponding IT systems, I took over responsibility for the project. That was in May 2019.

From a C-level perspective, what were your expectations regarding the collaboration with us?

Today, we operate one of the leading fashion service centers in Europe with a high degree of automation and correspondingly complex processes.

Originally, we had fragmented logistics and low automation. Therefore, expectations were very high for everyone involved.

The benchmark for TUP was not only to develop the system side of the asset on the basis of which the current WMS was created, but also to bring comprehensive expertise to the project.

Personally, it was particularly important to me that TUP would act as a partner at eye level and make the right decisions for Breuninger and the project even in difficult situations.

Exterior view of the Breuninger Service Center (WDZ) Sachsenheim. Rights - E. Breuninger GmbH & Co.
Exterior view of the Breuninger Service Center (WDZ) Sachsenheim. Rights - E. Breuninger GmbH & Co.

How did the cooperation between TUP and Breuninger evolve on a personal and professional level?

From our point of view, the way we work together is one of TUP’s strengths. Even in difficult phases of the project, they always acted in a solution-oriented and very cooperative manner.

The project teams in particular worked very well together, and this continues to this day. The personal aspect was and is an important success factor here. TUP’s team members have a high level of expertise and, above all, good engineering skills. They have taken on and mastered the challenges of this major project with enormous personal commitment.

How would you rate the availability, response time and quality of the cooperation?

I found the flexible and responsive manner in which TUP acted to be particularly positive: whenever we discussed scaling options, for example, there was a high readiness to implement them. Such commitment cannot be taken for granted, as it requires enormous expertise and comprehensive knowledge in order to familiarize oneself with the respective subject matter. TUP made this investment in the situations in which we needed it, and we always achieved a strong result in this way.

What were the important moments for you in the project phases?

I followed the progress of the project on the basis of its key stages and evaluated it, for example, the construction of the infrastructure, the integration of the Warehouse Control System (WCS), the materials handling technology and other components such as the small parts storage system (automatic bin storage). Of course, special attention was paid to goods processing, returns and shipping, as well as the final test phase and go-live.

In the year of the go-live, we at Breuninger had very ambitious e-commerce growth plans, which were then exceeded by twice as much. Despite this unexpected development, our logistics were able to absorb this volume. An important proof that the solution that was designed and implemented was and still is a very sustainable one.

Hanging garment inspection station at the Breuninger service center. Image rights - E. Breuninger GmbH & Co.
Hanging garment inspection station at the Breuninger service center. Image rights - E. Breuninger GmbH & Co.

From your perspective, were there any particular milestones or solutions that stood out?

I would see the classic hot phases of such an implementation as milestones. Based on this intralogistics, we have massively adapted our process landscape at the time to the new possibilities. I find the enormous scalability that enabled us to handle this rush remarkable.

From a strategic perspective, what advantages do you see in the solutions we provide?

We chose TUP because we liked this approach, which I would describe in my words as “asset software”. I mentioned at the beginning that with Sachsenheim we have a complex warehouse that unites both B2B and e-commerce logistics with all its facets under one roof. That is why we also need a system that is adaptable and does not map processes with a standardization claim.

I believe that this was and is an essential success factor of the project. The individual customization of the TUP software gives us a high degree of flexibility and a high speed in implementing changes and adjustments. TUP.WMS was exactly what we needed – this is still evident today.

Thank you for the interview!

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