As the logistical backbone of Baur Versand, Baur Hermes Fulfilment GmbH is one of Germany’s largest mail-order companies and employs approximately 1,500 people. For decades, the company has relied on software solutions from TUP. The TUP.MFC material flow control system manages the entire conveyor system in the main building of the central warehouse in Altenkunstadt: It supplies the two sorters with bins from the picking area and transports the finished packages to the shipping department.

In the process, the material flow computer collects the trays from the various sorting batches in buffers and directs them—in the order specified via the control station dialogs (batch control)—as a continuous tray train to the respective sorter. The batches can be reordered as needed: In the event of changes, the system ensures that the desired bins always reach the correct sorter or, alternatively, are stored in the parallel buffer or the automatic bin warehouse. Empty bins are also routed back to the manual picking areas so they are available there for the next picking rounds—capacities at the discharge points are automatically replenished in the process.

In addition, the material flow control system operates the tray warehouse (TLS): At the workstations in the pre-zone, the trays are loaded with cartons and the packages are removed for replenishment. TUP.MFC then directs these to the respective picking areas and transfers them to the various outfeed points for storage.