On Monday
September 3th we started our research on AutoStore. This research is divided
into three phases: Start, Journey and Finish. This page of our blog provides
insight into the research set-up; each phase will be explained!
The start: What do we
want to know about AutoStore?
As Industrial
Engineers we are looking at a technology like AutoStore in another way than,
for example, Mechanical Engineers. We are curious about the current market
position and technical specifications of AutoStore (see sub questions
1&2). This allows us to estimate if, and for whom AutoStore can be
useful.
1. What are the current technical specifications of
AutoStore?
2. What is the current market position of
AutoStore?
AutoStore is a ‘new’ technology that is evolving. We will
investigate the developments and compare this to the current situation (see
sub questions 3&4).
3. What are the future possibilities of the
technical specificatons of AutoStore?
4. What is a potential market position AutoStore
can conquer in the future?
A company must
always adapt its environment to a new technology. We will investigate what a
company should adapt to be able to apply AutoStore (see sub question
5). For example: does the company need a new Warehouse Management
System (WMS)? Should staff be trained for maintenance? Is the warehouse
suitable for AutoStore? We divided the environment into Process, Control,
Organization and Information (PCOI).
5. What are the conditions of the
environment(1) to make use of AutoStore
1) Environment divided into Process, Control, Organization and Information
(PCOI).
AutoStore leads to costs and benefits, everywhere in the environment! As an Industrial Engineer it is extremely relevant to calculate the Total Costs of Ownership (see sub question 6). To be succesfull, AutoStore should be profitable.
6. What are the Total Costs of
Ownership (TCO) of using AutoStore?
By answering the six sub questions it should be possible to answer our main question:
"What is the impact(2) of using AutoStore on
responsive warehousing(3)?"
2) Impact on Quality, Delivery
and Costs (QDC) in Process Engineering.
3) Warehousing where strategy
is focussed on responsiveness.
The
Journey: How are we going to collect and process the information?
·
Field research:
o Visiting & interviewing
AutoStore user (Juncker).
o Interviewing a company that
has chosen an alternative (Xerox).
·
Desk research:
o
Articles
o
Video's
o
N@tschool powerpoints
The Finish: How are we going to
present the research?
We will present our research at Rachelsmolen R1 on
Friday April 14th. Everyone is welcome to visit our
stand.