System Logistics: "We don't sell products − we sell solutions"
(beveragemanager.net) - Within a period of five years the Italian logistics service provider System Logistics has quintupled its turnover from some 20 million euros to over 100 million euros. The most strikingly booming area in the northern Italian business is the beverage sector. Although the company only ventured into this industry about six years ago, it was able to create a strong foothold for itself there thanks to some genuine industry veterans in its management team.
System Logistics isn't the only provider of a fully automated system which even integrates the automation of picking, an aspect which is gaining importance due to the growing variety of products.
"You don't have to explain to us that a carbonated mineral water bottle behaves differently from a non-carbonated one," says general director Mauro Pelliciari. "We're familiar with the processes and needs of the beverage industry." Equipped with extensive industry know-how, Pelliciari and his team are taking on challenges which still intimidate many other logistics service providers. In late 2010 the first fully automated warehouses with automated order processing systems are expected to commence regular operation.
The pilot project, which was installed at the company's headquarters in Modena, includes the delicate picking processes, and it is going very well, says Pelliciari. "This technology totally puts us on top of the game for at least five to ten years," the manager says confidently. And this technology is meant to create even more growth for the company: Turnover is expected to double again to around 200 million euros over the next five years. "In former days, warehousing was always seen as a cost factor. Thank goodness that has changed," says Pelliciari. Changes in consumer behavior, increasing service demands as well as the speed and precision of order processing have driven home to the company the importance of advanced warehouse organization to the course of business. Today, companies regularly invest millions in building and re-building their racked warehouses.
The results are immense - in terms of architectural dimensions, too. Many automated racked warehouses are up to 40 meters high. That's about as high as the interior of the Milan Cathedral. However, the warehouse height is being used to capacity. And you will find far fewer people there than in the cathedral. The robots which slide back and forth between racks, e.g., in the warehouse of Italian fashion giant Benetton near Treviso, moving between different items in the warehouse and the transportation system, are controlled exclusively by software. They complete their orders according to a bar code system.
"In recent years, the Italian market has demanded an increasing focus on pallet-based logistics," reports general director Pelliciari. This competency has been provided by the System Group from the very outset in 1970 when it was founded by Franco Stefani in Fiorano Modenese. The company initially set out to work for the ceramics industry, subsequently transferring its logistics know-how to other areas step by step. Thanks to its experience in the ceramics business, the System Group was specialized in handling and moving heavy items. Today the group is comprised of four business units: System Ceramics, System Logistics, System Photonics and System Packaging. About a year and a half ago, System Logistics was spun off, even as it remains fully owned by the Systems Group.
A few years prior to that, the group intensified its focus on working for the beverage industry and breaking into foreign markets. The first major foreign contract arrived in 2005 and turned out to be a real challenge: Setting up the world's largest automated warehouse for a Coca-Cola bottler. It was built in Seville, Spain, with an initial configuration of 65,000 pallets and has since been extended. "The project immediately propelled us into great prominence in the world market," says Pelliciari. Further contracts ensued for System Logistics for a number of Coca-Cola partners in Spain and Italy as well as contracts with fruit juice specialist Maspex in Poland, Corona producer Cerveceria Modelo in Mexico and an Italian dairy group. "Today we mainly specialize in beverages. We move pallets of beer, soft drinks, water, fruit juices and milk and have quintupled our turnover," comments Pelliciari with pride. (bmg)
