The column from Intra Logistik
Big is not always so beautiful
Kion buys Dematic, Körber Inconso. Kion buys Egemin, Körber Aberle. Kuka buys Swisslog, Körber Qubiqa. Kion buys Retrotech, Midea buys Kuka. What does this show us? Intralogistics is an industry of the future, otherwise so many would not be investing such horrendous sums.
Speaking of which, does the name Juhani Anttila ring a bell? The Finn was CEO of Swisslog at the turn of the millennium and bought up all the companies that smelled of logistics and hadn't yet found a tree at two. How did the story continue? Swisslog was over-indebted due to "high write-downs on assets", a restructuring case. What was the reason? According to the Swiss business magazine "Bilanz": the failed integration.
The idea behind the acquisitions was perhaps not so wrong. Antilla wanted to turn Swisslog into a one-stop store: supply chain planning, systems, components, technology, software. This idea is being revived today. Kion is happy to offer everything: "from hand pallet trucks and forklift trucks to fully automated warehouse systems".
Körber, the original repair company for cigarette machines, with its logistics department, which has so far been acquired from six companies, wants to offer intelligent solutions. The electronic equipment manufacturer Midea is expanding its robotics division with Kuka - and now even has some intralogistics under its belt.
"It's not the size of the company that matters, it's the people. That's the really big thing."
How do you think about the customer? Big is only beautiful when the purchased companies fit in terms of content and mentality and the integration works. Just one contact for everything? Sounds tempting. So can users now plan their supply chain with their trusted representative for hand pallet trucks? Or choose the right one for them from six logistics companies in the Group? Or do they have to wait and see if the provider changes hands again because their mother likes it that way?
Exclusively in Material Flow: Intra Logistik writes what it thinks. Tell Intra what you think: [email protected]
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