Creativity and Innovation for the Last Mile

Consumers’ shopping behavior is constantly changing. Expectations are moving towards convenient, easy shopping – 24/7 if possible. Goods travel various routes to get to the end customer in the most convenient way. That’s why we offer a wide range of different and flexible solutions for the last mile. Together with our customers from all sectors, we create new and innovative concepts: Whether it be contactless in-store experiences at the point of sale, pickup points or home delivery for e-commerce orders, or dynamic route planning for brick and mortar retailer – our solutions cover the entire value chain. Backed up by the latest software, our technologies connect all the processes and form the basis for an optimized flow of goods. Everything has to mesh perfectly: From the receipt of the order to the arrival of the goods at the consumer.

Here are some examples of how we help our customers from various sectors to optimize the last mile for all their distribution channels.

Our urban concepts combine the best of two worlds: e-commerce and the local store. The emphasis is on both the user experience and providing options for consumers to receive their purchases.

The in-store solution RetailStore can be implemented in almost any sector to create a one of a kind shopping experience at the point of sale. Central to the solution is an intelligent storage and picking system that handles an extensive range of items, storing them in a theft-proof and space-effective manner. The solution can be connected to a brick and mortar store or integrated within the store. What’s more, it’s fully autonomous and also works as a stand-alone solution.

Our partner Würth in Bitburg, Germany, offers a self-service terminal that is located directly in the store. The consumers select their screws and other connectors on the touch screen. The items are then moved to the vending compartment, and the consumer pays at the checkout.

The healthcare sector is also facing rising demands for flexibility, quality and availability. These demands revolve around many aspects such as getting medicines delivered through a digitalized messenger service or being able to pick them up at any time. There are many possibilities for the last mile in this industry as well. Our integrated Apostore solutions offer an ideal customer health journey with 24/7 terminals and consulting screens. Medicines are dispensed around the clock. Our reliable technologies give a much needed boost to local providers, significantly raising the service quality for consumers. Our customers are better able to meet the needs of the patients, raising their satisfaction.

The patient receives a prescription and gives it to the pharmacist. Next, the prescription is forwarded to a hub where it is then assembled and packed. The prescription order is then sent either directly to the patient or to the pharmacy, as desired. That’s how our hub and spoke solution Pack2Patient works. It is a semi-automatic picking system capable of processing single items for individual patient prescriptions. Running behind the scenes is the intelligent KiSoft software package. Modern image recognition technologies provide precise tracking.

Our Daily Dose Dispenser adds value for patients, their family as well as for blister centers and pharmacies. The fully automatic dispenser is the world’s first system that is able to create patient-specific, multi-dose blister cards directly from original blister packs. The system creates the cards based on doctors’ prescriptions for patients, making the management of medication easier by preparing medication in a patient-friendly way. This ensures that patients take the right medication in the right quantity at the right time. As an all-in-one solution, the system not only includes the automation of all blistering processes that are mainly carried out manually but also comes with the required software and customer services.

Food retail is yet another industry that is leaning more and more towards e-commerce. A micro fulfillment center (MFC) is an online retail solution connected to a supermarket – a fantastic concept especially for urban areas. An MFC makes online retail faster and easier. Here, creative possibilities involving the last mile are almost endless. An order can be picked up at the shop around the corner or delivered conveniently to your door. Thanks to a combination of automated and manual processes, orders are ready to go in only 30 minutes. In Australia, supermarket giant Woolworths already has three MFCs up and running, serving customers.

Route planning is handled by our intelligent software. KiSoft considers different parameters for a consumer-oriented supply of the ordered goods. This includes, for example, delivery time windows, fleet size, and optimal route planning. The system retrieves the orders in the perfect sequence so the goods can be brought to the end customer in a time and cost-optimized way.