ADVERTORIAL
Listening to the best –
Musikhaus Thomann
World’s largest music mail order business
gets help from TGW to double throughput
and keep four million customers from
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Hans Thomann,
Musikhaus Thomann
When the combination of good service and a wide range of products come together, positive growth occurs. This is what happened for Musikhaus Thomann,
Europe’s largest musical instruments mail order business and music retail store. The growth of the company meant the logistic requirements to get orders to
customers had to grow as well. A system capable of 40 to 50 more output was needed. Musikhaus Thomann turned to TGW to design and install an
automated material handling solution to meet that growth and allow for more.
Velocity and service become the Musician’s friend
“We stretched our limits with the old system,” explains Hans Thomann, owner of Musikhaus Thomann,
located in Treppendorf in southern Germany. “We handle 12,000 packages a day, at Christmas
sometimes even 20,000 packages. We knew we would need a new installation that is capable of
40 to 50 per cent more output. This is why we chose to install an automated mini-load warehouse and
an automated pallet warehouse.” More than 65,000 products of a wide variety of shapes and sizes are
sold in the shop and online. Extremely short access times were required to satisfy both the shop
customers and the online buyers.
Everything for the customer
The new system reduces order throughput to 28 minutes, which is not only important for online customers but also for customers waiting in the store. The highly
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numerous product groups is assured by the combination of an automated and a manual storage. However, the strong IT solution controls the coordination of the
goods until the packing procedures.
The software controls of the installation are TGW’s warehouse control system (WCS). The WCS software assures that all
single items of an order arrive at the Natrix Sorter sequenced as quickly as possible. Both the picked items from the mini-
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no buffer, the software is responsible for all picking procedures to happen at the right time.
The TGW Natrix Sorter is the central collection and distribution point in the warehouse. The tote buffer with a capacity of
about 150 totes supports the synchronization of the orders. In addition to its normal pace, Thomann’s sorter is also used
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Hans Thomann is looking forward to the future. After all, he is already planning a new expansion. “Now the internet dominates the business, and urges us to plan the next steps of enhancing the building. Or we will need a second building.” For
Musikhaus Thomann it is important to think in long terms, as “there is nothing, unimaginable anymore.”
About TGW-TGW is an integrated logistics solutions and material handling equipment provider for both large and small
companies. Our expertise is in the planning, design, implementation, and lifetime service of integrated logistics solutions to
help a company’s supply chain. TGW is a global company with more than 1,300 employees worldwide.
Learn more at www.tgw-group.com.
