Creators, makers, pioneers

More than 12,000 employees, globally active and passionate about innovation — that is the way to achieve both market and technological leadership. We are Körber. Presenting our Group.

To overview

We are Körber

Körber is a leading international technology group that has more than 12,000 employees at over 100 locations worldwide. We are the home for entrepreneurs — we turn entrepreneurial thinking into customers success. Körber AG manages the Group and its four Business Areas: Digital, Pharma, Supply Chain and Technologies.

Insights

The Körber Insights shows the entire spectrum of the Körber world: We give our view of exciting developments and trends, as well as innovations and technologies. We also highlight personalities who drive Körber forward every day with their entrepreneurial spirit and new ideas.

Sustainability

Sustainability

We develop innovative products, solutions and services for a more sustainable tomorrow and introduce the people who make them possible. Find out more in our Sustainability Report 2023.

Online Sustainability Report 2023PDF Sustainability Report 2023

Körber pursues ambitious climate targets

In October 2023, we had the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) verify our commitment to achieving net-zero CO₂e emissions throughout the entire value chain by 2040. We would like to introduce you to some of the measures that will help us achieve this ambitious goal.

Group-wide standards for Ecodesign

We were able to advance our Ecodesign initiative decisively in 2023 after creating a group-wide standard for life cycle assessments (LCAs). Find out more about the first LCAs we implemented and the challenges we overcame.

Data and infrastructure protection

We aim to transform information security into a strategic objective and make it a shared concern for all employees. We provide an overview of the corresponding measures and projects in 2023.

Career

Career

Wanted: team players. The know-how, creativity, and dedication of our employees have made us a successful technology company in Germany and worldwide. Now we want to shape the future — with you! We offer exciting positions for experts, young professionals, university students, and high school students.

To CareerTo the Körber Group job market

"Modern leadership culture has a performance-enhancing effect"

A working climate that promotes innovation, diversity, and the courage to tell uncomfortable truths is more central than ever to a company's success today. In an interview, Gabriele Fanta, Head of Group Human Resources, explains how the new leadership principles at Körber specifically strengthen fruitful collaboration in everyday working life.

What comes after traineeship, Max?

Experience report: After graduating in mechatronics and mechanical engineering, Max Döring became a trainee at Körber. Today, he is Technical Product Manager at our Körber Business Area Pharma.

Procurement and Supply Chain Management

Procurement and Supply Chain Management

Joint future-proof activities are the foundation of sustainable procurement. Körber, as a globally leading technology group, therefore places great value on the optimal purchasing of materials and services.

To our Procurement and Supply Chain Management

Photo of a Lego model of the Layer Pickers

Supply Chain

Everything is under control

Concentrated expertise, one product: Layer Picker Solutions is a unique stand-alone application for automated, flexible, and scalable layer order-picking that was developed by the Business Area supply chain.

It all began with a pallet of whiskey. Because of the bottles’ rounded shape, they are packed in special cartons. Even if the distribution of the bottles is optimal, the cartons do not cover the entire pallet. There’s a gap in the center that makes loading the pallet difficult — that’s why about 30 years ago, the Danish company Riantics, which today belongs to the Körber Business Area Supply, received a request from the whiskey producer to build them a machine that could handle this loading problem. The Danes answered, “No problem!” and promptly developed a machine that became a worldwide success: the Layer Picker, which used clamps to grasp the layers of cartons not only from outside but also from inside the gap. The system reliably caused no breakage.

Porträtfoto von Andreas Ebert, CSO Geschäftsbereich Systemintegration
Andreas Ebert, CSO Business Unit System Integration.

Today many logistics companies face challenges that are much more complex than that, especially in the areas of FMCG and 3PL (Fast Moving Consumer Goods and Third ­Party Logistics), where goods of different kinds and shapes have to be transported very quickly and in large quantities. Companies want complete solutions that allow them to fully automate their warehouse processes. “Today the challenge is no longer to simply develop outstanding machines or software. We also have to combine them flexibly and, above all, scalably, in ways that are exactly adapted to the customer’s needs,” says Andreas Ebert, CSO of the Business Unit Supply Chain Automation. Körber is using the expertise of its companies in order to develop solutions of exactly this kind. One good example of that is Layer Picker Solutions, with the Layer Picker at its heart.

lDue to its versatility, the Layer Picker technology is especially appreciated by FMCG and 3PL customers.r

Andreas Ebert, CSO Business Unit Supply Chain Automation

Fast, efficient, secure

“Thanks to the Layer Picker technology, Riantics has become the leader in the field of de-palletizing and pallet-to-pallet picking systems — in other words, machines that remove layers from pallets,” says Hans-Henrik Jensen, CEO Robotics of the Business United Supply Chain Automation. This machine can handle almost every product and every type of packaging that can be stacked in layers on pallets: beer cans in sixpacks, ­pickles in jars, potato chips in bags, milk in beverage cartons, paint in cans, deodorant spray cans in cardboard packages, and fruit and vegetables in open wood or plastic boxes. Almost everything that has a flat bottom and can be stacked in layers on pallets can be moved by the Layer Picker quickly, efficiently, and safely.

The machine stops above the targeted pallet, then lowers a four-cornered lifting head with a soft hiss and surrounds the carton layer with a framework of plastic pockets that inflate themselves in fractions of a second, creating a secure buffer. At the same time, 247 valves suck in air from above, creating a vacuum. The goods, which are being held gently and safely, can now be lifted up and moved around. With this technology, which has received a number of patents, 98 percent of all products in food retail can be handled fully automatically today. This is an undisputed top rate in the sector — no other layer picking system has reached it. “Due to its versatility, the Layer Picker technology is especially appreciated by FMCG and 3PL customers. That’s because it can pick up single or multiple layers and re-order them, even if they are incompletely filled,” says Andreas Ebert.

Photo of the layer picker gripper, which gently picks up whole palettes
Up to 10,000 pallet layers per day can be handled by Layer Picker Solutions.

Smooth transportation

In order to fulfill individual requirements, the technology needs the right software. For example, some customers combine products of various brands, for example a layer of brand A washing powder with a layer of brand B and another layer of brand C. Other customers may combine completely different products on a single pallet. In a third variant, pallets that are covered with only one layer of products are stacked on top of other pallets, because the customer only needs one layer of each product but nonetheless wants to be able to transport each delivered layer with a forklift.

Portrait photo of Pieter Feenstra, CEO Business Unit System Integration
Pieter Feenstra, Körber Supply Chain Automation.

Each operation of Layer Picker Solutions is controlled by software that has been specially developed for this purpose and can be easily integrated via plug-and-play into the customer’s IT landscape. For example, the Layer Picker always knows precisely which products should be picked in which combination, and it also ensures smooth transportation within the warehouse.

lAutomated holistic processes are becoming increasingly important in logistics. That’s why we offer our customers a reliable, flexible, and scalable solution.r

Pieter Feenstra, CEO Business Unit Supply Chain Automation

All the components come from a single source

A new trend is that more and more customers are relying on automated high-bay warehouses to save expensive floor space and thus costs; some companies are already planning warehouses that are up to 40 meters in height. Here, the solution combines high-bay warehouse and conveyor technology, both expertise and products from the Business Area Supply Chain. The conveyor technology moves the pallets into and out of the warehouse and supplies the Layer Picker with material for picking up the mixed pallets. Autonomously moving cranes take over the automated intermediate storage.

Photo of a technician using the planning software Layer-Picker-Configurator on a tablet computer.
A digital overview: The Layer Picker configurator can virtually simulate material flows.

In the past, companies had to buy individual components from various producers, which they then built around the Layer Picker to form a system. However, in many cases off-the-shelf products could not be integrated into existing warehousing systems. That problem is solved by Layer Picker Solutions: All of its components come from a single source and fit together perfectly. “Automated holistic processes are becoming increasingly important in logistics. That’s why we offer our customers a reliable, flexible, and scalable solution,” says Pieter Feenstra from Körber Supply Chain Automation. What’s more, a specially developed configurator offers the possibility of digitally visualizing an installation of Layer Picker Solutions and virtually simulating every imaginable material flow. Unmatched capacity: Depending on the size of the warehouse, the product, and the number of pallets, customers can use Layer Picker Solutions to process up to 10,000 picks of pallet layers per day.

At the beginning of 2019, this innovative stand-alone application was effectively presented by means of a 3D Lego® model at the LogiMAT trade fair in Stuttgart. “We are creating genuine added value for our customers with Layer Picker Solutions,” says Feenstra. “They are receiving a more reliable system, because our technologies are perfectly coordinated with one another and no additional adaptation work is required.”

www.koerber-supplychain.com

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