The Ecosystem Product Model in Material Handling

An entire consumer ecosystem in the palm of your hand? When you look at brands like Apple and Google, it's situations where a tentpole product has been released and then each brand has developed products to complement it - and material handling equipment manufacturers can learn a lot from these leading worldwide brands.

Let's take a closer look:

Traditionally, businesses sold products and services without giving much thought to how they might interact with other products or services in the marketplace. Today, however, smart companies - like Apple and Google - co-evolve their capabilities, products, and services with other market leaders in their industry or create their own products, providing intangible added value and market acceptance. While this strategy is part of the ecosystem product model, the ultimate goal with this type of model is that the best possible user experience is achieved only when all levels of the experience are delivered from a single source.

Again, in many situations, that single source is the smartphone that Apple or Google manufacturers and that consumers purchase. Built on the iOS or Android operating platform, these phones are the key cog that helps make way for other solutions.

Consider this: When you buy a device from Apple or Google, you can tap into countless resources just as you could with other devices. But by buying into their ecosystem, you can take advantage of opportunities that might otherwise have been unavailable.

These companies boast that there are significant benefits to choosing a single company to provide the entire solution from hardware to software, from media to services, and beyond. And if you look at the sales numbers and talk to anyone about their loyalty to one of the above-mentioned brands, it's easy to see why.

Companies like Apple, Amazon and Google are no longer just selling products - but full-blown lifestyle experiences. The best single product, regardless of the criteria used to define it as such (i.e., best design, best marketing, best distribution, etc.), is no longer guaranteed to win over the consumer. Think of it like this: If a new brand entered the market today and released a smartphone that won every award, would people buy it? Maybe. But unless that brand also developed a range of complementary products - like what Apple and Google have done - this new company probably wouldn't have the staying power necessary to really make a dent in the market.

In other words, the companies that are poised to win and prosper are selling more than just solutions, but experiences. The solution makes the sale, while the experience creates the raving fan. And Apple and Google have plenty of raving fans out there.

What Does Material Handling Have to Do with Apple and Google?

Everyone today has their own smartphones. The phone is the key, the driver of the operating system if you will, that drives the rest of the products. Material handling is beginning to follow a similar ecosystem-centric approach. Until recently, companies might have sold a conveyor solution to one customer, a robotic system to another customer, and a pick‐to‐light application to yet another customer. And, historically, each one of those systems would more than likely run on its own standalone software and/or controls. Today, the trend continues to migrate away from companies marketing a single product to each of its end customers.

The transition in the material handling industry from equipment sellers to solution providers is underway and there are plenty of benefits that become available within a distribution or fulfillment center once an operation buys into a fully integrated ecosystem. Daifuku offers Dainamics is the Warehouse Control system (WES) to integrate the ecosystem.  

Here's a look at some of these advantages:

• A properly designed modular WES will be built around a low‐level system layer that includes interaction with host systems, i.e. WMS, ERP, as well as the underlying database for all its “snap‐on” modules.

• It's easier to add additional modules in the future.

• It's easier to incorporate new technology since there isn't a need to "start from scratch" with another vendor.

It's all very reminiscent of what Apple and Google have done with their product ecosystems. Once you acquire one of their phones, the floodgates can open to adopt each brand's other complementary products.

Back to material handling equipment: There are also inherent benefits that are available when information is shared between one module and another. For example, in a traditional pick‐and‐pass conveyor solution, the number of boxes sitting in the queue in a pick zone would typically be the trigger for a conveyor system to stop diverting cartons into a zone, but the truth is that the number of boxes alone does not tell the entire story.

Even in a system that has a somewhat predictable number of lines per carton, a random batch of 10 cartons will result in variable amounts of work for the selectors in that zone. Depending on order profiles, this variability could result in significantly different workloads if cartons are distributed equally to zones on a keep-full basis.

When the Flow Control routing system and the Order Fulfillment system are both under the control of Dainamics, an intelligent decision can be made that takes into account the actual volume of pending work in a zone and not just the carton count. Allowing the Flow Control routing module to deliver a more accurate balance of workload across multiple picking zones.

Additionally, within a product ecosystem, hardware and software are tested, proven, and certified to function in an optimal manner when working together. Dainamics is designedto intuitively control material handling systems.  From Automated Storage and Retrieval to Bi‐Directional Transfers to our high speed AS35 shoe sorter it is important to take the same top-to-bottom modular approach as used in software development models.

While it is a bit of a stretch to use the term “drag and drop” when it comes to a mechanical solution like a sorter, the reality is that the entire implementation process benefits from having a single source provider from the mechanical equipment on up to the graphical user interface. Just like the machine control layer, standards that flow from nuts and bolts all the way up to ones-and-zero lead to cleaner implementations and reliable and predictable levels of performance.

What Material Handling Can Learn from Google and Apple Products Ecosystems

Apple and Google are perhaps the best examples of product families that have created their own ecosystems. Both have much more than just smartphones but aim to create a full-blown customer experience with their product offerings.

Take Apple, for example. There are more than just smartphones, but tablets (iPads), computers (Macbooks), headphones (AirPods), smartwatches (Apple Watch), VR offerings (Vision Pro) and more! And this isn't even accounting for AppleTV+, the brand's very own streaming network that releases regular content. It's more than just one singular product, it's an entire ecosystem of products.

The same can be said for Google. Once best known as a leading search engine, Google now manufactures a line of phones, tablets, watches, headphones, cameras and more to encompass an entire ecosystem of products. Google also owns YouTube, which continues to be a leading content streaming platform.

As is the case with both Google and Apple, if you buy the smartphone - the tentpole product - and you're happy with it, you're much more likely to purchase the other products that make up its "ecosystem" as it pertains to your daily life. All of these other products interact and engage with the phone - as it truly serves as the key cog that makes everything else tick.

Aside from creating a robust and popular consumer product ecosystem, Apple and Google also shine in another way - by building bonds with their customers over environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives. Take sustainability, for example, which Apple and Google both take seriously. Apple has released its "Apple 2030" plan, which is dedicated to building the industry-leading products that its customers have come to love in a more environmentally friendly way. It's focusing specifically on recycled and renewable materials, clean energy and low-carbon shipping to reach its goal of net-zero emissions.

Google releases its own annual environmental report, where it outlines how it plans to use AI solutions to help drive its sustainability initiatives (among highlighting other goals and the work it has done to build a more sustainable future).

Studies show that more and more consumers are basing purchasing decisions on how brands align with various social initiatives, like sustainability and ESG. Apple and Google have capitalized on this to let consumers know that it's now a larger part of their overall business strategy.

Bottom Line

The bottom line is that while material handling system providers do not target the consumer market like Apple and Google, the same product development methodologies apply. The result of the ecosystem product model is the availability of true solutions to operational challenges. Once implemented, the solutions help create lasting partnerships between vendors and their customers – and hopefully result in raving fans!

For more information on the ecosystem product model in material handling and what manufacturers can learn from Apple and Google, contact us today.

About Daifuku Intralogistics America.

Daifuku Intralogistics America Corporation is a leading provider of innovative material handling solutions, specializing in the design, manufacturing, and installation of state-of-the-art technologies that help manufacturers optimize their operations. With a focus on improving efficiency, safety, and cost-effectiveness, Daifuku Intralogistics America delivers advanced systems that empower businesses to meet the demands of today’s fast-paced production and distribution environments.

At the heart of our solutions is Dainamics, our proprietary Warehouse Execution System (WES). Dainamics seamlessly integrates with material handling systems to provide real-time control and optimization of warehouse operations. By intuitively managing complex workflows and automating processes, Dainamics enhances operational productivity and flexibility, enabling businesses to meet the evolving challenges of modern supply chains.

As a trusted partner in the intralogistics industry, Daifuku Intralogistics America is committed to helping organizations achieve greater efficiency, scalability, and competitive advantage through tailored solutions that drive long-term success.

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