In the last ten years KNAPP, a logistics expert company based in Graz, established around 600 logistics centers for over 200 customers worldwide. As a provider of warehouse logistics, KNAPP is responsible for all aspects of integrating logistics solutions, including simulation and plant layout, as well as assembly. The company offers solutions for all tasks of a distribution centre, from software to conveyor technology, and requires a reliable IT infrastructure for its complex programs.
Thomas Wusem, head of computer technology and IT infrastructure at KNAPP, recommends his clients to use high-availability solutions with two servers, usually running under Suse Linux. “Of course, a cold standby solution would require lower initial investment, however during your day-to-day business, high-availability really pays off. In modern warehouses, turnover of merchandise becomes increasingly faster and most clients nowadays expect just-in-time delivery. Thus, suppliers can no longer afford extensive downtimes”, says Wusem.
“DRBD has already proved a highly effective solution in continuous operation for around 50 customers; and support agreements with LINBIT guarantee first-hand advice“, adds Wusem.
One of the most recent customers to rely on DRBD is situated in Germany: KNAPP managed to achieve a significant increase in efficiency for the family-run enterprise Cigaretten Ostermeier KG, based in Ottobrunn near Munich. Ostermeier ranks seventh in Germany’s tobacco wholesale trade and has a staff of around 150. Due to the acquisition of several companies, the manual picking flow has reached its limits in terms of both capacity and productivity. KNAPP was asked to provide a partial automation solution that has allowed an increase of throughput by 100 percent on nearly the same area. “Thanks to DRBD we could also guarantee high availability; a SAN solution would have certainly been too expensive in this case”, concludes Wusem.
