Material Flow vs. Information Flow

Logistics is the task of managing two key flows: material flow and information flow. The logistics task of managing material flow and information flow is a key part of the overall task of supply chain management.

In the last logistics class on 14/05/2010 we have talked about material and information flow.

I have found a book that gives a very comprehensive example on this topic.
Logistics Management and Strategy: Competing Through The Supply Chain
by

• Alan Harrison, Cranfield School of Management


• Remko Van Hoek, Professor of Supply Chain Management at The Cranfield Centre for Logistics and Supply Chain Management and Vice President Procurement at Nuon in the Netherlands

A preview on this book can be found here: http://www.pearsonhighered.com/educator/academic/product/0,3110,0273712764,00.html

The example for material flow and information flow is described as follows:
The concept of a supply chain suggests a series of processes linked together to form a chain. A typical Tresco (UK's largest food retailer) supply chain is formed from five such links.

Mercadona - Our Personal Perception

We love to go shopping at Mercadona because of the excellent price policy (SPB) and the products from Hacendado, Deliplus and so on are of a great quality.

So far we have tried many different products from Mercadona’s suppliers and we have only been disappointed by one product, which is muesli. The other kinds of muesli, however are very tasty.

Also, it is noticeable that the fresh leche semidesnatada is often not available when we go shopping late. This is also a little disappointing.
Nevertheless we like Mercadona very much as a supermarket and for sure, we will miss Mercadona when we go back to Germany :-)

Mercadona's Logistics Blocks

Sina and I did some research on Mercadona and its logistics system. This post is about Mercadona's Logistics block in general.

A 620,000-square-metre network that supplies 1,264 supermarkets daily



Logistics Blocks

At the end of 2009 Mercadona had 1264 supermarkets that need to be supplied. In order to do this Mercadona uses a 620.000 square-metre logistical network.
One of Mercadona’s main goals is to reduce the impact of transportation on the price of products. They call this “transporting more for less” which also has the positive side effect of having a smaller impact on the environment.

In order to ensure the efficiency and optimization of its logistical network Mercadona plans to construct new facilities and to upgrade and improve existing structures during the following years. In order to do this more than 600 million euros are going to be invested.

Integrated Suppliers

Sina and I did some research on Mercadona and its logistics system. This a post about Mercadona's integrated suppliers.


The suppliers play a key role in Mercadona’s Total Quality Model.
Mercadona’s philosophy is to base their relationship with their partners (Mercadona has more than 100 of them) on trust, stability, constant work and joint commitment. Their common goal is to satisfy the needs of the customers by providing the best quality-price ratio on the market. They reach this goal by eliminating everything that does not provide any value.

Square olive oil bottle which optimizes logistical processes. Integrated supplier Sovena.

Wine bottle stack that increases palletizing capacity. Integrated supplier Bodegas Ontanón.

Concept Innovation - Stores by Ambience

Sina and I did some research on Mercadona and its logistics system. This a post about Mercadona's stores by ambience.





Concept innovation for Mercadona, involves incorporating everything that adds value to their customer’s shopping experience.

Therefore, in 2000, the most important component of concept innovation has been launched, Stores by Ambience.

The goal of Stores by Ambience is to provide Mercadona’s customers with more spacious stores that have a warmer ambience and a more logical product arrangement. In general, the intention is to optimize the customer’s purchases while making the experience more pleasurable.

By 2009 there were a total of 1184 Stores by Ambience.

If you want to learn more about Mercadona and it's activities during the year 2009 have a look at their annual report.

Austrian Company Provides Rolldocking for Mercadona Warehouses

Sina and I did some research on Mercadona and its logistics system. This post is about the Rolldocking system of Mercadona.

An Austrian company called TGW Logistics has developed a new system called Rolldocking for Mecadona. The company describes its solution in a document that is only available in German http://www.tgw.at/uploads/media/MERCADONA_DEU_02.pdf


In this blog, we have summarized the main facts about this new technology.

Mercadona's requirements:

• Delivery of articles in single-origin truck loads using europallets or half pallets


• Maximum weight per pallet: 1000 kg


• Minimizing the employment of staff


• Buffering at leat 1,5 truck loads per article


• First in - first out


• Loading up to 800 pallets daily

Mercadona Builds Kindergarten into Logistic Blocks

Sina and I did some research on Mercadona and its logistics system. This is the second post about Mercadona's kindergarten in the logistic blocks.

A German newspaper has reported that Mercadona makes place in its logistic blocks for kindergarten: http://www.lebensmittelzeitung.net/news/karriere/Mercadona-Ist-familienfreundlich_44749.html

In this block we have translated the most impressive facts:

In 2001 Mercadona inaugurates the first kindergarten in the logistics block in San Sadurní D'Anoia (Barcelona). Mercadona calls it also "nursurey". It is a place where trained personal looks for the children of employees for free. As it has been a successful venture, Mercadona concluded to build a kindergarten into all logistic blocks that are newly opened up.



The kindergarten of the logistics block in Albatera/ San Isidro (Alicante) provides 82 spaces per shift. A shift either takes from 6 to 2 or from 2 to 10 at night. To guarantee a proper child care, there are 14 educators with various qualifications (kindergartener, educator, pedagogue, and teacher) per logistic block.