German warehouse software developer TUP, which works with Adidas, Canyon, Zalando and Odlo, is using its new certificate to argue that sovereignty in logistics depends on open interfaces, flexible hosting and avoiding vendor lock-in.
TUP, the German warehouse software specialist whose customers include Adidas, Zalando and Canyon, has been formally presented with the “Software Made in Germany” certificate for its TUP.WMS system.
The seal, awarded by the Bundesverband IT-Mittelstand (Federal Association of IT SMEs, BITMi), assesses where software is developed, tested and supported. Its criteria include German-based development and quality assurance, German-language documentation and support, and customer references. TUP has developed warehouse management software in Germany since 1980, tailoring its systems to individual customers’ logistics operations.
The company, based in Stutensee near Karlsruhe, employs more than 160 people. It builds information and control systems for distribution centers and production logistics, including retrofits of existing warehouses and new automated sites. BITMi presented the certificate at its IT entrepreneurs’ conference in Frankfurt on Oct. 6. The ceremony followed TUP’s announcement of the certification in April.
TUP and the sporting goods industry
TUP is a well-known logistics solution supplier to the sporting goods industry: It built a warehouse management system with material flow control for Adidas. For Canyon, it planned the German bike brand’s production and warehouse site near Koblenz and linked its software to the assembly line.
At Zalando’s fulfillment center in Lahr, TUP’s material flow software controls conveyors, shuttle storage and sorters. The company has also supported the logistics of Swiss winter sportswear maker Odlo since 2001.
TUP advocates for digital sovereignty also in logistics
TUP said digital sovereignty goes beyond where servers stand and who runs the cloud. For the company, it means users can configure their software to fit their own processes and decide on system integration, hosting and data location. TUP.WMS can run on-premises, in the cloud or hybrid.
TUP Chief Information Officer Eduard Wagner said open interfaces, flexible hosting options and avoiding lock-in decide whether sovereignty is “a buzzword or a real system property” (translated from German).
