Subject:
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Automated fulfillment? Picking and Packing on steroids?
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.general
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Date:
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Sun, 6 Jul 2003 21:10:01 GMT
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Viewed:
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889 times
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Hi gang! Wasn’t sure where to post this hypothetical question.... but here goes
anyway... sorry in advance for the longwinded post...
I have been thinking a lot lately about the bulk brick store at the Legoland
Park in California. (I can’t WAIT to get back out to Carlsbad and check it out
for myself!)
All of my eclectic interests always seem to overlap in some weird way, and
lately I’ve been trying to imagine how one particular area of interest would
play out in the Lego world.... and that is....
“Automated fulfillment”... tied into Lego related CAD software. Automated
picking and packing. Custom, robotic-fulfilled sets that YOU determine. Allow me
to explain...
What would happen if the Lego Corporation embraced the virtual brick world, not
from a mere “building and playing with the software” standpoint, but from a
FULLFILLMENT standpoint? I’m talking about customized, end-user (end builder?)
defined sets that are created from a VIRTUAL brick inventory tied into a
picking, packing and distribution system with a REAL brick inventory.
What would happen if Henry Lim posted onto the Internet, an LDraw model of his
StegOsaurus? (Or... his Harpsichord.) What if Eric Harshbarger published an
LDraw model of his all-Lego Grandfather Clock? His Mona Lisa? (Or any of his
other magical MOCs.) Eric Sophie’s amazing “Jamocklaquat” robot? Lindsay Braun’s
stunning “Japanese Heavy Cruiser Takao” from BrickFest 2002. Steve Hassenplug’s
“Legway”... minus the parts from the now defunct HiTechnic of course. (I could
list a thousand incredible Lego constructions, but I’ll veer too far from my
main point.)
What if you could BUY... ALL the pieces necessary to recreate the aforementioned
MOCs? Along with the instructions? I’m not talking about a “marketed” set that
you would normally purchase from Lego Direct, a catalogue, or your local toy
retailer. I’m talking a dynamic, custom, on the fly ordering process, based on a
set that might not have EXISTED, 5 minutes prior to your order. Or one that has
been under construction for 6 months.
Am I explaining this very well?
The thing is, with Lego’s recent steps towards bulk selling in their parks, what
would a marriage with this type of software/distribution system do for the
hobby?
We already have Bricklink and other brick-auction sites. If you need certain
specific parts for that special MOC, you can usually get them somewhere online.
We already buy and sell our Lego inventories to each other all over the world.
We sell each other our custom “sets”. We already generate parts lists and
building instructions from our virtual models. So what is the next step?
At Brickfest 2002, many of you saw Steve Hassenplug’s Mindstorms “M&M candy
sorter” that he was displaying. A simple, COOL idea, beautifully
realized-in-Lego. Dump in a bag of mixed color M&M candies, and the sorter would
read the color of each individual piece, and sort them into a predetermined bin
with like colors.
All we need is an automated method to pick and pack the various bricks according
to part number, color, quantity, etc... (Huh. Is THAT all?)
We can already create a parts list from a virtual brick application, all we need
is to translate that list into a machine readable PICKlist.... Oh, and of course
we’ll need the machinery to do the picking. (What I mean to say is that it
shouldn’t be too hard to achieve this with today’s technology.) I need 1000
Black 2x2 bricks, 238 of this brick, 57 of that brick, 746 of that one...
etc....
...the automated system fetches all the parts for you. In Billund, Denmark or
Enfield, Connecticut. (Or a special distribution center in Atlanta, GA? hehe...)
Grabs them out of gigantic bulk bins on enormous rows of product in a specially
designed and configured distribution center. (Grabs the bricks? How about DROPS
the bricks? Dispenses the bricks? Like a gumball machine, only into a box....)
How about a distribution center that is a partnership with UPS or FEDEX? A
warehouse tied into the UPS/FEDEX system that facilitates the process. Lego need
only make a buttload of parts in a buttload of colors. The system does the rest.
Is there a reason Lego couldn’t implement this type of custom fulfillment
scenario in the future? Should they? (Would they?) What sort of technology would
it take? TLC have already dabbled with custom sets generated “on the fly” in the
greyscale mosaic sets. (Now discontinued I think...) They have already begun to
let their CUSTOMERS design sets for them. Daniel Siskind’s Blacksmith Shop
anyone?
To that end.... What if you could SELL your virtual model to the world for a
small fee? (Or how about a small commission from TLC? Payable in cash or
bricks...?)
YOUR virtual model, (or someone else’s), with the accompanying parts list, rung
up on Lego’s site and shipped to you at your home. What would you pay for the
instructions (and parts) to Henry Lim’s “Harpsichord?” Or what if he chose to
GIVE away the instructions and you just bought the parts from TLC. (But I would
hope people would be willing to PAY Henry for the instructions to that amazing
piece of brick engineering...)
I’ve seen too many amazing Lego creations that I would LOVE to have in my home.
I recently saw Terry Prosper’s “Optimus Prime” Transformer-Lego-Bot. I WANT to
build that. If I only had all the parts, the instructions, and of course... the
TIME to chase down all the pieces and parts. (Time always seems to be a scarcity
these days.)
Anyway, just food for thought.
-Tommy
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