Why you should think outside the box.

If you want to adopt a flexible approach to work, the number one thing you need is standardisation across the board! Does that sound like a paradox to you? It’s basically logical though…


I just thought back to the customer who rang me up last week. It was a medium-sized manufacturing firm in Germany and they owned several JOWI Mobile Racks with a fixed length of 1.5 metres. – They’d recently introduced new components into their operations, and these were 5 metres long. Did my customer have a problem now? Or was he looking for a good piece of advice?

I didn’t have just the one tip for him, though. I had two! After all, the customer was using versatile JOWI racks. He could link two racks together, creating a safe storage space for the new components. Alternatively, he could quickly swap the lateral rails – which would increase the length of his rack to 2995 mm, for example.

Then all he needed to do was add an intermediate upright to support short parts, and swap or extend components. And it’s exactly that that makes JOWI racks so versatile – and also makes them cost-effective. It’s easy to order new and replacement parts and delivery times are quick. Racks can be altered quickly and easily without costing the earth. How does JOWI manage it? A standardised construction design means that components fit all racks within the range. One component can fit into the next and often kills two birds with one stone. Ingenious IKEA concepts can come in all standards of quality...