In this episode of the WLEI Podcast, we speak with Mehmet Gur, Senior Director of Operations Engineering at DHL eCommerce. He has been leading the company's next-generation automation efforts. Since the pandemic, DHL eCommerce – DHL's business-to-consumer unit – has faced dramatic increases in volume. This surge required new automation technology to meet customer demand and heightened expectations regarding delivery speed. Mehmet oversees a large team of technical engineers tasked with meeting this challenge.  During the discussion we touch on:   Lean Thinking and Automation: How Mehmet's team used value-stream mapping to close the gap between automation equipment’s theoretical throughput and actual throughput.   Automation Evaluation: What should organizations consider before investing millions in new technology.  People Development: How to use problem-solving at the gemba to not just solve intractable technical problems but develop engineers.   AI in Distribution: How emerging technologies are revolutionizing logistics for higher throughput and customer satisfaction.  Mehmet will lead a learning session on these themes at the LEI Lean Summit in March 2024. To learn more and take advantage of early registration discounts, visit lean.org/summit. Register by October 31 to save up to $900 on your summit registration.