Intralogistics in the age of Industry 4.0

The aim of modern intralogistics is to design all material flow-related processes within a plant in such a way that throughput, flexibility and quality are maximised, while at the same time minimising inventories and reducing costs. The starting point is a production area or workplace optimised according to lean production criteria, from which the subsequent material supply is planned dynamically and synchronised. The minimum inventory principle is achieved through precise demand forecasts, real-time visibility and close integration of production, procurement and intralogistics. The principle of synchronisation plays a central role here: material provision, picking and internal transport must be precisely coordinated to avoid waste due to excess inventory, idle times or waiting times.

Planning and synchronisation of material supply

• Breakdown of material requirements: A well-thought-out planning level enables robust coordination of material requirements, batch sizes and transport intervals. The aim is to ensure a continuous supply to the production lines with minimum stock levels.
• Just-in-time and just-in-sequence approaches: Fine-grained timing of provision is crucial, especially in variant production. Production batch sizes are selected to minimise changeover times, reduce machine downtime and ensure consistent throughput.
• Security and resilience: Even in a highly automated environment, safety stocks at the level of individual assemblies or material storage must be taken into account, supplemented by dynamic response mechanisms to disruptions (e.g. delivery delays, machine failures).

Automation, artificial intelligence and autonomous transport

• Automated picking: Modern warehouse and intralogistics solutions use automated picking cells, pick-by-vision or pick-by-light processes and cooperative robotics to increase precision and speed.
• Supermarket models: A supermarket concept within the factory ensures that required parts are available in defined zones and can be flexibly transferred to production from there.
• Automated guided vehicles (AGV) and autonomous vehicles: AGV enable safe, efficient loading and transport control between material removal points, warehouses, zones and production lines. Sensors, collision avoidance and central control ensure smooth navigation and planning.
• The Internet of Things (IoT): Sensory detection of temperature, humidity, belt speed, load security, etc. not only enables quality assurance, but also predictive maintenance of shelf modules, conveyor technology and robots.

Integration of information and material flows

• End-to-end data flows: The integration of material and information flows is a must today. Real-time data from ERP, MES, warehouse management systems (WMS), transport management systems (TMS) and sensor and robotics data must be seamlessly merged to enable transparency and timely decisions.
• Visualisation and transparency: Dashboards for production and material flow metrics (throughput, cycle time, capacity utilisation, error rates) support managers and operational teams in identifying bottlenecks and taking immediate countermeasures.

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