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Day: 23 March 2022

IFOY awards “Best in Intralogistics” certificates

Posted on by David Priestman

At the end of the IFOY TEST DAYS (March 18 to 23) on the grounds of Messe Dortmund, the award organisation again presented the “Best in Intralogistics” certificates of the year 2022.

Representatives of a total of 12 companies got the certificates in Hall 3. Cargotec Engineering, Jungheinrich, Locus Robotics, Magment, NAiSE, Noyes Technologies, robominds, SICK, SSI SCHÄFER, STILL, stow robotics and SYNAOS are allowed to present the coveted seal. This year, the certificates were presented by Steffen Bersch, the new Chairman of the Board of the VDMA Materials Handling and Intralogistics Association.

The well-known “Best in Intralogistics” seal was introduced four years ago and is intended to document visibly to the outside world the high degree of innovation of the devices and solutions nominated for an IFOY AWARD that have successfully passed the IFOY test.

“Once again in 2022, only innovations with this certificate have successfully passed the three-part IFOY audit with our hard, independent intralogistics test,” emphasises Executive Jury Chairwoman Anita Würmser.

The IFOY Audit 2022, which was conducted for the second time this year on the premises of the IFOY partner Messe Dortmund, lasts a total of six days. It includes various test series, whose results support the total of 25 jury members – renowned logistics trade journalists from all over the world – in their decision on the winners. In the IFOY Award, the nominees in a category are never compared with each other, but always with currently comparable products and solutions on the market. This ensures that the performance values and the innovation gap can be assessed objectively.

The first part of the IFOY audit is the scientific IFOY Innovation Check, which is carried out by the Dortmund Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics (IML), the Chair of Technical Logistics at the University of Dresden, the Chair of Materials Handling Material Flow Logistics at the Technical University of Munich and the Stuttgart Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA. The experts give assessments of the finalists in terms of market relevance, customer benefits, type of execution, and degree of innovation. In addition, the scientists verify the innovations stated by the manufacturers in the test hall and evaluate in an extensive technology comparison whether they are innovative further developments, new compositions or genuine innovations.

The second part of the IFOY audit is the practice-oriented IFOY test by Dutch trade journalist Theo Egberts. He measures the hard facts and compares them with the relevant competitor units. The appliances undergo individually tailored driving or functional tests, including the IFOY test protocol, which comprises around 80 criteria and determines, among other things, the appliances’ economy and energy efficiency, sustainability, safety and ergonomics. To avoid falsification of the test results by external influences such as lighting, weather conditions or aisle widths, the on-site test hall creates identical environmental conditions for all candidates.

The third part of the audit is the assessment of the finalists by the jurors and their approved advisors. The jury members form an opinion from the IFOY Innovation Check, the IFOY test results and their own test experiences and then vote.

Who will be the winner in 2022 will remain a well-kept secret for a few weeks – even for the manufacturers. It will only be revealed during the festive IFOY AWARD ceremony, which will take place on June 30, 2022, in Munich.

 

IFOY awards “Best in Intralogistics” certificates

Posted on by David Priestman

At the end of the IFOY TEST DAYS (March 18 to 23) on the grounds of Messe Dortmund, the award organisation again presented the “Best in Intralogistics” certificates of the year 2022.

Representatives of a total of 12 companies got the certificates in Hall 3. Cargotec Engineering, Jungheinrich, Locus Robotics, Magment, NAiSE, Noyes Technologies, robominds, SICK, SSI SCHÄFER, STILL, stow robotics and SYNAOS are allowed to present the coveted seal. This year, the certificates were presented by Steffen Bersch, the new Chairman of the Board of the VDMA Materials Handling and Intralogistics Association.

The well-known “Best in Intralogistics” seal was introduced four years ago and is intended to document visibly to the outside world the high degree of innovation of the devices and solutions nominated for an IFOY AWARD that have successfully passed the IFOY test.

“Once again in 2022, only innovations with this certificate have successfully passed the three-part IFOY audit with our hard, independent intralogistics test,” emphasises Executive Jury Chairwoman Anita Würmser.

The IFOY Audit 2022, which was conducted for the second time this year on the premises of the IFOY partner Messe Dortmund, lasts a total of six days. It includes various test series, whose results support the total of 25 jury members – renowned logistics trade journalists from all over the world – in their decision on the winners. In the IFOY Award, the nominees in a category are never compared with each other, but always with currently comparable products and solutions on the market. This ensures that the performance values and the innovation gap can be assessed objectively.

The first part of the IFOY audit is the scientific IFOY Innovation Check, which is carried out by the Dortmund Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics (IML), the Chair of Technical Logistics at the University of Dresden, the Chair of Materials Handling Material Flow Logistics at the Technical University of Munich and the Stuttgart Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA. The experts give assessments of the finalists in terms of market relevance, customer benefits, type of execution, and degree of innovation. In addition, the scientists verify the innovations stated by the manufacturers in the test hall and evaluate in an extensive technology comparison whether they are innovative further developments, new compositions or genuine innovations.

The second part of the IFOY audit is the practice-oriented IFOY test by Dutch trade journalist Theo Egberts. He measures the hard facts and compares them with the relevant competitor units. The appliances undergo individually tailored driving or functional tests, including the IFOY test protocol, which comprises around 80 criteria and determines, among other things, the appliances’ economy and energy efficiency, sustainability, safety and ergonomics. To avoid falsification of the test results by external influences such as lighting, weather conditions or aisle widths, the on-site test hall creates identical environmental conditions for all candidates.

The third part of the audit is the assessment of the finalists by the jurors and their approved advisors. The jury members form an opinion from the IFOY Innovation Check, the IFOY test results and their own test experiences and then vote.

Who will be the winner in 2022 will remain a well-kept secret for a few weeks – even for the manufacturers. It will only be revealed during the festive IFOY AWARD ceremony, which will take place on June 30, 2022, in Munich.

 

Stretch Wrapping is Ecological and Cost-effective

Posted on by David Priestman

Life cycle management, sustainability and environmental friendliness are terms that are now firmly anchored not only in the minds of end consumers, but also in the minds of more and more companies. However, the consistent implementation of such measures should also have as positive an effect as possible on costs.

Robopac Germany, a company of the international Aetnagroup, focuses on intelligent packaging machines for stretch wrapping technologies in the food and beverage industry, which are tested and permanently updated in its own TechLabs. Premium versions include, for example, a new generation of high-performance ring wrapping machines with patented Cube Technology, suitable for wrapping and stabilising pallets with stretch film.

For many packaging companies, it is a technical challenge to always wrap pallets with a wide variety of goods stably and with as little film as possible. Each load is different in height, width, weight and is made of a different material. For example, pallets with canned goods have to be wrapped differently than beverage crates, bottles or milk cartons. Often, several layers of film are packed in the lower part of the pallet to make it seemingly more stable for transport. In fact, it’s the other way around.

The load often fluctuates the most at the top and would need more support here through a larger film volume. This is exactly where Robopac comes in with its mix of technical, physical and scientific know-how. At the customer’s site, if requested, a service technician will check the pallets to be wrapped – prior to wrapping them with stretch film. They then individually set the appropriate program on the machine to ensure optimum wrapping. With the help of Cube Technology , exactly the right amount of film is applied at exactly the right place with exactly the right pre-stretch. The pre-stretch ensures the correct containment force of the load and thus maximum stability.

Another positive side effect of the patented wrapping technology is that in some cases up to 70 percent of film material can be saved in this way without sacrificing the highest possible quality. However, not every stretch film is equally suitable for use in these high-performance packaging machines. The film material must, for example, run at high wrapping speeds and have strong flexibility and load stability, such as films from manupackaging.

Converted to the daily goods throughput of an average brewery of 1,400 pallets, around 280kg less plastic can be used here. Multiplied by an annual production, the savings amount to up to 70,000kg of plastic or the equivalent of €140,000.

On the cost side, companies can expect some massive changes in the near future. Since January 1st, 2021, the federal government still pays €0.80 to the EU for every unrecycled kilogram of plastic. However, there are plans to distribute these not inconsiderable expenses among companies in the future. In other words, this means a correspondingly high financial burden for companies with a high plastic consumption. Prices of up to €2 per kilogram are currently being discussed. On the other hand, companies that consistently recycle or already use intelligent wrapping technology in their packaging will have a permanent advantage.

similar news

Pallet Wrap and Stretch Film Among New Packaging Products

 

Stretch Wrapping is Ecological and Cost-effective

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Life cycle management, sustainability and environmental friendliness are terms that are now firmly anchored not only in the minds of end consumers, but also in the minds of more and more companies. However, the consistent implementation of such measures should also have as positive an effect as possible on costs.

Robopac Germany, a company of the international Aetnagroup, focuses on intelligent packaging machines for stretch wrapping technologies in the food and beverage industry, which are tested and permanently updated in its own TechLabs. Premium versions include, for example, a new generation of high-performance ring wrapping machines with patented Cube Technology, suitable for wrapping and stabilising pallets with stretch film.

For many packaging companies, it is a technical challenge to always wrap pallets with a wide variety of goods stably and with as little film as possible. Each load is different in height, width, weight and is made of a different material. For example, pallets with canned goods have to be wrapped differently than beverage crates, bottles or milk cartons. Often, several layers of film are packed in the lower part of the pallet to make it seemingly more stable for transport. In fact, it’s the other way around.

The load often fluctuates the most at the top and would need more support here through a larger film volume. This is exactly where Robopac comes in with its mix of technical, physical and scientific know-how. At the customer’s site, if requested, a service technician will check the pallets to be wrapped – prior to wrapping them with stretch film. They then individually set the appropriate program on the machine to ensure optimum wrapping. With the help of Cube Technology , exactly the right amount of film is applied at exactly the right place with exactly the right pre-stretch. The pre-stretch ensures the correct containment force of the load and thus maximum stability.

Another positive side effect of the patented wrapping technology is that in some cases up to 70 percent of film material can be saved in this way without sacrificing the highest possible quality. However, not every stretch film is equally suitable for use in these high-performance packaging machines. The film material must, for example, run at high wrapping speeds and have strong flexibility and load stability, such as films from manupackaging.

Converted to the daily goods throughput of an average brewery of 1,400 pallets, around 280kg less plastic can be used here. Multiplied by an annual production, the savings amount to up to 70,000kg of plastic or the equivalent of €140,000.

On the cost side, companies can expect some massive changes in the near future. Since January 1st, 2021, the federal government still pays €0.80 to the EU for every unrecycled kilogram of plastic. However, there are plans to distribute these not inconsiderable expenses among companies in the future. In other words, this means a correspondingly high financial burden for companies with a high plastic consumption. Prices of up to €2 per kilogram are currently being discussed. On the other hand, companies that consistently recycle or already use intelligent wrapping technology in their packaging will have a permanent advantage.

similar news

Pallet Wrap and Stretch Film Among New Packaging Products

 

HAI Debuts Cutting-edge Robot Systems

Posted on by David Priestman

HAI ROBOTICS, a pioneer in Autonomous Case-handling Robot (ACR) systems for warehouse logistics, will present its highly flexible totes-to-person warehouse automation solution at this year’s MODEX 2022 show, Booth C4585 at Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta from March 28th to 31st.

With its robots being exhibited also by MHS, SVT Robotics, GreyOrange and Tompkins Robotics, the company will demonstrate alongside its strategic partners how its state-of-the-art warehousing technology complements the global supply chain.

Days ahead of MODEX 2022, HAI ROBOTICS announced new partnerships with Tompkins Robotics and Storage Solutions. The partnerships will see technology and solutions developed by HAI ROBOTICS being applied to various industries across North America.

Brian Reinhart, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at HAI ROBOTICS U.S., said the company would have a full display of its commitment to customers, partners and the U.S. market at the show after being in the market for over a year.

“It’s a very exciting time for HAI ROBOTICS as we continue our expansion and growth in the U.S.” he said. “In order to best serve the market and accommodate the requests of our end users, we are developing a robust, strong, and valuable partner network.” Reinhart, a veteran in the material-handling industry, says: “In a short time, we have planted deep roots in the US.”

In addition to existing customers and partners, HAI ROBOTICS has established a U.S. HQ in Fremont, CA, a fully functional Demo Centre with a decentralised sales and implementation strategy, positioning employees in 15 different states across the country. The company’s “ambitious goals have hiring, onboarding, and training of talented individuals as a top priority.” “We want to be where our customers are to best serve them. We are committed to providing our partners with the best industry products, solutions, and service,” he said.

Exhibits

The company’s exhibits this year include two types of ACR robots and one workstation that were crafted to explore the full potentials of order-fulfilment efficiency, deployment flexibility and scalability in a goods-to-person order-handling context.

The HAIPICK A42T robot to be displayed is an evolution of the company’s IFOY 2021 “Best in Intralogistics” title earner. With a telescopic lift function that can flexibly adjust its picking height, it can handle bins (totes or cartons) at a storage height ranging from 0.28 to 10 metres. It can carry eight loads to feed goods-to-person workstations in one move, and shuttle between different storage areas without hindrance.

The HAIPICK A3 fork-lifting robot is a new invention that targets wider warehousing scenarios in addition to bin storage. It handles goods that don’t require a container, such as tires, trays and boards that can be lifted by a fork from the bottom. Its fork-lifting design brings an extra benefit of higher storage density, since spaces between neighbouring bins can be reduced. This type of robot is a good match with working environments where control for dust, static and pollution is strict.

In addition to high flexibility, the HAIPICK robots outperform other goods-transporting robots by bringing every inch under the ceiling available for storage. However, it is the teamwork with the HAIPORT-powered Workstation that maximises a warehouse’s throughput capacity.

A HAIPORT-powered Workstation, which can fulfil orders at in-bound and out-bound, involves collaboration between HAIPICK robots, HAIPORT and conveyor belts. HAIPORT is an automatic loading and unloading machine that can be docked with ACR robots and conveyor belts. At a HAIPORT-powered Workstation, multiple loads of totes or cartons are unloaded from the HAIPICK robots at the entry side of the HAIPORT, then transferred onto the conveyor belts for sorting per system orders and moved to the exit side of the HAIPORT, where they were fetched by robots for the next round of order processing.

The HAIPORT-powered Workstation is suitable for medium-to-large warehouses that have high throughput requirement of at least 400 bins per hour. It’s machine rate can deliver 600 bins per hour to an operator. It suits for extensive storage scenarios in which medium and small-sized bins are used, such as raw materials, small electronics, apparel, medicine, retails and 3PL industries that have large number of SKUs.

read more

Honeywell and Hai Robotics Collaborate

 

 

Descartes integrates shipping solution with WMS

Posted on by David Priestman

Descartes Systems Group, a global leader in uniting logistics-intensive businesses in commerce, announced that its Descartes ShipRush multi-carrier parcel and less-than-truckload (LTL) shipping solution has been integrated with its suite of ecommerce warehouse management systems (WMS). This integration allows customers to improve their warehouse and shipping performance through a unified solution.

“Fulfilment excellence requires warehouse and shipping operations to work in unison,” said Dirk Haschke, General Manager Ecommerce at Descartes. “The combination of WMS and shipping solutions allows customers to seamlessly execute their entire ecommerce fulfilment process, improving warehouse accuracy and productivity, reducing order lead-time and minimising shipping costs.”

The Descartes ShipRush ecommerce shipping solution allows businesses to grow their shipping volume through advanced automation capabilities, a powerful business rule engine and a strong set of APIs for rating, shipping and tracking. Descartes ShipRush is quick to deploy and one of the most widely integrated multi-carrier shipping solutions available. Descartes ShipRush also connects ecommerce companies to their parcel and LTL carriers of choice using their own negotiated rates or using rate discounts available through Descartes ShipRush.

Descartes ShipRush is integrated with Descartes’ ecommerce warehouse solutions: Descartes Peoplevox and Descartes pixi. The combined ecommerce warehouse and shipping solutions are available for ecommerce pure players and direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands that have the need to quickly scale their fulfilment operations to keep pace with sales growth and meet their delivery promise to ship on time, and at the lowest cost.

“We support ecommerce merchants and 3PLs of all sizes along their growth journey,” said Johannes Panzer, Head of Industry Solutions for Ecommerce at Descartes. “With our unique product portfolio, we can empower companies from start-ups to mid-sized to improve their warehouse and shipping performance, so they can always deliver an outstanding customer experience.”

To learn more about Descartes’ ecommerce shipping and fulfilment solutions, Descartes is holding an Ecommerce Innovation Forum on April 5-6, 2022 (English)/April 7, 2022 (German). This free virtual event will share domain expertise in shipping, order fulfilment and warehouse management technologies with collaboration between attendees. CLICK HERE to register.

 

Descartes integrates shipping solution with WMS

Posted on by David Priestman

Descartes Systems Group, a global leader in uniting logistics-intensive businesses in commerce, announced that its Descartes ShipRush multi-carrier parcel and less-than-truckload (LTL) shipping solution has been integrated with its suite of ecommerce warehouse management systems (WMS). This integration allows customers to improve their warehouse and shipping performance through a unified solution.

“Fulfilment excellence requires warehouse and shipping operations to work in unison,” said Dirk Haschke, General Manager Ecommerce at Descartes. “The combination of WMS and shipping solutions allows customers to seamlessly execute their entire ecommerce fulfilment process, improving warehouse accuracy and productivity, reducing order lead-time and minimising shipping costs.”

The Descartes ShipRush ecommerce shipping solution allows businesses to grow their shipping volume through advanced automation capabilities, a powerful business rule engine and a strong set of APIs for rating, shipping and tracking. Descartes ShipRush is quick to deploy and one of the most widely integrated multi-carrier shipping solutions available. Descartes ShipRush also connects ecommerce companies to their parcel and LTL carriers of choice using their own negotiated rates or using rate discounts available through Descartes ShipRush.

Descartes ShipRush is integrated with Descartes’ ecommerce warehouse solutions: Descartes Peoplevox and Descartes pixi. The combined ecommerce warehouse and shipping solutions are available for ecommerce pure players and direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands that have the need to quickly scale their fulfilment operations to keep pace with sales growth and meet their delivery promise to ship on time, and at the lowest cost.

“We support ecommerce merchants and 3PLs of all sizes along their growth journey,” said Johannes Panzer, Head of Industry Solutions for Ecommerce at Descartes. “With our unique product portfolio, we can empower companies from start-ups to mid-sized to improve their warehouse and shipping performance, so they can always deliver an outstanding customer experience.”

To learn more about Descartes’ ecommerce shipping and fulfilment solutions, Descartes is holding an Ecommerce Innovation Forum on April 5-6, 2022 (English)/April 7, 2022 (German). This free virtual event will share domain expertise in shipping, order fulfilment and warehouse management technologies with collaboration between attendees. CLICK HERE to register.

 

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