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Month: April 2022

Digitised battery charging gives competitive edge

Posted on by David Priestman

Digitalisation is the path to opening up a world of new opportunities in the commercial and industrial sectors. Harnessing new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) or the Internet of Things (IoT) can make supply chains and processes more agile, flexible and connected. In the intralogistics sector in particular, digitalisation is resulting in greater productivity, lower costs and sustainable, efficient warehouse operation.

Many companies are already working with AI and the Internet of Things. Intelligently connected supply chains can be utilised more effectively with a more conscious use of resources. When it comes to electric forklifts, the latest digitalisation and software solutions can also help to prevent unnecessary movements and set ongoing operating costs into a constant downward trend.

But digitalisation does not stop with the vehicle. Charging technology is another field packed with potential for continuously improving workflows and cutting out manual tasks, something which Paul Wagner, Strategic Product Manager at Fronius Perfect Charging, knows all too well: “At many companies the intralogistics processes are conducted with a mixed forklift fleet. The challenge here lies in ensuring that both trucks operated with lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries are kept reliably ready for use. This is where Charge & Connect comes into play.”

Turning data into added value

The greater degree of interconnectivity within companies is generating large quantities of data. By using Charge & Connect, the fleet manager can convert this charging data into valuable information on which to base the introduction of important optimisations into daily operations. The fleet manager can see how many and which batteries are connected as well as their current state of charge.

The battery pool management can also be digitised, which allows for the available batteries to be used and managed more efficiently. The “Cool Battery Guide (CGB)” information management system from Fronius is easily enabled via Charge & Connect and shows which batteries have been fully charged for the longest. The advantages are clear: the forklift driver is lead intuitively to the battery that is already cooled down and ready for use by the blue LED strip on the battery charger.

“The even utilisation of the battery pool and longer battery life reduce procurement costs on new batteries by up to 15%,” adds Wagner.

Bosch and AWS collaborate to digitalise logistics

Posted on by David Priestman

Bosch and US-based cloud provider Amazon Web Services (AWS) are collaborating with the aim to improve efficiency and sustainability in the transportation and logistics industry.

Their plan is to offer logistics companies and freight forwarders across the globe quick and easy access to digital services through a platform powered by AWS. Going forward, they will offer support for topics ranging from capacity utilisation of commercial vehicle fleets to monitoring goods flows to order processing – all from a single source.

To this end, Bosch and AWS have now entered a strategic collaboration. Bosch will be responsible for developing and operating the logistics platform, the core of which is a marketplace for digital services, while AWS will contribute its comprehensive cloud offering and expertise. The platform will facilitate smooth interaction between a variety of services and data, enabling transportation and logistics companies to benefit much more from the opportunities of digitalisation without having to set up their own resource- and cost-intensive IT projects.

The marketplace will also be open to all digital logistics services providers. Industry and consumers will benefit from the initiative because of greater reliability and transparency in goods and parcel delivery, for example. The companies plan to present a preliminary version of the logistics platform at the forthcoming Hannover Messe, with the launch for Europe, India, and the US set for late 2022.

“The transportation and logistics industry is the backbone of the global economy,” says Sandeep Nelamangala, Executive Director, Bosch Limited, and Executive Sponsor of logistics platform business at Bosch. “In the years ahead, it will have to shoulder continuously increasing transport volumes for goods and commodities while simultaneously reducing its carbon footprint. In collaboration with AWS, we want to help the logistics industry with this. We aim to ring in the future of the industry and drive forward its digitalisation.”

Greater efficiency through increased digitalisation

Kathrin Renz, Vice President, Business Development and Industries, AWS, added: “Developing hyperconnected transportation functions is one of the most complex technical challenges of our time. That’s why we are working with a market pioneer such as Bosch to master these unique challenges.

“the digital marketplace will enable logistics customers to quickly transform their business into a fully digital end-to-end value chain. Customers will benefit from the tools, frameworks, and modules we offer for digitalisation, in addition to improving the sustainability of their transportation processes.”

Years-long boom – and no end in sight

The transportation and logistics industry has been booming for years. During the Covid 19 pandemic, online orders and parcel deliveries saw another sharp increase, giving the industry a further boost. By 2030, global goods transport will grow more than 40%, and by 2050 this figure is even expected to exceed 145%. This growth is hitting a market that is highly fragmented globally – as well as struggling with various areas of inefficiency.

A few facts will illustrate this: More than 95% of the companies operating in this industry worldwide are SMEs. Approximately nine out of 10 companies operate with fewer than five vehicles. The majority of freight forwarders still organise their daily business manually or with an assortment of unrelated computer programs.

Moreover, according to the goods transport statistics of Germany’s Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport, more than 150 million trips are empty runs, which adds up to more than 6.5 billion empty kilometres annually, or more than 160,000 unnecessary journeys around the earth. This weighs heavily not only on efforts to protect the climate, but also on the already problematic shortage of drivers. The Federal Association for Goods Traffic, Logistics, and Disposal estimates that there is a shortage of between 60,000 and 80,000 drivers in Germany alone – and the situation is becoming more and more acute across the globe.

Many challenges – one solution

With its logistics platform, Bosch aims to provide a key solution for many of the challenges facing the transportation and logistics industry. The advantage of this platform is that it will create an entire ecosystem and a software environment in which freight carriers and forwarders can select, book, and execute different providers’ services to meet their specific needs. The platform also allows for easy integration of applications that are already relevant to the market, for instance, in transportation management systems.

Thanks to shared usage of data that is available through the telematics systems in commercial vehicles, for example from fleet management, it is also possible to link and allow interplay between different services from different areas. This makes it easier to leverage synergies.

 

Bosch and AWS collaborate to digitalise logistics

Posted on by David Priestman

Bosch and US-based cloud provider Amazon Web Services (AWS) are collaborating with the aim to improve efficiency and sustainability in the transportation and logistics industry.

Their plan is to offer logistics companies and freight forwarders across the globe quick and easy access to digital services through a platform powered by AWS. Going forward, they will offer support for topics ranging from capacity utilisation of commercial vehicle fleets to monitoring goods flows to order processing – all from a single source.

To this end, Bosch and AWS have now entered a strategic collaboration. Bosch will be responsible for developing and operating the logistics platform, the core of which is a marketplace for digital services, while AWS will contribute its comprehensive cloud offering and expertise. The platform will facilitate smooth interaction between a variety of services and data, enabling transportation and logistics companies to benefit much more from the opportunities of digitalisation without having to set up their own resource- and cost-intensive IT projects.

The marketplace will also be open to all digital logistics services providers. Industry and consumers will benefit from the initiative because of greater reliability and transparency in goods and parcel delivery, for example. The companies plan to present a preliminary version of the logistics platform at the forthcoming Hannover Messe, with the launch for Europe, India, and the US set for late 2022.

“The transportation and logistics industry is the backbone of the global economy,” says Sandeep Nelamangala, Executive Director, Bosch Limited, and Executive Sponsor of logistics platform business at Bosch. “In the years ahead, it will have to shoulder continuously increasing transport volumes for goods and commodities while simultaneously reducing its carbon footprint. In collaboration with AWS, we want to help the logistics industry with this. We aim to ring in the future of the industry and drive forward its digitalisation.”

Greater efficiency through increased digitalisation

Kathrin Renz, Vice President, Business Development and Industries, AWS, added: “Developing hyperconnected transportation functions is one of the most complex technical challenges of our time. That’s why we are working with a market pioneer such as Bosch to master these unique challenges.

“the digital marketplace will enable logistics customers to quickly transform their business into a fully digital end-to-end value chain. Customers will benefit from the tools, frameworks, and modules we offer for digitalisation, in addition to improving the sustainability of their transportation processes.”

Years-long boom – and no end in sight

The transportation and logistics industry has been booming for years. During the Covid 19 pandemic, online orders and parcel deliveries saw another sharp increase, giving the industry a further boost. By 2030, global goods transport will grow more than 40%, and by 2050 this figure is even expected to exceed 145%. This growth is hitting a market that is highly fragmented globally – as well as struggling with various areas of inefficiency.

A few facts will illustrate this: More than 95% of the companies operating in this industry worldwide are SMEs. Approximately nine out of 10 companies operate with fewer than five vehicles. The majority of freight forwarders still organise their daily business manually or with an assortment of unrelated computer programs.

Moreover, according to the goods transport statistics of Germany’s Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport, more than 150 million trips are empty runs, which adds up to more than 6.5 billion empty kilometres annually, or more than 160,000 unnecessary journeys around the earth. This weighs heavily not only on efforts to protect the climate, but also on the already problematic shortage of drivers. The Federal Association for Goods Traffic, Logistics, and Disposal estimates that there is a shortage of between 60,000 and 80,000 drivers in Germany alone – and the situation is becoming more and more acute across the globe.

Many challenges – one solution

With its logistics platform, Bosch aims to provide a key solution for many of the challenges facing the transportation and logistics industry. The advantage of this platform is that it will create an entire ecosystem and a software environment in which freight carriers and forwarders can select, book, and execute different providers’ services to meet their specific needs. The platform also allows for easy integration of applications that are already relevant to the market, for instance, in transportation management systems.

Thanks to shared usage of data that is available through the telematics systems in commercial vehicles, for example from fleet management, it is also possible to link and allow interplay between different services from different areas. This makes it easier to leverage synergies.

 

Recyclable tube packaging for premium drinks

Posted on by Keith McKinley

The demand for sustainable and 100% recyclable packaging is growing like never before, and this includes in the premium spirits market. Smurfit Kappa is striving to meet customers’ changing demands, and says its new 100% recyclable drinks packaging solution, the Smurfit Kappa Eco-Tube, is a perfect example. It recently developed this revolutionary product, providing a more sustainable paper tube packaging solution and which allows the traditional paper tube to be 100% recyclable within normal consumer recycling schemes.

The Eco-Tube means that premium spirit packaging can now be fully recyclable, so companies don’t have to choose between quality and sustainability. It is widely recognised that paper tube packaging, particularly in the drinks industry, offers many benefits such as on-shelf disruption. Now, this can all be achieved with recyclable packaging. The Smurfit Kappa Composites team recently completed a project for The Clydeside Distillery, which was the first ever fully branded, 100% recyclable drinks packaging solution it has launched for the whisky market.

Working with Clydeside Distillery

The Clydeside Distillery was the first dedicated Single Malt Whisky distillery in the city of Glasgow, for over 100 years. Smurfit Kappa worked closely with its sister company, A Dewar Rattray, on many previous packaging projects, so welcomed the opportunity to work with The Clydeside Distillery.

The distillery was in the process of launching its first single-malt whisky, Stobcross, and needed the perfect premium drinks packaging solution. As the inaugural Single Malt from The Clydeside Distillery, Stobcross needed packaging which was high-quality, luxurious, and showcased its uniqueness. At the same time, The Clydeside Distillery wanted to ensure its packaging was sustainable, so the Eco-Tube was the perfect fit.

When The Clydeside team first approached Smurfit Kappa, it wanted the traditional values of tube packaging including strength and shelf presence. The opportunity to have all this as a fully recyclable option was exactly what it was looking for.

The packaging for Stobcross was Smurfit Kappa’s first branded Eco-Tube launched to market. The finished result is a stylish tube which carefully protects the product and stands out on shelves and in stores. The Clydeside Distillery opted for a design that represents the maritime history of Glasgow, which truly reflects its brand and product. Stobcross is currently sold in The Clydeside Distillery shop and on its website, and the company is planning an international rollout over the coming months.

100% recyclable paper tube packaging

Smurfit Kappa Composites devised the Eco-Tube under its ‘Smurfit Kappa Better Planet Packaging’ initiative. It recognised the increased pressure that drinks manufacturers are under to adopt recyclable packaging solutions. Previously, these manufacturers had to choose between the benefits that tube packaging can deliver or providing a sustainable solution. The Eco-Tube solves this dilemma, enabling the traditional composite tube to be 100% recyclable. This kind of packaging can be easily recycled using readily available consumer recycling schemes, such as local curb side pick-ups.

Its paper-based tube performs in exactly the same way as traditional premium packaging solutions, with no compromising on strength or aesthetics. Smurfit Kappa believes the Eco-Tube is the answer to meeting the ever-changing buying behaviours of consumers. Not only that, but it can assist businesses in meeting their sustainability goals and initiatives.

Smurfit Kappa Composites offers scalable solutions for the paper-based tube packaging solutions for the whisky market and beyond. Current users of paper tube packaging for whisky, spirits or any other products no longer need to lose consumer brand recognition when switching to a more sustainable packaging solution, as additional finishes and full print options are still available.

Recyclable tube packaging for premium drinks

Posted on by David Priestman

The demand for sustainable and 100% recyclable packaging is growing like never before, and this includes in the premium spirits market. Smurfit Kappa is striving to meet customers’ changing demands, and says its new 100% recyclable drinks packaging solution, the Smurfit Kappa Eco-Tube, is a perfect example. It recently developed this revolutionary product, providing a more sustainable paper tube packaging solution and which allows the traditional paper tube to be 100% recyclable within normal consumer recycling schemes.

The Eco-Tube means that premium spirit packaging can now be fully recyclable, so companies don’t have to choose between quality and sustainability. It is widely recognised that paper tube packaging, particularly in the drinks industry, offers many benefits such as on-shelf disruption. Now, this can all be achieved with recyclable packaging. The Smurfit Kappa Composites team recently completed a project for The Clydeside Distillery, which was the first ever fully branded, 100% recyclable drinks packaging solution it has launched for the whisky market.

Working with Clydeside Distillery

The Clydeside Distillery was the first dedicated Single Malt Whisky distillery in the city of Glasgow, for over 100 years. Smurfit Kappa worked closely with its sister company, A Dewar Rattray, on many previous packaging projects, so welcomed the opportunity to work with The Clydeside Distillery.

The distillery was in the process of launching its first single-malt whisky, Stobcross, and needed the perfect premium drinks packaging solution. As the inaugural Single Malt from The Clydeside Distillery, Stobcross needed packaging which was high-quality, luxurious, and showcased its uniqueness. At the same time, The Clydeside Distillery wanted to ensure its packaging was sustainable, so the Eco-Tube was the perfect fit.

When The Clydeside team first approached Smurfit Kappa, it wanted the traditional values of tube packaging including strength and shelf presence. The opportunity to have all this as a fully recyclable option was exactly what it was looking for.

The packaging for Stobcross was Smurfit Kappa’s first branded Eco-Tube launched to market. The finished result is a stylish tube which carefully protects the product and stands out on shelves and in stores. The Clydeside Distillery opted for a design that represents the maritime history of Glasgow, which truly reflects its brand and product. Stobcross is currently sold in The Clydeside Distillery shop and on its website, and the company is planning an international rollout over the coming months.

100% recyclable paper tube packaging

Smurfit Kappa Composites devised the Eco-Tube under its ‘Smurfit Kappa Better Planet Packaging’ initiative. It recognised the increased pressure that drinks manufacturers are under to adopt recyclable packaging solutions. Previously, these manufacturers had to choose between the benefits that tube packaging can deliver or providing a sustainable solution. The Eco-Tube solves this dilemma, enabling the traditional composite tube to be 100% recyclable. This kind of packaging can be easily recycled using readily available consumer recycling schemes, such as local curb side pick-ups.

Its paper-based tube performs in exactly the same way as traditional premium packaging solutions, with no compromising on strength or aesthetics. Smurfit Kappa believes the Eco-Tube is the answer to meeting the ever-changing buying behaviours of consumers. Not only that, but it can assist businesses in meeting their sustainability goals and initiatives.

Smurfit Kappa Composites offers scalable solutions for the paper-based tube packaging solutions for the whisky market and beyond. Current users of paper tube packaging for whisky, spirits or any other products no longer need to lose consumer brand recognition when switching to a more sustainable packaging solution, as additional finishes and full print options are still available.

Semtech platform extended to support worldwide tracking

Posted on by David Priestman

Semtech Corporation, a leading global supplier of high performance analogue and mixed-signal semiconductors and advanced algorithms, has added multi-band capabilities to its LoRa Edge device-to-Cloud geolocation platform. The new LoRa Edge LR1120 allows for direct satellite-connected Internet of Things (IoT) applications in supply chain management and logistics with seamless low power geolocation on a global scale.

“Semtech’s LoRa is targeting track and trace challenges faced by the logistics industry today with a geolocation IoT platform adapted to global transportation and mass-scale asset management,” said Marc Pégulu, vice president of IoT product marketing for Semtech’s Wireless and Sensing Products Group. “With the launch of multi-band LoRa support, coupled with LoRa Cloud services, it has never been easier to expand ubiquitous IoT connectivity and geolocation globally.”

With LoRa Edge LR1120, intercontinental logistics companies can leverage highly integrated, ultra-low power trackers with enhanced interoperability, more versatile connectivity for a simpler operation and global mobility across multiple regulatory regions. Additionally, the possibility to offer a low-power and low-cost sensor with satellite connectivity unlocks a multitude of use cases in infrastructure monitoring, agriculture and environmental monitoring that require deployment in remote areas, which tend to be very capital intensive.

According to Christopher Taylor, Director, RF & Wireless with Strategy Analytics, “Combining LoRa with small, relatively low-cost LEO satellites will change the game for LoRa and IoT. Adding satellite communication capabilities in the S-band to LoRa can help replace aging SCADA monitoring and opens up new applications and markets, especially in remote regions. So far, LoRa has attracted the interest of several satellite companies including EchoStar and Lacuna.”

Key Features:

  • Multi-band LoRa capability (sub-GHz, 2.4GHz and licensed S-band for satellite) and multi-technology geolocation using GNSS for outdoor and Wi-Fi for indoor, as well as areas where satellite coverage is poor
  • LoRa Cloud geolocation solver, which transfers the location processing workload from the device to the Cloud, making ‘deploy once’ battery life possible
  • Supported by GPS and BeiDou constellations
  • Hardware crypto engine for increased security

Bonus content

Sree Durbha (pictured), Director of LoRa Edge Product Management, spoke exclusively with Logistics Business:

Logistics Business (LB): What is the typical customer this product is aimed at?

Sree Durbha (SD): The new LR1120 is the next product in the LoRa Edge portfolio that adds the ability to operate LoRa in the universal 2.4GHz and the SATCOM S-band (licensed portion of the S-band between 1.9GHz and 2.2GHz) for terrestrial and satellite communications utilizing the onboard GNSS (GPS/BeiDou) and Wi-Fi passive scanners for indoor and outdoor geolocation. Customers in a variety of industry verticals are interested in developing trackers and end nodes based on LR1120 targeting applications such as transoceanic shipping cargo transportation, logistics companies trucking goods between different EU countries. Our key customers and partners commercialising this solution are industry leaders in the space industry and intercontinental logistics companies. We also work with network operators, systems integrators and solution providers who are developing satellite LoRa and 2.4GHz LoRa based IoT solutions.

LB: Where does it have an advantage over competitive alternatives?

SD: LR1120 is a highly integrated multi-technology, multi-band indoor/outdoor geolocation solution with the location engine based in the cloud (LoRa Cloud by Semtech). This unique architecture delivers ground breaking flexibility in choosing networks as well as power consumption that’s 10x lower than comparable discrete GNSS solutions out there. We’ve seen several customers take advantage of this value proposition with their LR1110 based products over the past year.

LB: What is the timescale for integration/implementation?

SD: One of the goals for our LoRa Edge device-to-cloud platform is to empower our customers and partners to shorten their design cycles by absorbing critical components like modem development, end-to-end development using our tracker reference design and integration cloud based geolocation and modem management services. Having all of the hardware, software and cloud services components available from a single source like Semtech affords customers the ability to speed things up. So we’ve seen some of our LoRa Edge customers go from concept to commercial launch of their trackers or remote monitoring devices in about 12 months. We expect a similar or better timescale for customers adopting the new LR1120.

LB: What are the operational and fiscal benefits customers are likely to enjoy?

SD: Along with the hardware, software and cloud services integration benefits outlined above, customers will also benefit from a unified satellite based LoRa network service offered by our operator partners such as Echostar, Lacuna Space and others. This not only provides a single network to roam across all of continental Europe for example, but also cuts the operational costs of having to pay for multiple regional public and or private networks for use cases such as transporting goods across geographical boundaries in Europe.

AI makes zero-error logistics a reality

Posted on by David Priestman

In just under a decade, the number of business premises used for transport, logistics and warehousing in the UK has almost doubled. As new analysis by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows, transport and storage is the fastest-growing broad industry group in the UK, both in recent years and over the longer term.

This meteoric rise in transport and storage is an acknowledgement of the recent accelerated demand created in supply chains following the EU exit and the onset of the pandemic and ensuing economic challenges. Investments in the construction of warehouses rose sharply, topping £5.6bn in 2021, higher than in any year since 1985.

The growth is spread over many sectors, rising hand-in-hand with ecommerce and an expectation of speed and reliability in supply being created in sectors such as food and drink, fashion and electronics. This accelerated growth also put pressure on day-to-day operations as the sector grappled with human resources, available space and speed of execution to meet the expected speedy deliveries to retail and consumers. The ongoing disruptions compounded the situation – and logistics and warehouses have been left to pick up the strain, maximise their efficiencies and fuel the supply chains.

Against such a backdrop, it is easy to see why the sector is poised to become a technology success story, with real-time data and zero error logistics at the core of its commercial success.  Headline industry statements clearly show that at least 6,000 hours are wasted annually, measuring, weighing and finding pallets in warehouses. 20% of warehouse space is tied up with obsolete stock or empty boxes, and warehouses lose on average £1m every year due to wrongly reported assets. The common thread running throughout all of these statistics is the need for real-time data to maximise efficiencies, improve performance and increase productivity, bringing the sector into a zero error logistics mode. Interestingly, they will also be saving 20,000 tons of CO2e emissions, with better inventory management and operational data.

Zero-error logistics may have been once the holy grail of logistic and warehouses – it is now a reality. With machine automation and robotics capturing automated real-time insights, robots can digitise any physical space to delivery zero error logistics. From warehouse storage to dispatch, systems and robotics such as British robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) company BotsAndUs capture invaluable data at points that maximise efficiency and squeeze that extra performance required to save millions lost and to gain in revenue.

Automation increases productivity and reduces costs by providing real-time data that provides full control of the inventory and flow of goods while driving efficiencies across space utilisation. Robotics and AI can handle the repetitive jobs and learn how to deal with unusual situations. Together, they free companies to focus on prioritising business initiatives and optimise operations by creating more opportunities and retraining the workforce for higher-level jobs.

Real-time data helps reconciliation, damage control, evidence for insurance and ultimately, full customer satisfaction.

As Oana Jinga (pictured), BotsAndUs Co-Founder, said: “The value of real-time data kicks in right at the start of the acceptance process, as goods come off a truck, are checked and assessed. Our fully autonomous state-of-the-art robotic system twins and optimises operations. There is a continuous feed of real-time insights across the process, allowing for instant and informed business decisions. Instant access to real-time data helps optimise the present, de-risk the future and discover the intractable in each location and at every stage of the product journey through the warehouse and onto dispatch.”

Research by Forrester has found that automation – including robotics, AI and Machine Learning (ML) – is already a defining industry trend that will continue to expand over the next two decades.  It is also one of the most popular choices for improving operational efficiency with tactical automation. This ties into the trends shown in the latest analysis by ONS and provides solid evidence for the industry to invest now in AI and robotic solutions such as those provided by BotsAndUs.

BotsAndUs develops robotics and AI logistics solutions to drive better business decisions across operations. MIM, their fully autonomous mobile and modular robot measures, tracks and finds goods across storage and warehouses without workflow disruption and provides real-time data at every stage of the process. The data is fed into digital twins, allowing logistics and warehouses to quickly respond to all the challenges they face on a daily basis.

AI makes zero-error logistics a reality

Posted on by David Priestman

In just under a decade, the number of business premises used for transport, logistics and warehousing in the UK has almost doubled. As new analysis by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows, transport and storage is the fastest-growing broad industry group in the UK, both in recent years and over the longer term.

This meteoric rise in transport and storage is an acknowledgement of the recent accelerated demand created in supply chains following the EU exit and the onset of the pandemic and ensuing economic challenges. Investments in the construction of warehouses rose sharply, topping £5.6bn in 2021, higher than in any year since 1985.

The growth is spread over many sectors, rising hand-in-hand with ecommerce and an expectation of speed and reliability in supply being created in sectors such as food and drink, fashion and electronics. This accelerated growth also put pressure on day-to-day operations as the sector grappled with human resources, available space and speed of execution to meet the expected speedy deliveries to retail and consumers. The ongoing disruptions compounded the situation – and logistics and warehouses have been left to pick up the strain, maximise their efficiencies and fuel the supply chains.

Against such a backdrop, it is easy to see why the sector is poised to become a technology success story, with real-time data and zero error logistics at the core of its commercial success.  Headline industry statements clearly show that at least 6,000 hours are wasted annually, measuring, weighing and finding pallets in warehouses. 20% of warehouse space is tied up with obsolete stock or empty boxes, and warehouses lose on average £1m every year due to wrongly reported assets. The common thread running throughout all of these statistics is the need for real-time data to maximise efficiencies, improve performance and increase productivity, bringing the sector into a zero error logistics mode. Interestingly, they will also be saving 20,000 tons of CO2e emissions, with better inventory management and operational data.

Zero-error logistics may have been once the holy grail of logistic and warehouses – it is now a reality. With machine automation and robotics capturing automated real-time insights, robots can digitise any physical space to delivery zero error logistics. From warehouse storage to dispatch, systems and robotics such as British robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) company BotsAndUs capture invaluable data at points that maximise efficiency and squeeze that extra performance required to save millions lost and to gain in revenue.

Automation increases productivity and reduces costs by providing real-time data that provides full control of the inventory and flow of goods while driving efficiencies across space utilisation. Robotics and AI can handle the repetitive jobs and learn how to deal with unusual situations. Together, they free companies to focus on prioritising business initiatives and optimise operations by creating more opportunities and retraining the workforce for higher-level jobs.

Real-time data helps reconciliation, damage control, evidence for insurance and ultimately, full customer satisfaction.

As Oana Jinga (pictured), BotsAndUs Co-Founder, said: “The value of real-time data kicks in right at the start of the acceptance process, as goods come off a truck, are checked and assessed. Our fully autonomous state-of-the-art robotic system twins and optimises operations. There is a continuous feed of real-time insights across the process, allowing for instant and informed business decisions. Instant access to real-time data helps optimise the present, de-risk the future and discover the intractable in each location and at every stage of the product journey through the warehouse and onto dispatch.”

Research by Forrester has found that automation – including robotics, AI and Machine Learning (ML) – is already a defining industry trend that will continue to expand over the next two decades.  It is also one of the most popular choices for improving operational efficiency with tactical automation. This ties into the trends shown in the latest analysis by ONS and provides solid evidence for the industry to invest now in AI and robotic solutions such as those provided by BotsAndUs.

BotsAndUs develops robotics and AI logistics solutions to drive better business decisions across operations. MIM, their fully autonomous mobile and modular robot measures, tracks and finds goods across storage and warehouses without workflow disruption and provides real-time data at every stage of the process. The data is fed into digital twins, allowing logistics and warehouses to quickly respond to all the challenges they face on a daily basis.

Wenko achieves supply chain transparency with Setlog

Posted on by David Priestman

The household goods specialist Wenko Wenselaar is accelerating the digitisation of its supply chain. From the third quarter of 2022 on, the family-owned company from Germany will manage its supply chain centrally using Setlog‘s cloud-based software tool OSCA.

“The experience gained from the supply chain disruptions during the Covid-19 pandemic made us realise that production and goods transport must be controlled with a digital operation platform in the future,” emphasises Niklas Koellner, Managing Director at Wenko Wenselaar.

“This way, we bring transparency into the supply chain and can inform suppliers and forwarders of changes via a central tool – Excel spreadsheets and hectic email correspondence become unnecessary.” The company chose Setlog’s software suite because the best-practice version is easy to use, Koellner said.

“The software can be implemented quickly and enables optimal control of all logistics processes,” explains Ralf Duester, a member of Setlog’s board of directors. The first meeting with the logistics department took place at the end of February, and the launch is already planned for the beginning of the third quarter this year.

Whether shower rails, ironing boards or kitchen scales: Wenko offers more than 5,000 articles in the bathroom, kitchen, laundry, and living sectors. The goods are manufactured in the Far East, Eastern Europe, Spain, France, and Germany.

In future, Wenko will transmit orders to its suppliers from the ERP system via OSCA – the majority of the approximately 100 partners as well as the three main freight forwarders will be connected to the software within a very short time. The SCM software serves as a central communication and processing tool for all partners along the supply chain – from order confirmation and delivery planning to the booking of transports and shipments.

In addition to costs, volumes, lead- and transport times, drayage control and carton packing lists (including label generation), delivery dates can also be controlled. Wenko’s freight forwarding partners will transmit transport notifications, updates and tracking data directly into the system.

A KPI dashboard visualises the most important key figures for the 40 or so Wenko employees who will be working directly with the solution. As soon as delivery data changes or delays occur, all partners in the supply chain are informed simultaneously. From go-live onwards, all of the around 4,000 shipments per year will run via OSCA.

Most of the goods are delivered to two buffer warehouses in Germany. From there, they are transported to Wenko’s central warehouse in Hueckelhoven, where around 34,000 pallet spaces are available. The company delivers to a total of 81 countries, with a focus on Europe. Although the launch of OSCA SCM is still pending, the Wenko management is already considering further digitisation stages and has already analysed the OSCA modules for quality management and corporate social responsibility (CSR).

For the 2023 implementation of the German supply chain due diligence law, the family-owned company with its 570 employees wants to be in the best possible position.

 

Wenko achieves supply chain transparency with Setlog

Posted on by David Priestman

The household goods specialist Wenko Wenselaar is accelerating the digitisation of its supply chain. From the third quarter of 2022 on, the family-owned company from Germany will manage its supply chain centrally using Setlog‘s cloud-based software tool OSCA.

“The experience gained from the supply chain disruptions during the Covid-19 pandemic made us realise that production and goods transport must be controlled with a digital operation platform in the future,” emphasises Niklas Koellner, Managing Director at Wenko Wenselaar.

“This way, we bring transparency into the supply chain and can inform suppliers and forwarders of changes via a central tool – Excel spreadsheets and hectic email correspondence become unnecessary.” The company chose Setlog’s software suite because the best-practice version is easy to use, Koellner said.

“The software can be implemented quickly and enables optimal control of all logistics processes,” explains Ralf Duester, a member of Setlog’s board of directors. The first meeting with the logistics department took place at the end of February, and the launch is already planned for the beginning of the third quarter this year.

Whether shower rails, ironing boards or kitchen scales: Wenko offers more than 5,000 articles in the bathroom, kitchen, laundry, and living sectors. The goods are manufactured in the Far East, Eastern Europe, Spain, France, and Germany.

In future, Wenko will transmit orders to its suppliers from the ERP system via OSCA – the majority of the approximately 100 partners as well as the three main freight forwarders will be connected to the software within a very short time. The SCM software serves as a central communication and processing tool for all partners along the supply chain – from order confirmation and delivery planning to the booking of transports and shipments.

In addition to costs, volumes, lead- and transport times, drayage control and carton packing lists (including label generation), delivery dates can also be controlled. Wenko’s freight forwarding partners will transmit transport notifications, updates and tracking data directly into the system.

A KPI dashboard visualises the most important key figures for the 40 or so Wenko employees who will be working directly with the solution. As soon as delivery data changes or delays occur, all partners in the supply chain are informed simultaneously. From go-live onwards, all of the around 4,000 shipments per year will run via OSCA.

Most of the goods are delivered to two buffer warehouses in Germany. From there, they are transported to Wenko’s central warehouse in Hueckelhoven, where around 34,000 pallet spaces are available. The company delivers to a total of 81 countries, with a focus on Europe. Although the launch of OSCA SCM is still pending, the Wenko management is already considering further digitisation stages and has already analysed the OSCA modules for quality management and corporate social responsibility (CSR).

For the 2023 implementation of the German supply chain due diligence law, the family-owned company with its 570 employees wants to be in the best possible position.

 

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