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Young Logistics Professionals Award winners announced

Posted on by Keith McKinley

FIATA (the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations) and TT Club, the international freight transport insurer, have revealed this year’s regional winners of the Young Logistics Professionals (YLP) Award 2022.

The 2022 regional winners are:

Region Africa and Middle East: Ruvimbo Gukwe, SFAAZ, Zimbabwe – Dissertation: Growth by COVID

Region Americas: Karina Daniela Perez Perez, CIFFA, Canada – Dissertation: Resilient Solutions: The Future of Freight Forwarding and Logistics

Region Asia-Pacific: Avishkar Srivastava, FFFAI, India – Dissertation: Sustainability through efficiency Decarbonising trade lanes through sustainable logistics

Region Europe: Maximilian Druschler, DSLV, Germany – Dissertation: Logistics’ crucial role in the battle against the UN Global Issues

FIATA Director General, Dr Stéphane Graber, shared his congratulations to the four regional winners: “The YLP Award is of outmost importance for FIATA. It aims at developing the youth’s interest in the industry but also the soft skills that are crucial in the daily work of our demanding sector. I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to all the YLP Award 2022 candidates and most particularly to the four regional winners for their impressive dissertations. They have managed to put into words complex processes of the global supply chain while taking into account diverse parameters. The future of logistics is in the youth’s hands, and I could not be more proud.”

“All four regions were represented by a variety of impressive entries and the judges were struck by the high incidence of projects requiring close consideration of environmental factors and prioritising sustainability,” says Mike Yarwood, Managing Director Loss Prevention, TT Club and Chair of the Panel of Judges. “Multimodal solutions were to the fore and in addition to medical supplies, cargoes featured included insecticides, rail tracks, military ordinance, drilling rods and a satellite. We never tire of reading about the innovative approaches to logistical challenges employed by our young professionals. TT Club as ever is both proud and encouraged by the high levels of competence portrayed throughout the sector and is committed to maintaining its longlasting support for the awards.”

Both FIATA and TT Club are thrilled to continue recognising the inspirational and dynamic minds of the young logistics professionals’ community. As we slowly move away from the pandemic, FIATA and TT Club are looking forward to returning to the physical competition format. This year and if the conditions allow, the four regional winners will present their dissertations at the FIATA World Congress in Busan, South Korea, during a dedicated session with the final judging and announcement of the YLP Global Winner 2022. This will be a wonderful opportunity for the regional winners to fully immerse themselves in the freight forwarding community and meet their counterparts in Korea’s marine capital city.

UKMHA seeks jurors for Archies 2022

Posted on by Keith McKinley

The UK Material Handling Association (UKMHA), the organiser of the Archies 2022, is seeking industry experts to join the Awards jury. Those selected will help pick the winners in what will be the largest and most inclusive range of categories ever, covering areas including innovation, ergonomics, safety and environment.

Tim Waples, Chief Executive of UKMHA, explains: “Ours is the longest-running and most authoritative awards in the materials handling calendar, and having the right jurors is essential in maintaining its integrity. The scale and scope of the jury is extremely important, since it must represent every facet of the industry from forklift and attachment manufacturers to dealers, members of the handling press and those who own and actually operate the equipment.

“Only by drawing upon individuals with a wide and diverse range of specialisms can we ensure that the right products and people win the awards.”

The judging – which takes the form of a confidential ballot – is the final step in a process designed to ensure balance, fairness, probity, honesty and openness.

The first is the nominations process. Unlike some awards, entering the Archies is free of charge and open to all. “We don’t want anyone to be put off from entering because of cost,” emphasises Waples.

The second step involves the Awards Selection Committee which is charged with ensuring entries meet various criteria including originality, relevance and availability (products must have been launched into the UK market within the 18 months period preceding the close of nominations on 30th June).

The shortlist is then placed before the jury of highly experienced individuals, selected for their impartiality and practical knowledge.

“As a member of the jury you will be required to sign a strict confidentiality agreement and must remove yourself from all deliberations where there is any possibility of a conflict of interest,” says Waples. “It is a crucial role, and you will enjoy the satisfaction of knowing you have ensured that justice has been done and that you’ve made some talented individuals and organisations extremely happy.”

A truly international event, the Archies Awards attracts sponsors, winners and guests from around the globe to participate in a dazzling Oscar’s-style ceremony to be held at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole on Saturday 15th October 2022.

To apply to join the jury, please email Louise.Boston@ukmha.org.uk

 

HHLA Sky named one of Germany’s top 100 innovators

Posted on by Keith McKinley

German company HHLA Sky has been named one of the 100 most innovative medium-sized companies in Germany by the renowned Top100 competition. The Top100 seal was presented to the managing directors of HHLA Sky, Lothar Müller and Matthias Gronstedt, by Germany’s prominent science journalist Ranga Yogeshwar at a gala event held recently in Frankfurt am Main.

The award evaluates how consistently a company focuses on an innovation goal and integrates it into its structures and planning, according to more than 100 indicators. The scientific analysis is conducted on the basis of five categories: innovation-promoting top management, innovation climate, innovative processes and organisation, external orientation/open innovation and innovation success.

HHLA Sky is the technology leader in the field of mobile robot management. The company has developed a globally unique IoT platform that maps the entire process chain when using industrial drones. This software is used in HHLA Sky’s Integrated Control Centre (pictured), which can simultaneously control and monitor more than 100 drones worldwide, even when they are out of the pilot’s line of sight (BVLOS). In addition to simultaneous automated drone flights, the Integrated Control Centre also enables journeys by AMR (Autonomous Mobile Robots) to be carried out in a safe and controlled manner. The company’s software is globally scalable and can be fully integrated into customers’ existing IT systems.

From its headquarters in Hamburg, HHLA Sky also cooperates with various players in science, business and politics, for example in the pioneering research project “UDVeo”, which will organise the first European U-space, a special airspace for urban drone traffic, starting in 2023.

“We are grateful for the recognition of our efforts. Innovation is part of HHLA Sky’s DNA. With our Integrated Control Centre, we are opening up the third dimension for the safe and efficient deployment of drones for industrial and commercial purposes. With our mobile robot management software, we want to continuously open up the field of application for robot mobility in the air and on the ground,” says Matthias Gronstedt, Managing Director of HHLA Sky.

“Thinking ahead, pooling expertise and shaping ground-breaking technologies: Innovators are those who create space for this, who keep moving forward and always question things. Nothing is more conducive to innovation than systematically rethinking technology with our partners and our team and developing systems that are unique and ensure optimum customer benefits,” adds Lothar Müller, Managing Director of HHLA Sky.

Highest grade A+ for HHLA Sky

This consistent focus on innovation and new thinking is also reflected in the assessment by the Top 100 jury: altogether, HHLA Sky’s innovation management is awarded the highest grade of “A+”.

This ranking is even higher than the average “A” of all Top 100 innovators, which is described as follows: “’A’ is awarded to companies that have an unusually high level of innovation management and set standards, even when compared internationally. The probability of future innovation success is very high”. HHLA Sky was able to achieve the top score in four out of five criteria in the innovation assessment. The fifth criterion was not graded individually.

The compamedia GmbH Top100 award, which has been in existence since 1993, is an indicator that a company is excellently positioned for future changes and developments and can adapt well to them. Project partners are the Fraunhofer Society for the Promotion of Applied Research and the German Association of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (BVMW). Media partners are manager magazine and impulse. The renowned jury consists of experts from business practice and research, as well as from the media and politics.

The scientific management of the TOP 100 innovation competition is the responsibility of Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Franke, founder and director of the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration, and a leading international innovation researcher.

Jurors are among others are the President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ing. Reimund Neugebauer and also Prof. Dr. Fredmund Malik, founder, owner and chairman of Malik St. Gallen, the leading company for holistic management, leadership and governance solutions, Dorothee Bär, deputy chairwoman of the CSU, Prof. Dr. h. c. Roland Berger, founder and honorary chairman of the supervisory board of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, Frank Thelen, the founder and managing director of the venture capital company Freigeist Capital and Achim Berg, president of the digital industry association BITKOM.

Numerous world market leaders and “hidden champions” are among this year’s Top 100 winners. The scientific analysis is based on the comparative values of more than 10,000 companies.

 

PSI Logistics achieves “Excellent Brand” award

Posted on by Keith McKinley

PSI Logistics GmbH has been awarded with the German Brand Award as winner in the category “Excellent Brands – Logistics & Infrastructure” for the second time. The award was handed over recently to the company representatives, Janine Hellwig and Vanessa Schekalla, during a festive event in Berlin.

With the “Excellent Brand”, the German Brand Institute honours the best product and company brands of an industry. The jury is formed by independent, interdisciplinary experts from the worlds of business, science, consulting, services and agencies. Criteria such as independence and brand typology, brand distinctiveness and differentiation from the competition are evaluated. In addition, aspects such as sustainability, degree of innovation, continuity, future viability and economic success are taken into account in the assessment.

With this year’s award, PSI Logistics was named winner and leading industry company for the second time after 2018. “We are very pleased to receive this award again,” explains Dr. Giovanni Prestifilippo, Managing Director of PSI Logistics. “The honour underlines the substantial continuity of our work and our innovative strength. Thus, we will continue on this path.”

With around 1,200 entries from 19 countries, the German Brand Award 2022 achieved a great international response. The competitive process ensures the independence and excellence of this unique award for outstanding brand management.

The PSI Group develops its own software products for optimizing the flow of energy and materials for utilities (energy grids, energy trading, public transport) and industry (metals production, automotive, mechanical engineering, logistics). The industry-specific products, which are built from standard components, are sold both directly and via the multi-cloud PSI App Store and can also be customised by customers and partners themselves. PSI was founded in 1969 and employs more than 2,200 people worldwide.

Logistics Hall of Fame appoints new jurors

Posted on by Keith McKinley

The Logistics Hall of Fame has announced the appointment of six new jury members for the start of the new voting phase in 2022. Logistics Business has once again been honoured by the appointment of its News Editor, Peter MacLeod, to the jury panel.

For the first time, the following jurors will cast their vote in 2022:

  • Prof. Dr Christian Grotemeier, Professor of Mobility Management and Business Administration at RheinMain University of Applied Sciences, Germany
  • Prof. Dr Julia Hartmann, Professor of Sustainability Management at the EBS University of Economics and Law, Oestrich-Winkel, Germany
  • Maj-Britt Pohlmann, Director Operational Excellence FIEGE Group, Germany
  • Martin Schwemmer, Managing Director of Bundesvereinigung Logistik e.V., Germany
  • Oliver Luksic, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Digital Affairs and Transport, Germany
  • Peter MacLeod, Logistics Business News Editor, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

In total, more than 70 jury members from numerous countries will vote on who will enter the Logistics Hall of Fame at the end of 2022 and who will be allowed to carry the “TRATON Logistics Leader of the Year” award in the future. The jurors come from business, media, associations and politics or are active as scientists. Both awards are presented at the annual gala reception at the end of the year in Berlin.

 

inVia Robotics wins innovation award

Posted on by David Priestman

inVia Robotics – a leader in eCommerce fulfilment automation systems – has been awarded this year’s Best Practices Technology Innovation Leadership Award in the North American goods-to-person robotics market by Frost & Sullivan, a leading third-party research and consulting firm.

inVia’s true robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) model beat out category competitors as it provides retailers and 3PLs with a flexible, cost-effective solution that dramatically increases productivity in existing facilities. The RaaS system allows customers to pay for productivity of inVia robots and software versus competitors who lease or sell robots. The subscription service covers all system updates and includes 24/7 monitoring and support through inVia’s Robotics Operation Center (ROC).

A team of robotics experts is dedicated to each customer to oversee fulfilment operations and troubleshoot any problems, often fixing them before they are even visible. This model democratises automation, making it available as an operating expense to businesses of all sizes, versus traditional equipment that was capital-intensive and expensive.

“We’re honoured to receive this recognition and award for our technology that is solving the pressing issues facing warehouse employees and businesses on a daily basis,” says Lior Elazary, CEO and Co-Founder of inVia. “We recognise that eCommerce demand is continuing to rise and warehouse workers are still facing immense pressures to fulfil orders quickly. Our mission is deeply rooted in creating an environment where people can do fulfilling work and in order for us to ensure this happens, we are committed to improving the technological offerings that our customers require.”

“Frost & Sullivan applauds inVia for maximising worker productivity and providing eCommerce organisations with an attainable entry point to introduce autonomous mobile robots and the PickerWall into their businesses,” says Sankara Narayanan,  Industry Principal at Frost & Sullivan. “The company’s RaaS model, ROC, and quick deployment further enhance its customer value proposition.”

A key differentiator in receiving the award was the inVia PickerWall, as it demonstrates inVia’s unique workflow that removes interdependencies between robots and people and subsequently unleashes productivity rates, at a time when warehouse labour is hard to hire. The inVia PickerWall helps companies manage higher order volumes without having to increase labour enabling eCommerce warehouses to be 10 times more productive.

Most importantly, inVia PickerWall leverages the strengths of both people and robots. Robots work non-stop doing repetitive tasks like travelling and picking. People are allowed to do higher order tasks like sortation and work on a variety of tasks in bursts. Workers enjoy more stimulating working conditions and businesses enjoy consistently meeting service level agreements (SLAs) without dips in productivity.

inVia Picker robots were also recognised by Frost & Sullivan as solving one of the most challenging problems in the e-Commerce space; quick and easy access to a wide variety of stock keeping units (SKUs). E-Commerce warehouses are often 250,000 sq ft, comparable to three football fields – and may have 100,000 SKUs distributed across the warehouse. The robots are completely autonomous and eliminate the need for people to travel across the facility to retrieve inventory and deliver it to the packing station.

Additionally, inVia Pickers are mobile, unlike traditional shuttle systems, and can be moved to work in different zones or in other locations. This eliminates the need for reengineering facilities, allowing inVia to adapt to different environments.

The Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognise companies across the globe for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. inVia was awarded based on its commitment to innovation, creativity, and application diversity that meet ever-evolving customer needs.

 

Wise shortlisted for UK business award

Posted on by David Priestman

Wise, a technology business which helps logistics firms to engage their self-employed workforce, is celebrating after being shortlisted for a 2022 National Business Award.

Wise, founded in December 2019, has been listed in the ‘Best New Business’ category following tremendous growth which has seen the scale-up business go from 12 employees to over 60 in two and a half years.

Based in Birmingham, Wise has developed a platform which is now used by over 250 UK delivery firms and 50,000 self-employed subcontractors to save time, money and stress on everything from onboarding to tax compliance.

The finalists for this year’s UK Business Awards were announced live online on Friday 29th April, with internationally renowned businesses such as DHL, Tata Communications and CitySprint up for different awards at the ceremony on Thursday 7th July.

Dan Richards, Chief Commercial Officer at Wise, said: “We’re incredibly proud to have been shortlisted for this prestigious award after what has been a tremendously exciting few years for the business. To be recognised and put forward for this kind of national accolade is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the entire Wise team and all of our fantastic clients across the UK.”

Geek+’s RoboShuttle 8 wins SITL Innovation Award

Posted on by David Priestman

Geek+, a global leader in robotics technology, has seen its commitment to innovation recognised yet again in the form of the prestigious Innovation Award from SITL (Semaine de l’Innovation du Transport & de la Logistique), France’s premier logistics technology exhibition.

Geek+ won the award in the Intralogistics, Robotics and Automation category for its next-generation goods-to-person solution, RoboShuttle 8, which makes possible high-density storage at heights of up to 8m.

At the awards ceremony, RoboShuttle 8 was singled out for praise due to the literal new heights of storage density that the AMR makes attainable. Geek+ continues to invest in innovation to stay ahead of the logistics challenges of tomorrow and develop cutting-edge solutions for customers today.

Jean-Daniel Cohen, Business Development Director France at Geek+ in Europe, said: “As innovation is one of the pillars of Geek+’s philosophy and our success, we are very proud and happy to have been recognised by the SITL jury. Geek+ would like to thank the jury and the organisers of SITL, and congratulate the other winners and nominees.”

In recent months, Geek+ has presented several new innovations including PopPick, a picking solution that can pick up to 650 totes per hour; a new cross-docking solution aimed at supermarkets; and Sky-Storage & Ground-Pick, a combined high-density storage and picking solution that allows pallet storage without sacrificing picking speed.

Geek+ will be at LogiMAT, Europe’s largest logistics trade fair (Hall 7 Stand D51, Stuttgart Messe, 31st  May – 2nd June), and will show the PopPick solution, as well as the RoboShuttle 8.

 

BMW to host IFOY awards ceremony

Posted on by Keith McKinley

This year, the IFOY AWARD Night will be hosted by the BMW Group. The awards ceremony will take place on 30th June at BMW Welt in Munich. The trophies of the IFOY AWARD 2022 (International Intralogistics and Forklift Truck of the Year) will be ceremoniously presented to the winners of the intralogistics competition in the almost 1,000 sq m auditorium of the futuristic delivery and event venue. The IFOY organisation expects more than 200 international guests from business, science and the media to attend the evening.

It is not the first time that BMW Welt has provided a spectacular backdrop for the awards ceremony. The trophies, also known as the “Oscars of intralogistics”, were presented to the winners for the first time in 2017 at BMW Welt – at that time in the so-called double cone.

“The BMW Group is one of the biggest users of new, innovative logistics solutions in the automotive industry worldwide. We are therefore very pleased to be guests at BMW Welt with the world’s largest intralogistics competition,” emphasises Anita Würmser, chairwoman of the jury.

“The BMW Group has traditionally invested for a long time not only in the development of innovative and sustainable vehicles and mobility solutions, but also in efficient, sustainable and forward-looking solutions in the production and logistics network – LEAN. GREEN. DIGITAL,” emphasises Dr Michael Nikolaides, Senior Vice President BMW Group Production Network, Logistics. “We are very pleased to have the opportunity to set the stage for the IFOY AWARD 2022.”

This year, 14 devices and solutions from 12 manufacturers made it to the final round of the 10th staging of the competition. The finalists cover the entire spectrum of in-plant logistics – from forklifts to autonomous mobile robots (AMR) and software to holistic automation projects for high-performance warehouses. All finalists went through the three-stage IFOY audit in March during the IFOY TEST DAYS at Messe Dortmund before the 25 jury members from 19 countries – with the UK exclusively represented by Logistics Business News Editor Peter MacLeod – cast their votes. The result, however, remains secret – for the public and the manufacturers – until the award ceremony in the BMW Welt.

 

STILL products score double success

Posted on by David Priestman

In voting for “Product of the Year”, readers of German trade publication materialfluss have twice opted for products or logistics concepts from the Hamburg-based intralogistics expert STILL.

It was the third time that materialfluss called on its readers to vote for the Product of the Year. The search was on for products and projects that either have a special technical feature, whose market success in 2021 speaks in favour of an award or whose product has a special influence on the industry. Entries were accepted in a total of 14 categories.

STILL GmbH came out on top in the ‘Warehousing and Order Picking Technology’ category as well as ‘Logistics, Logistics Real Estate and Transport’ category, and is one of the top three in these categories, all of which are deemed winners according to the competition’s statutes.

The STILL OPX iGo neo

In the warehouse and order-picking technology category, STILL entered the OPX iGo neo autonomous order picker (pictured) with its new intelligent assistance systems such as Easy Protect, which virtually guarantees efficiency and safety.

The STILL OPX iGo neo follows its operator every step of the way and, in autonomous mode, adapts its travel path, speed and stopping positions to the task at hand and its environment. It also brakes automatically at cross aisles and reacts situationally to obstacles and people.

The OPX iGo neo is the first order picker to be equipped with a comprehensive pedestrian protection system (PPE) with safety laser scanners.

Reorganisation at Siemens

A manufacturer-independent intralogistics concept developed by STILL Intralogistics Consulting for Siemens is the second nomination with which the Hamburg-based company took part in the materialfluss reader survey in the logistics, warehouse real estate and transport category and was awarded a prize.

With this concept, the picking performance at Siemens WKC (Chemnitz plant for combination technology) was increased by 150%. To achieve this, an intralogistics area that could not be expanded was modified in the course of the project to accommodate the goods previously stored in another warehouse as well as the picking activities. The challenge was to increase the pallet capacity by 40%, the capacity for small load carriers by 240% and, at the same time, the picking performance by 110%, while maintaining the same floor space.

Another goal of the reorganisation was to install a logistics system on the existing floor space that was tailored to the customers’ needs and at the same time more efficient. To ensure efficient use of space, the STILL experts opted for a high-bay pallet warehouse combined with an AutoStore system.

After joint planning by STILL Consulting and Siemens WKC, the STILL and Dematic sales teams took over. STILL supplied the platform and racking system, while Dematic focused on installing the AutoStore system and the conveyor technology.

The two awards were presented virtually to Frank Müller, Senior Vice President Sales & Service Steering STILL EMEA, on 16th March. “I am delighted to receive these awards. After all, they are awarded by a particularly critical jury – namely the readers of the trade magazine materialfluss,” Müller emphasised in the run-up to the award ceremony.

“I am particularly pleased, however, that the continuing high level of innovation of our STILL employees has been recognised in this way. The readers’ vote shows us very clearly that we are on the right track with our development work and our independent consultancy services. I would like to sincerely thank the readers of materialfluss for this confirmation.”

 

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