Lots of speed in conveyor technology

In dialog: The participants of the materialfluss Round Table discussed developments in modern conveyor technology.

"In which direction is conveyor technology developing?" asked materialfluss editor-in-chief Martin Schrüfer at the beginning. According to Volker Welsch, modern conveyor technology must be highly flexible. Developments such as same-day delivery require suitable concepts to process orders quickly and smoothly. It is not just a matter of increasing the speed of the conveyor technology. There are limits in this respect. "At some point, the cup will fly out of the crate on the bend." Software and digitalization play an important role. "We have to make an effort, for example, to make order picking more intelligent in order to implement fast processes," he said. The material flow must be optimized, as conveyor technology is moving ever closer to the production environment. In this context, he sees the topic of Industry 4.0 as a technology driver. Ulrich Schlosser argued in a similar vein. "We are challenged to implement new ideas. Modern conveyor technology must be modular, flexible and scalable." He also sees a trend towards collecting more and more information from running systems - keyword Big Data: "The future raw material is data," he said.

Industry talk with a sense of humor: the materialfluss Round Table also includes some laughter.

Intralogistics expert Frank Apel is observing a stronger convergence of production and logistics. "We are increasingly receiving project inquiries from the production area with the desire to link production more closely to warehouse systems," he describes. Jens Karolyi sees a lot of movement in conveyor technology. "I have the impression that the industry is waking up." According to his observations, a fundamental consolidation is currently taking place. "There are more and more collaborations between companies, with partners focusing on their respective core competencies in order to be efficient," he outlined.

"We have noticed that things are still going a little faster."

Frank Apel Gebhardt Fördertechnik

Skills shortage more serious than ever before

The participants largely agreed on the shortage of skilled workers across all professional groups. "We are desperately looking for people," Jens Karolyi put it in a nutshell. "This issue has reached a new level," agreed Volker Welsch. He knows customers who have changed their location decision because there were already competitors in the region they originally chose and the job market was empty. "They then opted for a different location."

"We are challenged to develop new ideas."

Ulrich Schlosser Witron Logistics + Information Technology

As a consequence of this dilemma, Ulrich Schlosser can imagine driving forward human-machine cooperation. "There are certainly activities that machines can take over - in order picking, for example." The experts also agreed that companies in the conveyor technology sector have to cope with fluctuating batch sizes and peaks such as Christmas. In this context, Schlosser faces the challenge of merging production and logistics more closely. According to Walter Müller, flexible automation is required to successfully manage peak times. According to Frank Apel, such systems are also essential because product cycles are becoming ever shorter. Jens Karolyi brought another aspect into the discussion: "I think it is an exciting topic to rent out conveyor systems at peak times." However, sufficient suitable logistics partners would also have to be available for this.

"I have the impression that the industry is waking up."

Jens Karolyi Interroll Worldwide Group

Logistics is our core business

Editor-in-chief Martin Schrüfer asked what role third party logistics (3PL) generally plays today. "Many companies have taken back their logistics because they were not satisfied with external service providers," noted Volker Welsch. And Jens Karolyi added: "Logistics is core business." However, a precise analysis of the current situation is required. "Companies need to examine very carefully what they can best offer the customer and what needs to be bought in." Large players do not need external partners because they regard intralogistics as a core competence. Conveyor technology is now widespread, and the experts agree that there are no completely untapped sectors or areas of application. Ulrich Schlosser only sees a certain amount of potential in the retail and non-food sectors. "E-commerce will continue to grow here and generate new applications." According to Walter Müller, intralogistics also offers improvements in detail. "Partial automation solutions could optimize internal transport," he said. Jens Karolyi also sees a certain amount of scope in retail. "Supermarkets, for example, are very inefficient in terms of logistics. A solution like the one used in pharmacies would be conceivable here: The conveyor technology runs in the background and fetches the desired products for the customer. That saves a lot of time," outlined Karolyi.

Frank Apel reported on a technical innovation. "We have developed a pallet shuttle and are launching the first projects. We hope this will make pallet transportation more efficient," he said.

"At some point, the cup will fly out of the box on the bend."

Volker Welsch psb intralogistics

Walter Müller sees potential in the fast loading and unloading of trucks. Load carriers and transport units are becoming increasingly individualized. "We have therefore created load technology as a modular system that can be reused and adapted to the respective application. This enables us to achieve high added value," he explained. Predictive maintenance is also one of the exciting topics in conveyor technology. The collection of data in combination with powerful software can help to detect faults in systems in good time before they cause major damage. However, Volker Welsch believes that this should not result in systems that can only be controlled by a few specialists in the company. His advice: "Technical developments must also remain simple for the operator."

Klaus Hiemer