PSI Logistics Day: Smart logistics is today

Opening

In their opening speech, the two managing directors of PSI Logistics GmbH, Dr. Giovanni Prestifilippo and Sascha Tepuric, explained the extent to which the product portfolio of PSIwms, PSItms, PSIairport and PSIglobal, which merges into the PSI Logistics Suite, has synergies with other companies and business areas in the PSI Group and how this combined expertise can generate added value for the company's own market performance. The future viability of PSI products is also supported by intensive research activities, which - with the interests of logistics, energy and society in mind - result in new opportunities for smart mobility. Smart Parcel, the parcel or load carrier of the future with an IoT chip and, above all, e-mobility projects were presented as striking examples.

Lectures

Prof. Dr. Volker Stich, Managing Director of the FIR at RWTH Aachen University, added a question mark to the statement "Smart logistics is today". What does smart logistics actually consist of, and is the normal scenario really that far advanced? With this in mind, he analyzed the elements and visions of the path and fields of action. His conclusion: we need to rethink and think ahead in terms of the possibilities! Because on a scale of the maturity level of digitally networked logistics, most players are still at the level between connectivity and visibility. However, the stages of transparency, predictability and adaptability still need to be conquered on the path to the digitally networked supply chain of Industry 4.0. Information and material flows are merging more and more, and the role of IT is becoming increasingly important. The ability to capture, use and provide relevant information is therefore at the heart of the success of future business models.

Ingolf Heil, Head of Software Technology at PSI Logistics, then spoke about the PSI technology behind the PSI products as well as innovations and future developments. The goal of PSI AG is the technical integration of all products into a global software suite based on the PSI JAVA Framework platform with modern 3-tier architecture. In addition to the added value from the synergies of the entire AG, there is still the option of using individual products, modules or services. Web services as a standardized interface are also included.

The user interface PSIgui, which was successfully implemented in PSIwms as the first PSI Logistics product, was discussed in the area of innovation. With its click design, it is completely flexible and can be configured independently.

The future of the Internet of Things has already begun at PSI. IoT chips are being further developed and various benefits and functional added value are being generated in the products. Cloud computing is also covered by PSI Logistics at all levels.

Michael Tillner, Managing Director of Friedrich Zufall GmbH & Co. KG, spoke on the statement: "Logistics is IT. ZUFALL is currently in transition from a standard logistics service provider to a company that can also map, implement and even further develop complicated processes. For the full-service logistics provider, the contract logistics business area with many locations and various clients is the one with the strongest growth. However, customer requirements and further development can only be managed with the right IT support. PSIwms with its software architecture manages this business with a complex solution landscape and is used to the great satisfaction of the customer.

Dr. Thomas Mielke, Managing Director of Metroplan Process Management GmbH, outlined the importance of the integrated purchasing process in the supply chain and the use of PSIglobal. The technical planning and consulting company for production and logistics locations uses PSI software for supply chains to identify optimization potential in processes and location placements through network analysis. His advice: preventive analysis! In terms of network and data hygiene, it is important to carry out the analysis regularly, as both are subject to constant change.

Rainer Hoppe, Managing Director of A'PARI Consulting GmbH, spoke about process support through digital tender management for tenders and explained the use of PSI Tender Management. Global and intermodal supply chains are increasing the complexity of logistics - with the result that many participants and a large amount of required information need to be coordinated. As a result, the number of tenders is increasing and electronic tendering platforms are becoming more and more important. Important: The challenges of mastering the tender management process include not only the corresponding process maturity and end-to-end process design, but above all professional, end-to-end IT support.

Workshops

Four workshops offered the opportunity to get to know the latest functions of the new releases of the PSIwms, PSIglobal and PSI Tender Management products and thus to delve deeper into the topics of supply chain, tender management, warehouse management and ERP infrastructure on a product-specific basis. Frank Brockmann, PSIwms product manager at PSI Logistics, spoke about the new PSIwms 4.0 release. Matthias Drees, project manager at PSI Logistics, explained how to easily create offers with PSI Tender Management, and Marc Berning, PSIglobal product manager at PSI Logistics, presented the new possibilities of PSIglobal for data mining and route planning. Internal transport management for PSIpenta, this interdisciplinary topic was discussed jointly by Rüdiger Stauch, Head of Sales at PSI Logistics, and Stephan Klaas, Product Manager & Consultant at the sister company PSI Automotive and Industry.

Get-together and outlook

The day ended with finger food and drinks - especially top-class cocktails, known from the PSI Havana Lounge. A lot of news and intensive exchange: this goal was achieved. The communication of current releases, programs and modules on the part of PSI Logistics, as well as the input of experiences, wishes and ideas on the part of the users made the meeting valuable. And the latter is particularly important for a company and its innovation process. PSI Logistics was voted one of the 100 "TOP Innovators" in 2016. It wants to maintain this claim. Gisela Upmeyer M.A.