To achieve this, he relies on the pragmatic real-time logistics approach. "The focus is always on the user: we start where the pain is greatest - be it with search, booking and inventory efforts, loading processes for multimodal transports or empty runs of forklifts. The focus is on the pragmatic collection of real-time data to increase the efficiency of the supply chain."

Lessons learned from our own experience

Together with users from manufacturing and logistics, the Connected Logistics team has been working intensively on new solutions. As with all Industry 4.0 solutions from Bosch, the focus here is on people: "Our clear goal is to make the lives of logistics professionals easier with IoT solutions. The solutions must create more value for users than they do effort," explains Hülsmann. This pragmatic approach has resulted in the Nexeed Intralogistics Execution solution for intralogistics and the Nexeed Track and Trace solution for extralogistics.
Nexeed Intralogistics Execution consists of interoperable sub-modules that provide data on the storage location of the material, the status of the vehicle fleet and transport routes and intelligently link them with system data. IoT technologies such as RFID, sensors and gateways generate real-time information that can be evaluated and analyzed in the intralogistics system context to simplify the day-to-day work of logistics specialists. "This creates full transparency across the entire material flow step by step. We can draw on extensive experience from successful customer projects," says Hülsmann.

Fleet analytics for an efficient vehicle fleet

The Fleet Analytics module is proof of this: It makes the utilization and efficiency of vehicle fleets transparent and thus enables the intralogistics fleet to be controlled. Mobile transport systems from different manufacturers, such as forklift trucks, are equipped with sensors for this purpose. Position signals from autonomous transport systems such as the ActiveShuttle from Bosch Rexroth are also sent to the software and visualized in a comprehensive system. The result is an overview of driving, waiting and standstill times as well as the proportion of empty and full trips. By recording position and speed, the routes in operation can also be displayed graphically in the form of road and heat maps as well as efficiency diagrams. This allows logistics specialists to quickly identify where, for example, there are danger zones due to the intersection of frequent routes with pedestrian areas and take countermeasures such as speed reduction. In addition, routes of autonomous vehicles can be monitored and analyzed around the clock, which can lead to a significant increase in investment efficiency.

The supermarket becomes intelligent

The Stock Management module makes staging areas (supermarkets) intelligent: all material movements are automatically recorded and booked using RFID, barcodes or sensors. The software not only automates booking in and out. A put-to-light signal also indicates where the incoming material should be stored. If an error does occur during storage, the employees receive a signal - and can correct the error immediately. This saves them a lot of time for bookings and the time-consuming search for the correct lane or incorrectly stored goods. Using 3D visualizations, they can also see where and in what quantity which material is currently located at any time. "This also creates a digital twin of the material in production - an important prerequisite for real-time control of the smart material flow," explains Hülsmann.

Transparency across multimodal supply chains

Matthias Hülsmann and his team have also developed a real-time-based solution for extralogistics: With Nexeed Track and Trace, the freight itself regularly communicates its current location, even on international routes. In addition to the current location, the software transmits further information such as temperature, vibration or humidity to the cloud via wireless sensors and gateways. This allows logistics providers to know where the transported goods are at all times, whether they will arrive on time and what condition they are in. "Our customers reduce handling costs with pragmatically digitalized load carriers. With a return on investment of less than two years, the projects are cost-effective - an important prerequisite for the sustainable success of digitalization," says Matthias Hülsmann.

Hall 6, Stand C61