A look into the warehouse of tomorrow

viadat's intuitive user interface shortens the training period for new employees, reduces errors and provides a basis for monitoring and decision-making. Photo: viastore Software

TEAM Managing Director Baranowski is also of the opinion that warehouse employees without IT knowledge will find it difficult and that the requirements will increase: "Warehouse employees now have the task of verifying the system specifications and applying them in the best possible way. The prerequisite for this will be that they can handle such systems in the warehouse and have no fear of contact. Of course, you also need a certain IT affinity in order to use the available IT systems smoothly. As always, there will be winners and losers from this development among warehouse employees."

According to computer scientist Hartmut Braun from PSI Logistics, intelligent systems also require intelligent users. He sees the trend that industrial applications are increasingly based on device developments from the consumer electronics sector, "with which users are familiar, from smartphones and wearables to apps and PC applications. They serve to make work easier, not to dumb things down."

Even though many things will be automated with the help of software systems, the PSI manager is convinced that people and their ability to assess things will remain indispensable: "Acting in accordance with the situation requires enormous knowledge and skill."

What can software do today - what will it do tomorrow?

Life without a smartphone is unthinkable for most people in their private lives today. Their influence will soon be felt in business and in the logistics centers of the world. Software developers are focusing on what even the youngest children can do effortlessly - swiping with their finger. Patrick Diedrich: "Everything is getting closer to smartphones in terms of intuitive usability. Services that we need in industry could already be converted into apps today with little effort and therefore be used on any end device. The new generation of robots, on the other hand, interacts with the worker. Thanks to touch-sensitive elements, today's robots enable direct collaboration with humans. Klinkhammer wants to be a pioneer with KlinkWARE. The warehouse management system from the Nuremberg-based provider relies entirely on touchscreen operation of panels, tablets and forklift terminals. Diedrich: "The slide function avoids time-consuming scrolling. The swipe finger navigates effortlessly through lists, relevant functions can be zoomed in by tapping, and the one-page function displays complete or partial views with a single touch."

"Everything is getting closer to smartphones in terms of intuitive usability."

Patrick Diedrich, Sales Manager and IT Consultant at Klinkhammer Group

Photo: Klinkhammer

viastore also relies on intuitive user interfaces in its software development. And even the setup should be made as convenient as possible for the user. Müllerschön describes viadat's configuration wizard: "With a click, the user can, for example, create new forklift or picking workstations, add additional storage zones and integrate further warehouse technology components such as shuttle systems or driverless transport systems."

"Developers must ensure that their products simplify warehouse activities and are not a technical gimmick that makes everything more complicated."

Markus Müllerschön, Vice President Sales, viastore Software

Photo: viastore Software

SSI Schaefer manager Klug has an example of how IT supports the packaging process today: "In the background, special mathematical algorithms are used to evaluate various item information based on thousands of arithmetic operations per second and calculate the ideal packing pattern for a shipping pallet. Based on this calculation result, the employee is visually guided through the sequence of the picking and packing process. They are shown which item to pick next and where to place it on the target pallet. The result of the IT support is a stable pallet with a higher packing density in addition to reducing the workload of the employees - the quality of the end product increases."

TEAM's aim is to make companies "Logistics 4.0 ready". This can only be achieved through "clarity of content, ease of use and, where possible, input via scanner or voice". The latest development in TEAM's ProStore warehouse management system involves the use of smart glasses for order picking.

Braun sees the development of adaptive scenario management in PSIwms as forward-looking. "This allows system settings to be modeled depending on the scenario and corresponding control processes to be specified. Scenarios and key performance indicators can be defined for different situations, such as 'early shift' or 'late shift', and PSIwms reacts specifically when these occur and automatically adjusts the process coordination accordingly."

What are the limits of software support?

All software company experts agree that the possibilities of IT in and for intralogistics are almost limitless. For Dietrich, the limits are at most set by the developers, whose imagination is what counts.

Müllerschön raises the question of "to what extent people are willing to accept this support. Some employees are skeptical about wearing headsets or glasses - be it because of the operation, functionality or comfort." The viastore manager demands that the developers of such solutions must ensure "that their products actually simplify activities in the warehouse and are not a technical gimmick that makes everything more complicated. If employees recognize and understand the practical benefits of IT support for their daily work, acceptance will automatically increase."

It will be interesting to see how the interaction between technology, IT and humans will develop in practice. None of the interviewees see the danger of a dystopia in which machines are superior to humans. Despite all the "intelligence" of robots, forklifts and the like - they are all intended to make work easier for people in the smart factory and not overburden them - it is also obvious that many activities will be eliminated as a result. However, it is clear that the challenges in the smart warehouse lie in maintaining an overview of the processes and making the increasing complexity of logistics processes manageable. According to Michael Baranowski, this can only be achieved by providing clear and comprehensible information through the IT systems.