One important point was quickly worked out: There was no cut-throat competition between shuttles and stacker cranes with a clear winner. Intralogistics offers space for both systems: The application decides which technology is more suitable.

"The shuttle has definitely taken market share away from the storage and retrieval machine." Dirk Haarscheidt, Stöcklin

The round table participants have many years of experience in the industry and contributed their points of view to the lively discussion: Walter Kennerknecht, Head of Sales for storage and retrieval machines at the MIAS Group in Munich, Dirk Haarscheidt, Sales Division Systems at Stöcklin Logistik GmbH in Netphen, Christian Brauneis, Director Business Unit Industry Solutions at Knapp in Dobl, Andreas Koch, Head of Product Management at SSI Schäfer Automation GmbH in Giebelstadt and Christian Beer, owner and Managing Director of Servus Intralogistics GmbH in Dornbirn.

According to Andreas Koch, there has never been a trend for shuttles to replace storage and retrieval machines. "The requirements for speed and dynamics are increasing for both systems. In many applications, for example, the storage and retrieval machine is state of the art. It is important to find the right solution for the respective area of application," he argues. Walter Kennerknecht takes a similar view. Shuttles play to their strengths in the pallet sector, for example. "The storage and retrieval machine has not been displaced, rather the situation has leveled out and both technologies occupy their positions." According to Dirk Haarscheidt, the automation market has grown considerably in recent years and the development is not yet over. "In this context, shuttles have taken market share from stacker cranes, but have by no means displaced them. Storage and retrieval machines score particularly well in the small parts sector."

"We need solutions that can quickly meet different needs and grow with them." Christian Brauneis, Knapp

Christian Brauneis also joins in this concert. "There is room for both technologies. Nevertheless, we are still convinced by shuttle technology." Knapp is confronted with customer requirements for more dynamics, faster processes and better scalability of shuttles. "Performance requirements are growing, and that motivates us. We remain the technology and innovation leader in this area," he says and announces that Knapp will launch the latest generation of shuttles on the market in the first quarter of 2018. "We will keep turning the wheel." Christian Beer makes no secret of his preference for shuttle technology: "I see a trend towards shuttles, especially in the light lifting sector. This market is developing very well and we are looking to the future with confidence," he says, outlining the situation.

Rack and pinion drives for more acceleration

"Storage and retrieval machines won't disappear just because e-commerce is growing." Walter Kennerknecht, MIAS Group

"E-commerce is likely to continue to grow in the future and remains a market driver. What innovations can result from this - where is the journey heading?", asked editor-in-chief Martin Schrüfer. Walter Kennerknecht agreed with this assessment of online retail. Ordered yesterday evening and received today is already common practice. Companies have to react extremely flexibly to customer requirements. This is why fast logistics with innovative products that meet such requirements are important. "MIAS is more active in the pallet sector. There are still sectors in which bulk goods are needed that are stored on pallets. These load carriers and storage and retrieval machines will not disappear just because e-commerce is growing," he predicts. However, load handling equipment also has to travel at ever greater accelerations and speeds. These values have doubled in the past ten years. One way to meet the requirements is to use innovative rack and pinion drives, for example, which ensure faster acceleration. "The challenges for storage and retrieval machines are growing in order to get goods to the customer even faster."

Two kingdoms - production and logistics

Christian Brauneis argues in a similar vein. "We need systems that are able to keep up with peak requirements. Static order picking no longer exists. In the still attractive intralogistics market, solutions are needed that can quickly meet different needs and grow with them," he describes. Brauneis calls for new approaches in shuttle technology. The means of transport is not only at home on the shelf, but also as an extended arm in autonomous transport systems. The increasing trend towards mass production is also forcing production and logistics to move closer together. Dirk Haarscheidt agrees. "The intralogistics market is huge and remains dynamic. It is important that production and logistics grow together," he says. In order to achieve this successfully, the IT connection and networking must be ensured. He sees a challenge in the practical implementation. "Many customers already have a functioning production system that cannot be easily restructured and adapted to logistics," he says.

"We should only talk about Industry 4.0 if we have a functioning logistics system." Andreas Koch, SSI Schaefer Automation

Christian Beer also advocates greater proximity between production and logistics. "There are two kingdoms - production and logistics. Bringing them together is a major psychological challenge. With our technology, we can link this quite well, and we see enormous potential for shuttle solutions here," he describes. In recent years, Servus Logistics has gained a technological edge over the competition. This can only be maintained through a constant willingness to innovate. This also applies to the digital factory: "We should only talk about Industry 4.0 if we have a functioning logistics system." For Andreas Koch, it is essential to constantly deal with innovative solutions for warehouses and load carriers simply because of the ever-increasing variety of parts in production. "The quantities are getting smaller and the number of items is increasing. In the past, 100,000 parts had to be available in the warehouse, today there are several million that have to be delivered within 24 hours or less," he outlines. For Koch, the material flow is already highly automated - with the exception of order picking. "There will be a shortage of workers here in the future due to demographic developments. It will no longer be possible for people alone to pick boxes." He sees considerable potential in increased human-robot cooperation. Physically strenuous tasks could increasingly be taken over by machines. In general, Dirk Haarscheidt sees "systems conceptually on the move". For example, there are customers who manage goods and move stored pallets. Walter Kennerknecht agrees with this. He knows from experience: operators build a warehouse, store the customer's goods and then deliver the goods to their destination. "This approach is gaining in importance."

Modernization important when the economy is booming

One way of adapting to changing circumstances is to modernize existing systems and means of transport. Editor-in-chief Martin Schrüfer wanted to know how important this topic is. "Modernization," was Walter Kennerknecht's direct answer, "is always an issue when the economy is booming. If it slows down, the willingness to carry out retrofit measures also decreases," he says. Dirk Haarscheidt sees a need for modernization measures in particular when warehouses and equipment are getting on in years and no longer meet current safety standards. "We are often contacted by customers and then work out conversion plans together, for example to turn a large warehouse into several small parts warehouses and adapt the processes accordingly." The key issue here is to make IT and hardware fit for the future. According to Andreas Koch, modernization also depends on the industry and business development. "A certain amount of modernization always takes place, otherwise we wouldn't continue to develop," he says.