The jury thus honored the joint project between Dachser and Fraunhofer IML to map all packages, assets and processes in a transshipment warehouse in real time. @ILO stands for 'Advanced Indoor Localization and Operations'. A two-dimensional data matrix code is applied to each package as an identifier. These codes are captured by hundreds of optical scanning units in the ceiling area of the warehouse.

Award ceremony in Berlin

The German Logistics Award was presented yesterday evening as part of the German Logistics Congress in Berlin. The finalists were also honored with certificates.

New algorithms based on artificial intelligence developed by the research partners in the Dachser Enterprise Lab interpret the data captured every second by the optical scanning units to ensure that all packages are automatically identified, localized, measured and visualized in real time. This creates a real-time image of all packages, assets and processes of a transshipment center in Dachser's European groupage network.

The fully automatic identification and localization of pallets makes manual scanning of barcodes unnecessary and speeds up individual processes between incoming and outgoing goods. Employees in the warehouse are shown the most important information for internal transport as well as additional information such as dangerous goods instructions or prioritized loading instructions directly.

Step into practice

In the next innovation step, Dachser and Fraunhofer IML will transfer the fully automated and permanent measurement of all packages into practical use. The volume data obtained can then be used by intelligent algorithms, among other things, to support loading and route planning and optimize the utilization of cargo space. This contributes to climate protection by reducing transport kilometers and thus unnecessary CO2 emissions.

For the digital twin project, the transshipment halls of two Dachser branches, in Unterschleißheim near Munich and in Öhringen near Heilbronn, were converted into @ILO pilot facilities. The roll-out of the new technology is scheduled to start in 2024 and will then be gradually rolled out at Dachser's European branches. Analyses show that the investments will pay for themselves after just a few years.

Above all, the partners emphasize the advantage of a long-term partnership between industry and science. "From research into practice - throughout Europe. Against the background of the long history of the Fraunhofer IML, this is an extraordinary research success. It shows that cooperation between science and practice is worthwhile. Especially when it is filled with life in the joint teams as intensively and sustainably as in the Enterprise Lab with Dachser," comments Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Michael ten Hompel, Managing Director of the Fraunhofer IML.

The 17-member jury of the German Logistics Award, chaired by journalist Dr. Ursula Weidenfeld, clearly voted for the winning concept after evaluating the four finalists. "The concept is transferable to logistics service providers and shippers. Proven technologies are linked and used in an innovative and practical way," said the jury. As a member of the auditing team and organizer of the competition, BVL Chairman Prof. Thomas Wimmer praised the well-deserved prize-winning project with the words: "A basic problem of general cargo logistics has been solved here."