Intralogistics is facing a turning point

Following the successful premiere of the talk format in Berlin last year, intralogistics supplier STILL made a guest appearance last week with two sequences on the main stage of the Logistics Summit at the CCH congress centre. Logistics experts discussed pointed theses on the topics of automation and circularity with journalists Thilo Jörgl and Anita Würmser in a speed talk lasting 25 minutes each.

"Many of the 1,700 or so participants gave us very positive feedback - both on the topical content and the entertaining format," says Frank Müller, Senior Vice President Brand Management STILL EMEA.

The trends in intralogistics have rarely been clearer: automation and sustainability are two central topics of the present. Almost all companies will invest in these areas in the next twelve months. Appropriate technologies are available and are gradually becoming cheaper, the entry threshold is falling rapidly and at the same time the shortage of skilled workers and rising wages are increasing the pressure to automate, even for existing warehouse facilities. The main driver for new projects, however, is the lack of skilled workers, which will not change in the long term, explained Müller during the automation session.

Against this backdrop, Marten Bosselmann put forward the thesis: "Those who fail to think man and machine together in automation have not understood the future of logistics," said the chairman of the German Parcel and Express Logistics Association (BIEK). In his opinion, a lack of labour and rising costs for personnel make the automation of parcel centres inevitable. The point is not to lay off staff, but to relieve them. Companies must succeed in "turning man and machine into colleagues", says Bosselmann.

According to Müller, a change in thinking is currently taking place in many managers' heads. This is mainly due to the fact that automation is becoming more affordable. Above all, automation projects in existing plants will be possible in the future in short time and without major changes. Brownfield is becoming a trend, Müller predicted.

In this context, the manager announced on stage a new collaboration between STILL and idealworks. The Munich-based company is a specialist in autonomous mobile robots (AMR). The Hanseatic company is now an international sales and service partner for the autonomous devices, which can independently transport loads of up to 1,000 kilograms.

Projects with AMRs that are flexible and easily scalable pay off promptly, claims Florian Menold. The situation is different for larger projects, however, explains the Managing Director for France at pfenning logistics group. In view of ever shorter contract periods with customers, such projects are a challenge for contract logistics providers. According to Menold, large projects often only pay off after five years. To enable contract logistics operators to easily integrate new customers with different goods into the logistics network, the manager would like to see more flexibility. "Automation is not flexible enough today," was his thesis.

Intralogistics companies - and their customers - also have to rethink the topic of circularity. This was emphasised by scientist Christoph Küffner from the Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in the other talk. "Climate protection starts today - there is no more of the same," emphasised the researcher. He predicts that in logistics, more and more companies will act according to the circular economy principle of cradle-to-cradle in the coming years.

Karl Knipfelberg reported that a change in thinking had already taken place at STILL: "The future RXE is the first forklift truck to be thought of in circular terms," says the Vice President Counterbalance & Energy at KION ITS EMEA. According to a concept study, double-digit carbon dioxide savings are possible as a result. "Sustainability measures only stabilise that which already exists. Companies need to introduce an effective, functioning material cycle," was his thesis. However, circularity must always be thought of holistically - from product design, through the supply chain, production, customer use to reuse.

A philosophy that is also finding its way into the commercial vehicle sector, as Dr Frank Albers, Managing Director Sales & Marketing at Fahrzeugwerk Bernard Krone, confirmed. Already in the design of trailers, the focus is on everything from use to disposal. The main levers are weight, aerodynamics and the reuse of materials after the first life of a trailer, which on average lasts eight years. Recently, an electric axle was also introduced.

The second life is also playing an increasingly important role in the development of industrial trucks as part of the circularity concept. In order to avoid compromising reliability and quality for the customer, STILL is working on concepts for the reuse of lithium-ion batteries, for example, or on strategies for the use of fuel cells in the second life of the truck. "Open technology is important to us," says Knipfelberg. STILL is the first OEM in Europe to have its own fuel cell production facility - at its Hamburg site. It will start with the production of 24-volt equipment.

Be it commercial vehicles or intralogistics solutions: The biggest lever when it comes to saving energy is often the way it is used. That's why both Krone and STILL help their customers to save energy in everyday use. Tyre pressure monitoring systems in trailers or smart energy management to avoid expensive power peaks when charging batteries are just two of the many services that will make it easier for customers to move towards sustainability in future.

STILL will publish the two talks online in the next few days at Exhibitions and digital events | STILL Germany.

Since 2021, the STILL Logistics Talk “Thesen am Tresen” has been dealing with current and visionary topics in logistics and intralogistics that are of key importance to investment decision-makers. Prominent guests from industry, trade and the service sector discuss polarising theses in talk-show style.