intralogistics
internal logistics
Intralogistics refers to the flow of materials and goods within a company premises. The term is therefore different from the transport of goods outside the factory. The task of intralogistics is to organize, control and implement the internal flow of goods and materials and to contribute to its optimization.
Table of contents
Tasks
Internal logistics deals with the organization, control, implementation and optimization of the flow of goods and materials within a company. This can involve industrial, commercial or public companies. It uses technical systems and services to do this. It establishes a coherent flow of information and uses the necessary personnel and energy.
history
Historically, internal logistics began with the advent of automated warehouses, high-bay warehouses and goods distribution systems, around the middle of the 20th century. Since then, the corresponding internal processes in transport, handling and storage have become so complex that they can be viewed as a separate logistical service.
automation
One of the typical trends in the development of intralogistics is the automation of processes . The higher level of automation in companies' intralogistics is also a response to the challenges of globalization. The main drivers are increased speed and compatibility of the computers and controls involved. These include the following innovations:
- computer-based warehouse management systems
- Relational databases
- Networking technologies such as workpiece conveyors
- Barcodes, Barcode Printers, Barcode Readers
- Highly available systems with minimal failure rates
- Mobile Peripherals
- Better hardware and operating systems
Advantages and Disadvantages of Automation
The following advantages and disadvantages of automation can be identified in intralogistics:
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
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interdisciplinarity
In order for intralogistics to be able to fulfil its tasks in companies, it must be highly interdisciplinary. It fulfils cross-sectional tasks from various sub-areas of business administration, information and communication and conveyor technology .
The interaction of these sub-areas ensures the successful implementation of the upcoming tasks in intralogistics. To ensure that all goods and materials are available at the desired location at the right time, various systems and equipment must work together efficiently. These include the following:
- conveyor technology
- storage technology
- sensors and actuators
- planning, dimensioning and process design
- identification, control and software systems
strategies
One of the main challenges in intralogistics is dealing correctly with an increasing variety of variants. Customers are increasingly given the opportunity to customize products, and modular construction is becoming increasingly widespread. This makes internal logistics more complicated. In practice, several strategies can be used to cope with this task:
- Independent route organization: In e-commerce, cardboard-packaged goods and thus small load carriers are becoming increasingly important. Intralogistics responds with autonomous transport systems that independently calculate their routes in the warehouse and between the various areas of the company premises. The vehicles coordinate with each other to decide who chooses which route.
- Self-filling warehouses: In intralogistics, warehouses that detect vacancies in real time and initiate their refill are playing an increasingly important role.
- Robots: To make internal logistics more efficient, robots are used, for example, for depalletizing. They automatically and intelligently put together mixed pallets, with less sensitive products such as detergents at the bottom and more sensitive products such as cartons of eggs at the top of the pallet. The conveyor system drives directly to the robots so that they only cover the shortest possible distances on the premises or in the warehouse.
