Intralogistics is a hot topic in warehousing and logistics at the moment. Implementing intralogistics principles to improve your operational performance involves committing to a particular, focused way of working and using an array of equipment and IT to make it happen. In this feature we look at the suppliers addressing this area and what they have to offer. But first, what does the term Intralogistics actually mean?
Jay Moris at Invata, the US supply chain specialists, defines Intralogistics as “the art of optimising, automating, integrating, and managing the logistical flow of material goods with the flow of information pertaining to those goods within the walls of a fulfillment centre, distribution centre or warehouse.”
In addition to these locations, as we frequently report in Warehouse & Logistics News intralogistics operations are to be found in many large-scale manufacturing plants, delivering materials and components ‘Just In Time’ to production areas and moving goods through the factory as assembly progresses.
If you would like external advice about intralogistics before you start talking to potential supplier partners, warehousing experts Gideon Hillman Consulting service clients throughout the UK. Their specialities include warehouse design, supply chain management and inventory management. They also offer the award winning, UKWA-approved auditing App and reporting tool, ‘The Warehouse Auditor,’ jointly developed with TIM, the mobile software developers.
A common goal for intralogistics operations is achieving maximum space utilisation and efficient storage and retrieval. Interroll are experts in conveying technology and dynamic storage solutions for pallet live and carton live buffer and order picking. Their roller conveyors are also popular for materials handing in food production facilities. Swisslog is a leading automation expert for robot-based and datadriven intralogistics solutions.
Swisslog’s CarryPick portfolio offers goods to person solutions for retail applications, with end users including Nordic children’s online retailer Lekmer.
Swisslog has also completed a high bay warehouse automation project for healthcare manufacturers B. Braun Melsungen and implemented a new state-of the-art high bay cold storage logistics facility for F.
Hoffman-La Roche in Kaiseraugst, Switzerland. Swisslog helped set up the original logistics system here in the 1990s and have been Roche’s intralogistics partners ever since. Fashion retailing is another area benefiting from intralogistics thinking. Dürkopp Fördertechnik, part of the Knapp Group, is helping John Lewis towards its goal of becoming the UK’s leading omnichannel retailer with a new automated garment conveying system at the Magna Park campus.
This enables the retailer to consolidate hanging garments with goods in totes such as shoes or accessories, for store replenishment and on-line. Also highlighted in this feature, return on investment should always be a key driver in selecting a WMS supplier. In their first year of using the service Indigo Software’s WMS customers have shaved an average £126,000 off the cost of running their warehouses, by investing in Indigo WMS.
Meanwhile, managing forklift truck fleets is a crucial part of intralogistics thinking that mustn’t be overlooked. I.D. Systems has an MHE fleet management system to suit individual requirements, including large fleets across multiple sites, requiring detailed fleet analysis and management.
Finally, intralogistics operations are highly dependent on handheld scanners, mobile printers and radios, but keeping these items safe, charged and ready to use is a key challenge! Apex Supply Chain Technologies, the automated dispensing solutions provider offers the acclaimed range of Axcess self-serve locker systems to manage, track and control these critical assets.
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