Nuremberg/Wolfsburg (23.11.2015) - Also the third KIT - Klinkhammer Intralogistik Tag (Klinkhammer Intralogistics Day) was a big success. At the Wolfsburg site of IMPERIAL Logistics International more than 40 participants had the chance to become informed about the most recent trends and technologies in intralogistics and to have a close look at the automated small-parts warehouse of IMPERIAL LOGISTICS International. One highlight of the KIT: the presentation of the new Warehouse-Management-System KlinkWARE®.
For the third time in succession, the Klinkhammer Group organized the KIT - Klinkhammer Intralogistics Day. On November 12, 2015, more than 40 users and experts met for an intensive exchange of ideas and for visiting a just-in-sequence warehouse in live operation. "By organizing the KIT, we offer users the opportunity to become informed about the latest intralogistics trends and solutions every year", explained Frank Klinkhammer, Managing Director of the Klinkhammer Group. "This year, the automotive industry has been in the focus of interest. IMPERIAL Logistics International in Wolfsburg provided a perfect setting for watching a JIS-delivery in the automotive industry not only in theory, but also in practice". The visitors were convinced as well. "I can take home some interesting ideas and suggestions", said Dr. Jörg Heimsoth of Miele. "Especially the emergency plans, the fire protection concept and the demand for absolute availability could be experienced in a live atmosphere". Ralf-Dirk Gensch of Simba Toys underlines: "Communicating and exchanging ideas with like-minded people is always exciting. The Klinkhammer Intralogistics Day is an ideal opportunity to discuss with colleagues and to merge practice and theory."
High demands on failsafe performance in the automotive industry
After welcoming the participants and check-in, the program offered two specialist lectures. Christian Seidl, Director Business Unit Automotive at IMPERIAL Logistics International, explained the prerequisites and reasons for building a new warehouse. "As service provider for the automotive industry we moved away from the beaten track and went for an extraordinary solution. Finally, such a logistics concept entails a major investment. The requirements as to speed, reliability and failsafe performance for the JIS-delivery with cable harnesses are extremely high". The keywords here are high availability and automation. With the logistics solution realized by Klinkhammer everything of the aforementioned was achieved. Christian Seidl also emphasized the special challenges with regard to the implementation timetable - within only 10 months from ground-breaking to commissioning. During the second lecture Frank Klinkhammer outlined the details of the project and gave information on different scenarios and strategies. Besides the high degree of automation one main issue of the project is the conscious decision to forego robots. This way, sequencing per assembly line is possible and in case of a breakdown it is possible to access all containers manually.
Experiencing a JIS-logistics plant live
The first two lectures formed a perfect basis for the afternoon where the visitors were given the chance to take a guided tour round the automatic small-parts warehouse. A great experience for the participants of the KIT - Klinkhammer Intralogistics Day. Participants were given the opportunity to have a close look at the concepts and strategies in live operation. Additionally, the logistics managers of IMPERIAL Logistics International and the Klinkhammer specialists were ready to answer questions.
The new trends in intralogistics
After the tour, Prof. Dr. Alexander Pflaum from the Institute for Supply Chain Management of the University of Bamberg and Head of Center for Intelligent Objects ZIO at the Fraunhofer Institute gave an interesting insight into the future of intralogistics. His topic "About smart products and smart services". Smart products and cyber-physical systems will change value promises, channels to the customer, the necessary resources, cooperation and key alliances, revenue and cost structures and finally competition. "New demands on flexibility require a holistic way of thinking which will concentrate on both hardware and software", explained Prof. Dr. Pflaum.
New trends in the warehouse management software
The last point of the KIT agenda was the presentation of the new Warehouse-Management-System KlinkWARE® of the Klinkhammer Group. To begin with, Dr. Ing. Dirk Liekenbrock of the Klinkhammer Group gave a brief insight into the requirements for modern software systems in logistics. Increasing demands on the service level, additional services such as the refinement and customization of goods, more relevant product information, short-term change of the product range or a higher rate of product returns are only some key words to state here. With the new product KlinkWARE®, the company AK Warehouse Solutions - subsidiary of the Klinkhammer Group - refined and completely reorganized the already existing DC21 WMS software. At present, it is the most user-friendly warehouse management software on the market, can be used for warehouse management and material flow control, is considered as pioneer in the field of lean touchscreen operation and offers one of the most efficient, powerful interfaces in automation thanks to its up to five time faster telegram handling.
VIP tour
The thematically interesting lectures of the day were followed by an equally informative evening starting with a VIP tour through the VW production. Here, the participants could take a look behind the scenes and see how the Volkswagen "Golf" and "Tiguan" are produced.
