Digitalization is indispensable in the food industry, particularly with regard to logistical challenges, keyword E-Commerce. Higher warehouse turnover rates, smaller order volumes, high delivery speeds as well as short-term increases in delivery quantities demand flexible and scalable solutions for the optimization of the internal material flows. These can be found at Anuga FoodTec 2022 from 26 to 29 April.
The trade fair is namely placing one of its focuses on Intralogistics for the first time. Driverless transport vehicles, automated warehousing systems with seamless, integrated warehouse management, and efficient conveyor and sorting systems are just part of the spectrum that will be presented. It hereby becomes evident that “Intralogistics 4.0” only becomes possible if a combination of perfectly coordinated technologies is available.
For years, decentralized logistics systems have been the lived reality within the companies in the food industry. Thanks to cutting-edge software, warehouse management is informed immediately when a new consignment of raw materials is delivered. Fully-automated transport management systems convey the raw materials and the finished products to their destination – in the production, to the picking and packing station, or to the outgoing goods department – as efficiently as possible. The focus here lies on the conveyance, sorting, loading, and unloading as well as the buffering and storing of the goods. Machine modules with a decentralized control logic make this possible. They transfer the intelligence directly to the chain and roller conveyors. At the end of the conveyor belt, a robot then places the foodstuffs on palettes before they are loaded using a forklift truck. Programmable logic controllers (PLC) are the centerpiece of the high-performance warehousing and conveying technology, which communicate with the material flows computer via TCP/IP. This connects all components and parameters with each other and thus coordinates the movements of the palettes in a high-bay warehouse for example.
In the scope of the vision of self-organizing Intralogistics 4.0, a host of further technologies have been developed over the past years. As such, driverless transport systems (DTS) with or without forklifts have since become a common sight in warehouses. They connect different business units with each other barrier-free, also across long distances. The portfolio of the exhibitors at Anuga FoodTec encompasses a multitude of innovative solutions for small and heavy load carriers, which guarantee reliable material flows around the clock. Thanks to new navigation methods and constantly more advanced sensors, they can be flexibly integrated into the warehouse organization – from simple point-to-point transports to the goods-to-person principle, to full automation in the scope of an integrated logistics system. The advantage: Food producers who need a higher throughput short-term, simply deploy a further vehicle.
In spite of the omnipresent digitalization and robotics, humans will continue to carry out important tasks in the warehouse in the future. The aim is to plan the modern, logistics environment so that employees and machines work and communicate together seamlessly. And ergonomics also continues to play an important role in terms of the physically demanding activities in the warehouse. Digitalization opens up new perspectives here. Pick-by-voice technologies and wearables – small networked computers that are worn on the body – support the employees in the faultless picking of goods. The employees communicate directly with the warehouse management system using a headset, ring scanner, and a mobile data recording device so that they always have two free hands for storing and loading.
This also includes the implementation of augmented reality using data glasses, which several suppliers have already developed into a marketable commodity. The user can concentrate on his task, whilst a display on the rim of the glasses’ field of vision informs him in real-time about all of the important data such as the storage position, item number, and a number of picks. At the same time, such a pick-by-vision solution replaces the handheld scanner because 1D and 2D barcodes can also be read easily using the data glasses. The only thing needed for “wearable computing” is Wi-Fi throughout the warehouse.
Whether a new building, retrofit, or turnkey plant: The specialists for intralogistics will present the appropriate solutions for all warehouse automation tasks at Anuga FoodTec 2022. The digitalization of the internal material flows remains to be the number one topic. What are the biggest challenges of the future in the field of intralogistics? When is the right point in time for food producers to occupy themselves with the theme? And how does one go about implementing the new technologies? Visitors will not only receive answers to these questions at the Cologne fairgrounds from 26 to 29 April, but also in the scope of the specialized program that comprises a combination between forums, discussions, and presentations.