The first item on the programme was Geis Industrie-Service GmbH in Forchheim, an international logistics service provider that is responsible for large parts of the inbound, outbound and internal logistics for the Siemens Healthineers production plants in the region. After an introduction to the company and the range of services offered at the site, the excursion group was given a tour of the warehouse. The central component for reliable production-synchronised delivery of more than 30,000 different components is the innovative AutoStore container warehouse, which could be viewed in live operation. Robots automatically provide the order pickers with the right components for the order in a short throughput time after the ‘right’ ones have been selected from a compact warehouse with 120,000 containers.
Experience logistics: Insights into the diverse world of automation
The group then visited Roboyo in Nuremberg, an IT consultancy specialising in the intelligent automation of processes. Founded in 2015 by three friends in Nuremberg, Roboyo is now the world's largest company for professional services in the field of intelligent automation and has locations in 20 cities, 15 countries and on four continents. At Roboyo, the students were given a live demonstration of how the handling of software can be automated with the help of robotic process automation software without major programming projects. The reading and transformation of data from the HNU homepage served as an example.
On the second day, TriCon, the trimodal container terminal in the port of Nuremberg, opened its doors. Here, the students were able to experience live what it means to transfer 40-foot containers weighing several tonnes from rail to road. This combined transport makes a significant contribution to sustainable supply chains. Despite adverse conditions, temperatures below ten degrees and a strong breeze, the group made their way across the extensive site to the loading crane high above the rails, where they were able to observe the complex loading of containers weighing several tonnes at close quarters. In the afternoon, the group visited the new logistics centre of the Hoffmann Group, an international mail order company for industrial tools. The site - Hoffmann's LogisticCity - was built a few years ago on a greenfield site and is probably one of the most modern logistics centres in Germany today. During the guided tour along the material flow through the warehouse, the students were able to experience and see what perfection and intelligence mean in the warehouse, where automation makes sense and where manual activities are indispensable, for example in the assembly of tool sets. Finally, the students were particularly fascinated by the ultra-modern shuttle warehouse, in which well over half a million containers are stored and moved fully automatically.
Contact person
Prof. Dr. Stefan Distel
