Autor: Karl-Heinz Wehking

Current changes in market situations may compel companies to adapt their products, manufacturing systems, as well as logistics systems. Required planning procedures are characterized by their complexity and their interdisciplinary nature: A system that has to fulfil future requirements is designed using models, methods, and the knowledge of all involved participants. Therefore, this article aims to discuss procedure models applied in different disciplines in order to assess their usability in logistics planning projects. Furthermore, certain aspects of planning procedures are identified that require formalization of applied knowledge. Thus, an approach to apply knowledge formalization is presented.

The following article describes an integrated method to calculate the investment and (cost-) effectiveness of a process optimisation using innovative techniques like RFID. It is based on the research project IdentProLog. Starting with analysing and optimizing processes it‘s possible to evaluate them with a method like activity-based-costing. The detailed information about process-times for each resource will be taken from a material flow simulation. Using this way its possible to create and format data with a high confidential level. Furthermore, it is possible to consider dependencies between technical resources, even in your investment analysis.

In efficient process chains, economic advantages can be accomplished by the use of reusable loading devices. Due to their outer shape they allow a standardized handling of different goods using the already available equipment. Adequate design and a modular structure provide the opportunity for efficient loading and unloading processes of various goods. Keeping in mind the amount of loading devices currently in use (a few million), their economic relevance becomes apparent. The Institute for Mechanical Handling and Logistics (IFT) at the University of Stuttgart is currently working on two different research projects that involve the construction and thus optimisation of standardized loading devices for different industries and purposes.