Logistics

Companies often do not have a clear view of all steps along the value chain. Many different factors are involved from receipt of the goods through to the finished product and actual delivery. Accordingly, the companies themselves only have a limited influence on the supply chain, resulting for example from dependence on suppliers at various points. However, in this context there is a wide range of possibilities for improving different processes in the warehouse. It is only the material flow in production, which accounts for a large share of the daily processes in a factory, that a company ideally manages down to the last detail. To this end, companies often use software solutions to keep an overview and implement successful control of the large number of operations. Graphic interfaces give a precise depiction of the workflows within a warehouse, thus revealing possible starting points for the companies to take action.

Over the last years, the importance of logistics has changed significantly. While logistics used to be a core function of most companies, logistics services nowadays are often outsourced to service providers. This leads to new organizational structures and enables innovative business models. Caused by the digitalization of logistics, efforts for integration and coordination rise and can only made controllable by intelligent use of IT. This contribution examines the field of tension of logistics and IT. It shows which challenges to face and how to overcome these by using Big Data technologies.

Finished vehicle logistics is of particular importance for the automotive industry, because it is the link between manufacturer and customers. If problems occur during the distribution of a car, it becomes visible to the customer, unless the problems can be solved during the following processes. Process interfaces between companies are frequently causing issues. That is why a survey was executed in order to identify those issues at the interfaces between car manufacturers and logistics service providers.

Recent advancements in cyber physical systems (CPS) and industry 4.0 concepts are expected to result in a disruptive change of business processes in industry and commerce. In particular, this refers also to supply chain management (SCM) and logistics systems and processes. Methodically, maturity models can be used to determine the maturity level of SCM and logistics organisations. In this paper we present an extension for a maturity model being able to check the industry 4.0 compatibility of SCM systems and processes. Moreover, the aim is to provide a tool supporting the transformation towards SCM 4.0-ready systems and processes. The requirements for the digital transformation process are described and important fields of actions are discussed.

Guaranteeing the quality of products and processes within supply chains is essential. Nevertheless, quality management is still restricted to production processes while logistics processes are normally not considered. IT infrastructures for exchanging quality data are often missing. Those needs can be addressed by using sensor systems in combination with a cross company exchange of sensor data based on EPCIS. In order to realise this approach, sensor systems, the EPCIS standard, decision support systems and business models need to be further developed.

In the last few years, the private sector and international organizations have propagated numerous standards and norms, which prescribe some strict measures to protect supply chains. Security in the supply chain can be significantly increased with only a few principles. Against the backdrop of the many already existing initiatives, we discuss whether and how these could contribute to the supply chain security of companies. We aim at developing practitioner recommendations, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises without own security routines. These recommendations may serve as a guide and help to establish a management system for supply chain security.

Currently the implementation of digital technologies in response to important competition requirements is promoted in many places. Consequently, the working environment of employees in operative logistics is going to change significantly. This article provides an overview of the possible uses of future-oriented technologies in different logistics processes as well as the thereby changing subtasks and competence requirements of operative employees in the working world 4.0.

Range and individualisation of diversified logistic services vary substantially. A unique indicator for specific CO2-emission is not a viable option. The author proposes to aggregate individual CO2-efficiency trends of sub-entities by adding all singular tendencies during a reporting period weighted against the overall CO2-emission of the reporting entity or group of entities. The result is a weighted average tendency giving a viable indication of the specific CO2-emission trends of a logistics service provider.

In order to meet the demands of a more flexible supply of small lot sizes, many companies use in-plant milk-run systems. Despite the increasing distribution of milk-runs, a standard has not been established yet and the planning is often carried out without a suitable methodology. Therefore, a methodology was developed that supports the integrated design of the technology, the process and the controlling of an in-plant milk-run system as well as an integrated evaluation of alternatives.

The online grocery is facing big challenges. In addition to products of daily use, it is necessary to deliver fresh, chilled and frozen foods quickly and reliably to the customer. Frozen products are delivered for decades to the customers by using small cooling vans. Since some years also normal parcel delivery services in combination with insulated shipping containers are used. This article examines in a comparative analysis the environmental impact of alternative shipping modes in comparison to normal supermarket shopping by use of a life cycle assessment according to DIN EN ISO 14040.