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Moderated by: Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Michael ten Hompel, Managing Director, Fraunhofer Institute of Material Flow and Logistics (IML), Chair of Materials Handling and Warehousing, TU Dortmund, Dortmund Director of Lamarr Institute for Machine Learning and AI

The future belongs to the bold! The kind of dystopian scenarios we so often encounter obscure the opportunities that AI, blockchain, and the platform economy now offer. Ignoring these current opportunities in favor of a supposedly better future leads to missed opportunities. This forum brings together three young founders and a researcher to talk about how they face the future and how they are developing new technologies, tapping into new markets, and inspiring investors with their confidence. The panel will address the issues of our times: artificial intelligence, blockchain, platforms-as-a-service—and last but not least, the future of intralogistics.

Moderated by: Sandra Lehmann, editor, LOGISTIK HEUTE, HUSS-VERLAG GmbH

Will packages someday be able to control their own shipping? Will they someday know what they contain and what the carbon footprint of their transport is? Smart packaging is still considered a distant dream, but how far along is the technology actually? LOGISTIK HEUTE is joined by experts from the academic and business communities to explore these questions in the LogiMAT expert forum “Smart packaging: packages that think outside the box.”

Moderated by: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Johannes Fottner, Chair in Materials Handling, Material Flow, Logistics at the Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Technical University of Munich

A scarcity of resources coupled with new legislation requires that material be reused after its first lifecycle. Besides recycling, the focus is primarily on the reuse and refurbishment of end-of-life products. The forum brings experts to discuss the disassembly and logistics processes, and how the disassembly of end-of-life products can be the foundation for sustainability. TU Munich is partnering with the automotive industry on various research projects on the disassembly and reuse of components. This knowledge is then fed back into product development.

Moderated by: Dr. Ronald Müller, Member of the Board of Directors EMVA (European Machine Vision Association) & CEO of Vision Markets

A recognized expert from the European Machine Vision Association will offer attendees an introduction to the characteristics and current trends of machine vision, followed by a brief overview of the many industrial machine vision solutions. The focus will be on the new technological possibilities and the value they add in various applications, from package logistics to warehousing to manufacturing intralogistics. These solutions can automate and accelerate end-to-end processes, prevent errors, and dramatically improve employee safety.

Moderated by: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Robert Schulz, Director, Institute of Mechanical Handling and Logistics (IFT), University of Stuttgart

Shorter product lifecycles, increasingly diverse product lines, and volatile sales are among the challenges of our time. Variable production models such as fluid production offer the flexibility and adaptability needed to respond to these ever-changing requirements. But tapping into this potential depends on the appropriate logistics. This forum explores various aspects of logistics in fluid production, including logistics and safety concepts and hardware and software components.

Moderated by: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Robert Schulz, Director, Institute of Mechanical Handling and Logistics (IFT), University of Stuttgart

Volatile markets, rising costs, and shorter production cycles are putting production systems under increased pressure. Building robust processes is absolutely essential to keep costs under control. Simulation can be deployed to streamline and optimize processes, from planning to virtual launches to live operations of production and logistics systems. Is the investment worth it? How can simulation be used effectively in every phase to yield more robust processes? What other benefits are gained when AI is used to optimize processes through simulation?

Moderated by: Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Thorsten Schmidt, Association of German Engineers (VDI), Society for Production and Logistics (GPL), Professor of Technical Logistics at TU Dresden, President of WGTL e.V.

These are challenging times for e-commerce. Record highs during the pandemic have given way to widespread volatility, slumping sales, and labor shortages—steering the successful industry into turbulent waters. This panel brings together experts to talk about the challenges they face—but also the current solutions they see. Artificial intelligence helps boost the accuracy of predictions. Automatic packaging lines can minimize the need for personnel. Come hear those on the front lines report on their own experiences!
The panel will also offer insights into the ongoing work to establish e-commerce.

Moderated by:  Dr. Dipl.-Psych. Veronika Kretschmer, Senior Scientist, Assistance Systems and Human-Technology Interaction, Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML

The workplace of the future is the Social Networked Industry, where human beings and new technologies have safe, trusting, collaborative partnerships. This forum presents solutions to counteract the shortage of skilled workers and the effects of demographic change: Exoskeletons have the potential to reduce the physical toll on warehouse workers tasked with handling inventory, “pick-by” systems provide cognitive support to pickers, and AI can crunch the data on every warehouse movement to optimize intralogistics processes.

Moderated by: Dr.-Ing. Günter Ullrich, Managing Partner, Forum-FTS GmbH; Head of VDI Technical Committee for AGVs

In the future, mobile robots will perform a wide range of tasks in every imaginable scenario. They’ll no longer be restricted to factory floors and warehouses of manufacturing businesses, they’ll also move into the publicly accessible areas. There they’ll not only deal with trained personnel, they’ll also need to navigate around people who are not prepared or trained to interact with robots. This presents unique safety challenges for their underlying design and sensor technology.

The panel of experts will address these challenges, break down what future scenarios might look like, and outline the requirements. The panel will then discuss possible strategies and technical solutions for these scenarios.

Moderated by: Matthias Pieringer, editor in chief, LOGISTIK HEUTE, HUSS-VERLAG GmbH

Intralogistics products and services are critical in the effort to achieve efficient processes in the manufacturing, commercial, and service industries. The LogiMAT Summit brings together leading minds from the business and scientific communities to discuss the trends and developments that define intralogistics today. The forum will also address the challenges and opportunities that this yields for intralogistics.

Moderated by: Prof. Dr. Michael Krupp, Head of HSA_ops Research Group for Optimized Value Chains, Augsburg University of Applied Sciences

The labor shortage has long since had an impact on warehouses and logistics centers. Guiding unskilled workers is a core challenge, and operations managers have a key role to play here. But managers often have little or no training for this role. Join us for this forum to discuss the challenges facing operations managers. Hear the employee perspective and learn what they expect from managers. And talk with our experts about options for preparing managers for their core responsibility.

Moderated by: Peter Altes, Director, AIM-D e. V with Thorsten Aha, editor in chief ident, Ident Verlag & Service GmbH

Production, supply chain, and logistics remain at the very heart of the digital transformation process—with growing synergies. Automatic identification and data capture (AIDC) systems are the foundation of these processes and of the interaction between people, machines, and objects. The key challenges here are integration with software systems (such as OPC UA), cloud connectivity (IoT/IIoT), and reliable identification. The experts from AIM highlight the contribution of AIDC in the digital transformation of materials handling, supply chain management, and logistics as a whole.

Moderated by: Stefan Wimmer, Managing Partner, Bayerische Funknetz GmbH (BAYFU)

The mobile communications and industry experts at BAYFU offer an exciting glimpse into 5G technology and how it can help businesses face the challenges of digital transformation. Attendees also get a field report from the Prinzhorn Group, which has already successfully deployed a 5G campus network.
This trade forum addresses the most urgent industry issues and explains how 5G campus networks can be a flexible, scalable, future-proof tool for raising critical operational technology apps to a new level.

Moderated by: Michael Lickefett, Dipl.-Ing., Head of Department for Factory Planning and Production Management, Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA

A quick analysis to identify targeted improvements: That’s the core idea behind the Order Management Quick Check. The Quick Check combines existing and newly developed methodologies with a focus on qualitative analyses. The analysis looks at the functional logic of planning and control along with its process and organizational structure to obtain an overall picture of the current situation with its strengths and weaknesses. A joint vision is developed as a basis for identifying where improvements can be made using best-practice solutions.

Moderated by: Dr. Jörg Pirron, Chair of the Intralogistics Network in Baden-Württemberg and Managing Director, PROTEMA Unternehmensberatung GmbH

Implementing sustainable intralogistics is no longer merely an option, it’s a strategic imperative. It begins with supply chain visibility and extends to smart energy-efficient buildings, technical systems, and low-impact packaging. It’s possible to maximize sustainability and efficiency at the same time through clever process design and organization. Training and sensitizing your employees is an essential prerequisite for successful implementation. This forum shows how to tap into trends to use energy and resources more efficiently, assume social responsibility, and streamline operations—all at the same time.