Internal Logistic

Internal Logistics Systems: from operating requirement to opportunity for success

...[ed. note: in a competitive environment] the best result is obtained when each component of the group does what is best for him/herself and for the group.
John Nash (Bluefield, USA, 1928, Nobel Economy Prize in 1994)

Today, in-site production logistics represent a considerable challenge for the manufacturing industry the world over. Over the last decades, the transition to automated, operator-free systems has seen the large majority of manufacturing plants equip their processing and packaging with automated systems in which human participation is limited to mere system supervision and control.
And now, this trend is also spreading to internal logistics, as testified to by a number of companies where logistics automation has already been implemented. Upstream and downstream of the production process, automated handling of merchandise, pallets and raw materials through software packages that provide continuous monitoring of operating parameters and define the tasks to be assigned to each unit, is a growing reality. Companies in almost all sectors of the consumer goods industry are experiencing a growing need to implement these types of systems. The motivations lie in the vast variety of requirements that fully-integrated internal logistics systems are capable of satisfying. First among such equirements is cost reduction, achieved through a reduction in personnel at the beginning and the end of the production line. Moreover, it must be noted that the work carried out by a traditional fork-lift truck operator is not without its problems tied to the physical and psychological stress factors that the operator is subject to, such as problems associated to posture or deriving from accidents, sometimes serious, during manoeuvres and the risk of damage to objects. Hence, safety is a key issue when it comes to choosing an integrated and automated logistics system, also due to the considerable legal and economic implications of industrial accidents. Generally speaking, a fully-automated system guarantees an extremely rapid return on investment, with payback generally within three years, which in turn guarantees a major economic and financial efficiency already over the medium term. But that’s not all; one must also bear in mind the importance of ongoing warehouse monitoring. One machine, on its own, is the very symbol of automated logistics, and that is the automatic guided vehicle. Not so far from a sort of vanguard, science-fiction vehicle from a Seventies movie, these vehicles are an example of how integrated technology can substitute the human work force in all low valueadded tasks often executed in harsh working conditions (refrigeration cells or environments containing noxious substances). Software-controlled plants “invaded” by self-driven vehicles may paint a rather futuristic scene, but they are in fact a reality which, for many companies, has created an appreciable opportunity for increased competitiveness. The aim of implementing an integrated system for internal logistics is complete management of handling operations to and from the warehouse, right up to product loading on lorries for haulage without the need for personnel (other than for supervision and control). Hence, suppliers of automated handling systems base their success on their capacity for integration, or on their capacity to foresee future requirements, envision and anticipate possible criticalities and provide an open system that may be expanded without impacting the customer’s software or structural framework.

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