Automation and robotics are key technologies for greater competitiveness, quality and sustainability in industrial production. The internal material flow plays a central role in optimally exploiting the productivity potential of these technologies. This applies not only to the supply of materials to assembly lines or robots, but also to the seamless linking of storage and picking areas with incoming and outgoing goods. Most large companies have recognized this challenge. But what does automation actually look like for medium-sized companies?

Only a minority is already highly automated
The "Production logistics in SMEs" survey, which Interroll conducted in Germany in 2019, identified a clear need to catch up: the average degree of automation of internal material transport at the companies surveyed is only 53%. Not even one in five companies (19 percent) achieves a degree of automation in these processes of over 75 percent. Almost every tenth company (9 percent) has been very reluctant to invest and only has a degree of automation of less than 25 percent. In the case of handling processes, this even applies to one in five companies.

This situation in the companies suggests that there is a need to catch up in terms of equipment. If this reluctance to invest is not broken, these companies are likely to face competitive disadvantages in terms of productivity.

Interestingly, the survey also reveals this situation with regard to the susceptibility of warehouse processes to disruption reported by the respondents. For example, the number of companies with a degree of automation of less than 50 percent doubled to 48 percent compared to 24 percent of companies with a higher degree of automation. However, even those who automate are of course not completely safe from disruptions. Software malfunctions (40 percent) or incorrect operation of complex systems (32 percent) are among the most common causes of disruption.

Simplicity and robustness
The ease of use of conveyor modules also plays an important role for the survey participants when it comes to pallet handling. In fact, 61 percent of production planners consider this characteristic to be the most important factor in these processes. Across all respondents, it is the durability and robustness of pallet conveyor technology (58 percent) that make up the decisive advantage of a solution. And anyone who believes that those responsible in medium-sized companies are not open to future trends is mistaken: 67% consider predictive maintenance and professional service to be the most important criteria for ensuring smooth production processes, ahead of applications with a long service life (53%) and modularized products (50%).

In the survey commissioned by Interroll and conducted by the Faktenkontor agency (Hamburg), a total of 200 production companies in Germany were interviewed by telephone in 2019. The focus was on companies with 50 to 500 employees and a turnover of up to 500 million euros. The companies came from various sectors, including the mechanical engineering, food and consumer goods industries. Technical decision-makers in particular were addressed, such as technology managers, production managers and production planners.

With the results of this survey in mind, Interroll is working on a new solution - the Smart Pallet Mover (SPM) - to better organize and automate the "last mile" in production areas. This new interface is designed to improve the connection between the different phases of the material flow, i.e. the movement, organization, input and output of pallets. The SPM can be used not only in the vicinity of production machines, but also between different production cells within the same manufacturing process. as