Automation
Automation? Don’t Ask Whether – Ask How.
Manufacturing and distribution companies aren’t just considering automation today – they are planning it. But the key thing is to know where to start, what to think over in advance and how to tell if you’re truly ready to get the most out of this type of project. Aimtec’s Automation Projects Director Jindřich Bek guides customers through the entire process – from the first question to project launch.
An Interview with Martin Kraus: “Simulations Help Us Be Confident We’re Making Good Decisions”
Making decisions about production or logistics changes is always risky. Every step – changing a layout, adding a shift or investing in automation – can transform the whole system’s performance. How can you evade mistakes and decide with confidence? We chatted about all this with Martin Kraus, a simulation specialist at Aimtec.
Vinyl Production at GZ Media Is Built on Expertise, Technology and a Good Team
Among the distinctive speakers at the Trends in Automotive Logistics (TAL) 2025 conference was GZ Media’s Chief Executive Officer Michal Štěrba. This company from Loděnice, a small town near Prague, has an inspiring story: since its founding in 1951, it has seen a number of changes that have led it into the ranks of the world leaders in vinyl record manufacturing. One of this firm’s key innovations in recent years is the logistics and manufacturing automation project that it launched in 2023.
Trends in Czech Logistics 2025 Study: Automation Is Essential
Automation, the collection, evaluation and utilisation of data, the deployment of AI tools, and sustainability. These are the pillars of future growth – and the solution to logistics' most urgent problems, such as the manpower crunch, wage growth pressure and increasing regulation from the EU. These are the conclusions from the Trends in Czech Logistics 2025 study, prepared for SKLAD by the Ipsos agency.
Petr Kraus, SPORTISIMO: Automation technologies can work miracles. But not on their own – these miracles take effort.
Petr Kraus has been in IT for over two decades. He’s full of insights into retail, logistics and manufacturing. The interconnectedness of these areas is what lets him view things with the needed distance. One recent project that he’s just completed is for the Ostrava central distribution centre of the sporting goods distributor SPORTISIMO, s.r.o. What questions did he consider? What challenges did he face? Did everything always turn out smoothly when he knew exactly what he wanted? How did he select suppliers and technologies, and what could he recommend, based on his rich experience, to other companies seeking to automate? We asked Petr about all this and more.
Efficient in the Dark: The Five Phases on the Way to a Dark Warehouse
Fully automated warehouses – dark warehouses – aren’t just science fiction anymore. They’re coming to the forefront in the real world. They operate without human intervention and in the dark, because their robots and machines can work without light, and their processes run based on system commands. What are the ideal steps and paths on the way to a dark warehouse? Can digital twins help with deploying these warehouses?
Efficient in the Dark: The Dark Warehouse as the Future of Warehouse Logistics
Warehouse logistics is always a challenge for manufacturers. The movements of a large quantity of products offer significant optimisation potential, but they also mean many potential points of failure. Fully automated warehouses, also known as ’dark warehouses’, are often seen as the ideal solution to every problem. What makes them better than regular warehouses, and what makes them different?
Market pressure is the greatest catalyst for change
Zebra Technologies, a global leader and innovator in automatic identification, conducted a Warehousing Vision Study among thousands of industry decision makers around the world, which yielded interesting industry perspectives and preferences. Marian Šramko, Vice President Sales, Eastern Europe & Middle East at Zebra Technologies, spoke about some of them.
An interview with LASSELSBERGER's Head of Logistics on a successful introduction of changes
RAKO is a brand with over 140 years of tradition. It’s also a member of the LASSELSBERGER group – one of the world’s largest producers of ceramic tiles. I visited the RAKO distribution centre in Chlumčany and spoke with Pavel Vokáč, Head of Logistics at the Czech branch, about how these products’ logistics has some surprising specifics.
Brano ‑ the path to 21st century logistics
From complete locking mechanisms, other mechanical parts, door handles to fuel tank caps for Skoda Auto and other car companies. This is the business of Brano, which has recently committed to a change in logistics and invested in digitizing its warehouse to minimize the role of humans. At the TAL 2023 conference, Denis Kittrich, a technologist from Brano, together with Jiří Žižka, project manager at Aimtec, explained how the project was carried out.
Resilience, prediction and risk monitoring form the key to modern logistics, says David Strnad
The automaker Škoda Auto is a major player in the world of logistics. Every day, 3,500 freight trucks arrive at his races. Managing everything from the perspective of warehouses and the entire system, and ensuring production and employment for 30,000 people, is a challenging task. Can an automaker turn logistics trends such as digitalisation and automation into a company reality? What’s the right way to face today’s challenges, and what does a successful project look like? David Strnad, Head of Brand Logistics at Škoda Auto, has shared his opinions in an interview with Aimtec’s Rostislav Schwob.
