Most recent articles
Sappy Products Ready for S/4HANA
The products in our Sappy range are currently under intensive “core” testing. Thanks to their new core composition, developed for S/4HANA, you can look forward to new, expertly sculpted Sappy products with more convenient feature sets.
The New SAP ERP Generation Is Coming. Are You Ready?
Starting in 2025, the new generation of SAP ERP – SAP S/4HANA – will fully replace the current version. The current version, SAP ECC 6.0, will no longer be supported or see further development. What are the options for moving to SAP S/4HANA?
Integrate SAP ERP with EDI
It’s hard to say, really, which system in a company is the most important. For some companies, it might be the production management system, for others planning, for others accounting.
Augmented Reality – from Ice Cream to the Production Line
According to a study by the University of Washington, a full 65% of children have one or more imaginary friends. But that’s nothing compared to all the people out there chasing imaginary animals down real streets, or waiting with some help from their phone to give their ice cream just the right consistency.
The King Is Dead, Long Live the King ‑ Zebra MC9300
The MC9000 mobile terminals have long been among the best-selling products in their category. Since their entry onto the market in 2003, 2.8 million terminals from this line have been sold.
Fiori – a Facelift to SAP
As one of the top players in ERP systems, SAP is well aware that an intuitive interface is an integral part of every modern software tool and helps to maximise work efficiency.
Jan Stočes about aimtec.cloud: We Have a Lot More Responsibility Now
This April, we officially launched aimtec.cloud, a single platform incorporating all of Aimtec’s cloud solutions. What led us to do it, where do we see cloud services’ future, and how can manufacturing and logistics firms profit from SaaS?
Automatic Monitoring ‑ Cloud Systems Outages Prevention
Cloud services don’t just mean moving a server off-site. Using them also gives you many services in the background that would otherwise burden your internal team.
The Czech Republic’s Biggest Logistics Innovations of 2018
Every year, the renowned media house Economia organises Zóna logistika, a conference at which it presents awards for the best logistics innovations.
From the Internet of People to the Internet of Things
Before machines were first connected via wires or airwaves, they were connected by people. People were a sort of phase-zero Internet of things (IoT), ensuring machines were connected and weren’t overheated. If a machine was near a critical temperature, they turned it off.
The Future of Automotive Industry: Will Electric Motors Replace the Combustion Engines?
After over a century of using combustion engines as the main system of propulsion in passenger cars, this type of engine is slowly being curbed in favour of electric motors. The world is expecting that electric cars will skyrocket… Or is it? Why? What sort of impact may e-mobility have on Europe’s automotive industry? Which unanswered questions regarding e-mobility remain on the table? We try to answer these questions in our series, starting with this article.
The Future of Automotive Industry: Who Invests into E‑Mobility?
Electric cars are the theme of all the big automakers, and it seems that we are going to have a rapid onslaught of e-cars. Or not? After introducing the issue, in the next episode of our series on the impact of e-mobility on the automotive industry, we will focus on the investments into e-mobility and whether batteries are the only alternative to the combustion engine.
The Future of Automotive Industry: Consequences of E‑Mobility
What changes do automotive suppliers expect with the increasing trend of e-cars? And is the only change awaiting us in passenger cars the engine? We respond to this in the third part of our mini-series on electromobility and its impact on the automotive industry.
The Future of the Automotive Industry: Automation and New Partnerships are the Solutions
Regulations, technological development and a change of view of car ownership all affect the automotive industry as we know it. In our latest episode on the future of the automotive industry, we focused on what automakers and their suppliers can do differently to keep pace and place amongst the list of the most successful companies.
The TAL 2020 Conference: The Best in European Automotive
“Each year’s TAL has one thing in common. Our wish for its participants to bring home the best of experiences, as well as ideas that will help them towards an even better formulation of their vision and strategy for manufacturing and logistics management,” says Roman Žák, chairman of the board at Aimtec, on the history of Trends in Automotive Logistics (TAL). Originally a side event for Autosalon, a trade fair in Brno, it has become an independent conference with international speakers and attendees, will be celebrating 20 years in 2020 and promises an attractive programme once again.
Deloitte and the Digital Factory
Manufacturers are facing a new age of physical production. Advanced processes, new materials and increasing automation are reshaping the industry. Business leaders are beginning to ask themselves how to keep up with market changes…
MES Is for More Than Manufacturing
MES has an established role as the main system support for manufacturing. Its primary function is data collection and evaluation. The manufacturing data it collects can then be used as a foundation for monitoring, assessing and managing the manufacturing process based on a plan. But managers aren’t the only consumers of this data. Operators and maintenance staff use it too. That’s why MES is a key component in enterprise systems and is also receiving growing interest in relation to the rise of new technologies and the overall trend of interconnecting manufacturing and logistics.
The End of Support for Windows CE and Windows Mobile Is Approaching. Switch to Android.
Microsoft makes no secret of the fact that on 13 April 2021, it will be ending its support for the Windows CE operating systems, and support for Windows Mobile will end even sooner – on 14 January 2020. This is perhaps a logical step. Not counting the first mobile phones, these operating systems have appeared in industrial operating systems for many years now. Time for a change! The makers of terminals and other industrial devices have been preparing for the end of support for a long time now, and they are moving on to Android. Zebra Technologies was the first to take this step.
How to Approach Logistics Automation
Automation. It’s so tightly tied to industrial manufacturing that just about everyone thinks of robots when they think of assembly lines. But what do you think of when you hear the phrase “internal logistics automation”? Self-driving forklifts? Conveyor belts? Warehousing and logistics was a back-burner field until recently, but now it’s time to change that. After all, inefficient intralogistics processes generate considerable financial losses. Thanks to the latest technologies, we can free workers’ hands and take productivity to a level that would be unachievable with manual warehouse operations. But how does one approach automation? What are its possibilities? What can it lead to? We have some answers for you.
Electromobility: Even Production at a Loss Can Pay Off
In August of 2019, the Deloitte consulting firm published a study focused on automotive suppliers (the 2019 Global Automotive Supplier Study). It states that automotive suppliers’ revenues in 2018 amounted to 1,700 billion USD. Their segment analysis revealed that the income for certain components (the fuel system) may drop by up to 20 percent by 2025, and meanwhile certain attractive products (the electric drive unit) can generate up to three times as much revenue as they do today.
Automation and Jobs: The Skills Revolution Is a Necessity
Automation replaces people. But does this mean we’re losing jobs? The media might make that seem at first to be the case, but what’s the real situation? Should we worry about massive redundancy and thousands of the unemployed? The jobs experts at Manpower and their study named “Humans Wanted: Robots Need You” tell us the opposite. Companies are seeking employees despite automation – new positions are being created with entirely new work tasks. After all, robots can’t get by without people. Thus we can expect a shift towards completely new activities and the need for a different approach to employees.
Warehouse Automation: The Technologies
Many automation projects start with the idea of replacing manually driven vehicles with automated ones. But this solution may not bring the desired results, and usually, even before the fleet’s replacement, it becomes clear that a deeper analysis of automation type and level is required. Not always it is possible and beneficial to opt for a fully automated warehouse or autonomous handling equipment. Often a gradual process, which lets you prepare for changes and absorb them, will be a better choice. But a radical change can work too. What are the options, and which technologies can you use? And what should you consider before deploying them?
Catch a Ride with Autonomous Guided Vehicles into the World of Industry 4.0
While self-driving is fairly problematic for automobiles, carts without human operators are appearing in factories and warehouses with growing frequency. They differ in how they navigate and in the degree of their autonomy. For intralogistics, autonomous guided vehicles are a way to make processes faster and more efficient, and naturally, they’re also a way to free up people’s hands. Because they’re moving around among people, safety is important as well.
Warehouse Automation Achievement: Sellier & Bellot
Sellier & Bellot is one of the most successful industrial firms in the Czech Republic – and one of the oldest munitions manufacturers in the world. And it is also a renowned name in sport, for example in shooting disciplines and biathlon. Interestingly enough, it is likely the only company to have its own game reserve on its premises. But let’s take a look at the Sellier & Bellot warehouses, which saw a key turning point in 2016, when a new hall was built and equipped with a fully automated warehouse.
B2B Communication in Automotive: The Basics
The automotive sector places greater demands on suppliers than almost any other sector. Individual components need to meet strict criteria for the quality and traceability of materials, and additionally electronic data interchange (EDI) plays a key role.
How Can You Master Automation? Your Internal Team and Innovative Project Tools Are the Key
Automation’s benefits are clear – saved costs, reduced human error, and faster, more efficient processes. But how much time will it take your team to grasp this Holy Grail? How can you prepare your key people for what awaits them and empower them to enable a smooth course for the entire project? Success is not just about suppliers and technologies, although they do play an important role. An often forgotten, but fundamental pillar lies elsewhere. In your people’s time.
The 8 Most Interesting Quotes from TAL 2020
What you might have missed at the conference, but is good to remind yourself.
The Digital Transformation: Are You a Driver or a Follower?
If you were there in the audience at TAL 2020, Filip Dřímalka may have piqued your curiosity right as it began. If you weren’t there, here’s a summary of all his key points, as well as some tips on what to do to stay a true driver of the digital transformation.
Filip Dřímalka: The Future Will Be Fantastic
Filip Dřímalka is a law graduate, and yet you’ll more likely come across him as a consultant for your company’s digital transformation, or as a speaker. And speaking was his role at TAL 2020 – where we also questioned him in a bit more detail.
What Makes Smart Logistics Smart? An Interview With Marco Prüglmeier From BMW Group
When it comes to digitalization in logistics and manufacturing, the question most often asked is what will happen to the human workers. Will they be made redundant? The very clear answer is “no”. Digitalization is nothing without human workers. It is there to support them, not to replace them.
Petr Eret on Remote Delivery: It’s More a Mental Change Than a Technological One
Delivering software solutions entirely remotely? Completion of projects without the need to visit the plant or warehouse is one option offered by Aimtec, a consulting and technology firm based in the Czech city of Pilsen, which has been providing software solutions for manufacturing and logistics for almost 25 years. How important a role does COVID-19 play in the shift to remote delivery, and what demands does this delivery method place on the customer? We’ve asked Aimtec’s Senior Business Consultant Petr Eret about all this and more.
How Do We Create Intelligent Automation?
That’s the question Paul Norford from Zebra Technologies tried to answer at TAL 2020. Yet his speech at this conference definitely was not about technologies and different products and features. Anyone who’s had the good fortune to meet this enthusiast already knows what element Paul considers the most important in automation; for the rest of you, we have a short summary of his presentation.
Get the Data You Need for Industry 4.0 with IO‑Link Communication
The Covid-19 viral pandemic is affecting both human health and the global economy. The restrictions on movements of persons, above all, have revealed certain weaknesses in manufacturing and supply systems across different fields. Even before this global crisis broke out, automation and industrial robotisation – jointly known as Industry 4.0 – were of growing importance. So it is very likely that pressure for automation of manufacturing and logistics will increase in further areas even after the crisis ends.
“Above All, Communicate Your Automation Internally,”
advises Jiří Ovesný, founder of the logistics consulting firm INTRALOG SERVICES. He has been working in logistics and industry for thirteen years, and he currently provides consulting focused on automation, improving process effectiveness and putting Industry 4.0 into practice. We asked him for his opinions on how to approach automation and what to focus on right away in the project planning phase.
It Won’t Work without Robots: How to Accommodate the Extreme Personalisation of Manufacturing
Autonomous robots are gradually becoming common “employees” at manufacturing and logistics companies. Everyone wants them. However, the presentation by Faouzi Grebici from OMRON at TAL 2020 led us to realise that they are the mere tip of the iceberg of a modern, maximally efficient warehouse. Nevertheless, they do play an important role in the transformation of manufacturing and logistics. Will robots play a greater role than their human colleagues?
5 can’t‑miss changes in DCIx
Far greater and more efficient utilisation for the data you collect, broader possibilities for in-house editing and transaction creation, and of course a cloud-native approach. And the new offerings in DCIx go beyond just this – there’s news in the client applications as well. Read up on the system’s five most important changes, which are not to be missed.
