Driving trucks from home, and UX as an engine for digitalisation: The most interesting quotes of TAL 2021

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Seeking the right balance for automotive logistics – that was the main theme for this year’s Trends in Automotive Logistics conference, held in Pilsen on 21 September 2021. A total of fourteen speakers from throughout Europe came to share verified tips and experience gained from digitalisation projects. How do automotive logistics experts see the future? We’ve chosen the most inspiring statements from this year’s conference just for you.

Marco Prüglmeier, CEO of i2market consultants, opened the conference with these bold words: “Soon trailer drivers will be able to work from a home office.” In his presentation, he put forth a vision for automotive logistics in which – alongside supply-chain autonomy – he pointed out how logistics will change the way that entire cities look and work.

So the future lies in digitalisation, and Dylan Sheppard and Michael Schneider from the German firm idealworks state the same: “We can run 10 or 100 robots at one moment. It doesn’t matter. We are in a time of digital simulation.” The representatives of this autonomous-logistics robot developer described how simulations can be used to acquire sufficient data for developing new projects tailored to customer’s needs.

Simulation: the ascendant king of trends

Björn Karlsson from Weland Solutions confirmed the importance of simulation for today’s logistics as well: “Without correct data, there is no correct solution.” In his presentation, he discussed how to maximise the benefits of partial automation and exploit the flexibility of scalable solutions.

“Operational excellence can be achieved by digitalisation,” continued Tolga Özkundakci, the guarantor for a project that is standardising ERPs across the European branches of International Automotive Components Group. He also highlighted the balancing of standardisation and system flexibility as one of the most important prerequisites for success, alongside digitalisation.

User Experience is transforming logistics and daily life

Representatives of Robert Bosch spoke about the pitfalls and benefits of implementing e-heijunka. “There’s work out there with more added value than folding paper cards and running into the office for a pen,” said Jan Čermák to open up his presentation; he then explained what a fundamental and strategic change their project brought: “E-heijunka lets us see the future and predict when components will run out and what we won’t be able to produce in time.”

“There is no quality of life without mobility,” noted Tomáš Vondrák. The first Czech director of Continental Automotive’s plants in Brandýs shared the planned steps in their automation and digitalisation process and revealed what is key for him in automotive logistics: “UX is the new horsepower.”

How to face the supply-chain challenge

Balance within the supply chain was a conference topic all its own; this balance is currently one of the greatest challenges in logistics. “The cost of self-sufficiency in the supply chain is too high now,” confirmed Paul Palmero Martinez from SEAT:CODE. The presentation by representatives of SEAT’s innovation centre brought listeners several concrete tips on bringing transparency to the supply chain via a successful digital transformation and thereby strengthening decision-making competencies through correct and timely information.

Ivan Marinec from AIM PARTNERS explained how to prepare a dossier for choosing a transport-services supplier as efficiently as possible in our digital age. He captured the audience with some troubling numbers: “Goods transport costs are among companies’ highest costs, and yet in the EU nearly 20% of trips are made empty. That works out to the emissions produced by the entire Czech Republic in a year.” He then explained how vehicle usage at both the start and end of the supply chain can be monitored with help from digital platforms.

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Would you like even deeper insight into the digital transformation? Follow AIMagazine, where we’ll be bringing you recaps of the presentations one by one. You can also look forward to video interviews with selected speakers.

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