The 3rd edition of the event series DAKO Kompass Logistik 4.0 on 18 February 2020 was dedicated to digitalisation strategies for refrigerated and food logistics under the motto “Freshly networked”. Entrepreneurs from the food and fresh produce logistics sector, software developers and industry experts met in Jena to discuss future-oriented applications and best practice approaches. It became apparent that not only the economic efficiency idea is behind the interest in new technologies, but that also a high awareness of sustainability is moving the industry.
Transport companies in cold chain and food logistics are faced daily with the challenge of reconciling high customer demands on the quality of temperature-controlled goods, fast delivery and proof of compliance with food safety regulations. The resulting processes are highly complex and require enormous expert knowledge.
How intelligent tools can support these processes and where they have to start, was discussed by users and experts at the 3rd edition of the event DAKO Kompass Logistik 4.0. The participants gained insights into research projects for the automation of freight processes, heard expert lectures on topics such as sustainable cooling concepts or damage prevention as well as a panel discussion on pressing issues in the industry. In the interactive discussion forum, the logistics providers were able to introduce problems from their everyday working life and create approaches for their solutions together with other users and software specialists.
One major topic ran through the lectures and discussions: the aspiration for sustainability. Whether it was the use of alternative drives for refrigeration units at Kiesling Fahrzeugbau GmbH, the testing of CNG trucks at Transgourmet Deutschland or the management and upcycling of load securing equipment at allsafe GmbH – the topic of sustainability clearly moves the industry. Peter Kiesling from Kiesling Fahrzeugbau GmbH pleaded to see new technologies and sustainability approaches, which may initially be cost-intensive, as an investment and an opportunity. Those who establish themselves as pioneers in this field can later profit from the lead. Or as Kiesling put it strikingly: “You can also earn money with sustainability.”
Digitalisation and networking play a particularly important role in efficient and sustainable cold chain logistics. This became apparent, for example, in the discussions about dynamic load planning and the synchronised tour planning that goes with it. Marco Raupach, project manager innovation&research at DAKO GmbH, put it in a nutshell in his presentation on the ICAP (Intelligent Cargo Processing) research project: “The load planner decides whether the driver has a good or bad day on his tour”. In this field, DAKO showed first results from the project, which aims to develop a system platform with different modules for the integrated intelligent transport control.
Digital solutions can help in many places to compensate for expert knowledge and automate processes. But the pivotal points remain the data basis and the uniform exchange of data, across system and company boundaries. So the DAKO Kompass Logistik 4.0 was also a plea for cooperation and valid data acquisition.
DAKO Kompass Logistik 4.0 is already the second series of events we have initiated. The sustainability forum SMART CITY LOGISTIK Congress, which DAKO is organising for the seventh time this year, brings together users, manufacturers and pioneers of alternative drives in the commercial vehicle sector every year to give impulses for green and economical logistics. “With the Kompass Logistik 4.0, we are focusing on digitalisation in transport, and with the 3rd edition of the series we are well on the way to establishing an equally successful series of events”, explains Thomas Becker. “We would like to show participants today what will be indispensable in tomorrow’s logistics processes.” The next DAKO Kompass Logistik 4.0 will take place on 10 November 2020 in Jena with a focus on transport companies in the waste management & recycling industry.