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System solutions for the flow of materials

The big picture
Material flow in a warehouse with equipment from Linde Material Handling

Intralogistics is evolving: Driven by industry trends such as online retailing and product customisation, ever-faster and more flexible processes are required for material flow. As product portfolios grow and cost pressures increase, processes are being broken down into increasingly smaller steps, which is taking complexity to a whole new level.

As a result, companies are facing a daunting task – rethinking every aspect of their logistics processes. This is where Intralogistics 4.0 comes in, with new opportunities for fleet networking, modularisation and process control. But which solution is the most efficient for a particular array of structures, or for a greenfield project? Finding the answer to this question requires a great deal of process expertise.

This is something that Linde Material Handling can offer through its customised system solutions, which are based on an analysis of all the initial factors, as well as on goals that are defined in consultation with the customer. The projected scenarios include components for a wide array of automation levels. This brings benefits for customers, since the new, comprehensive solution efficiently integrates existing processes, structures and equipment. The result: a tailor-made material flow system with minimal investment risk.

Frank Heptner, Senior Director Consultancy and Projects Intralogistics Solutions at Linde Material Handling
Expert advice is an essential prerequisite to profitable, future-proof intralogistics. This must involve a precise analysis of the current situation, drawing upon the results to develop customized solutions. Linde Material Handling offers all this.

Frank Heptner, Senior Director Consultancy and Projects Intralogistics Solutions at Linde Material Handling

Material flow in a Linde Material Handling warehouse

Consultancy with vision

Linde offers a comprehensive consultancy service that encompasses all aspects of intralogistics optimisation, from analysis and simulation through to designing new fleets or warehouses on greenfield sites. In addition, experts support companies in introducing the newly-developed concept. With these tools, Linde can bring perfection to every aspect of the material flow.

Customised intralogistics in eight steps

Step 1: Project definition

Linde’s experts specify the project details, determine the scope of the planned task and define the targets for the project.

Step 2: Status check

The consultants record the current status of all the areas relevant to the project, along with any associated work processes and structural data. These may include item and warehouse data, performance values or customer objectives and expectations.

Step 3: Analysis phase

The next step is to take a closer look at the weaknesses in the examined work processes, in particular the throughput and waiting times, error rates and damage cases.

Step 4: Determination of potential

The experts then devise specific proposals for improving the various processes, determine the technology required to do this and define the target state that is to be achieved.

Step 5: Action plan

A list of all the necessary structural, process and IT measures is drawn up on the basis of the identified potential. This also includes a cost and time schedule that indicates where savings can be made.

Step 6: Solution development

The consultants now develop complete system solutions that encompass all the individual measures. They make sure that the solutions can be implemented seamlessly into the customer’s existing structures.

Step 7: Solution comparison

The solution concepts are entered into a decision matrix, which is based on the key project variables. This matrix contains a variety of information, including the expected return on investment.

Step 8: Management summary

Finally, the experts use the matrix to derive evaluations of the system solutions and recommended actions for the customer.

Systematic planning

Planning and simulating the new warehouse

To ensure that the processes in a new warehouse run smoothly from the outset – without bottlenecks and overcapacities – experts from Linde rely on comprehensive 2D and 3D simulations during the planning phase. The CAD drawings for the planned warehouse can be imported or replicated using the ‘Stratos’ software. Walls, shelves, conveyor belts and components can then be changed, or new elements can be planned. The result is a model that can be explored virtually and contains all warehouse movements – perfectly simulated in every detail. The experts use this as a basis to determine, among other things, how many forklifts, employees, shifts or truck ramps are required to guarantee a seamless material flow.

Perfecting the material flow

With Linde’s control systems, all aspects of intralogistics processes can be controlled and optimised – from receipt of goods to storage, production supply and order picking, all the way through to goods leaving the warehouse. The Warehouse Management System (WMS) provides a complete overview of all processes, thereby providing the tools for continuous improvement of these processes. Alongside this, the forklift guidance system ensures optimum usage of the fleet capacity.

Illustration of a warehouse with trucks from Linde Material Handling

Benefit from comprehensive expertise

Do you want to take a holistic approach to optimising the complex material flows for your industrial trucks? Benefit from Linde’s comprehensive know-how and expertise.