Analytical Review on the Modern Optimization Algorithms in Logistics

Optimization algorithms are used to reach the optimum solution from a set of available alternatives within a short time relatively. With having complex problems in the logistics area, the optimization algorithms evolved from traditional mathematical approaches to modern ones that use heuristic and metaheuristic approaches. Within this paper, the authors present an analytical review that includes illustrative and content analysis for the used modern algorithms in the logistics area. The analysis shows accelerated progress in using the heuristic/metaheuristic algorithms for logistics applications. It also shows the strong presence of hybrid algorithms that use heuristic and metaheuristic approaches. Those hybrid algorithms are providing very efficient results.

Presenting an Innovative Process Improvement Method for the Efficient Forklift Material Handling Systems in the Industry 4.0

The rapid adoption of Industry 4.0 principles in the manufacturing sector during the last couple of years has created numerous possibilities for development. One key area related to manufacturing in which Industry 4.0 solutions can have a significant impact is the field of materials handling. However, today the majority of manufacturing companies still overly rely on the utilization of standard forklift material handling systems for supporting their operations. In this paper, our goal is to present a novel process improvement method utilizing Industry 4.0 principles which could significantly aid in the design of efficient forklift material handling systems. We believe that by utilizing the opportunities inherent in Industry 4.0 (in this case mainly sensor systems, big data analysis, digitalization and real-time data transfer), forklift based material handling can be elevated to an entirely new level in terms of efficiency, which could greatly improve the overall performance of the vast majority of manufacturing systems.

The Impact of the Pandemic on Global Logistics Processes

The COVID-19 pandemic reminded society that, in addition to natural disasters, epidemics are also part of our past, present and future. Even if we cannot prevent the emergence of dangerous viruses, we must be prepared to mitigate their impact on society. It is clear that the COVID-19 epidemic, in addition to its severe physiological effects, has caused significant economic damage worldwide. Global supply chains in different industries face significant challenges. Not only is the economy affected by the virus; society as a whole is affected, leading to dramatic changes in the behaviour of businesses and consumers. The global supply chains that have shown a high level of stability and resilience in recent decades now face a number of disruptive factors. The pandemic adversely affected the entire chain in terms of both manufacturing and logistics processes, as well as a significant shift in demand. The pandemic highlighted the need to focus on three key areas to increase the resilience of supply chains: risk and flexibility, global transparency, and rapid response and decision-making. It can be concluded that the changes caused by the epidemic will make global supply chains shorter and more transparent through renewed strategies such as digitization, the tools of which are the building blocks of the DSN.

Preventing the Negative Effects of the Covid-19 Epidemic in International Freight Transport

Measures taken to handle the COVID-19 epidemic in the spring of 2020 have had a significant impact on European supply chains. In terms of freight transport, this has led to a decline and congestion in truck traffic due to different restrictions on the internal borders of the EU. As similar situations cannot be avoided in the future, it is worthy to form supply chains that are less affected by different epidemics. Similarly to the physical internet hubs, distribution hubs can be forward-looking, but only if it helps development of rail-road intermodal freight transport. The article describes the possibility of a rail-road freight transport system that allows the application of radically new solutions through a new container handling technology that can be used in the rail-road relationship. The extension of the idea at the EU level could result in a significant increase in the share of rail freight and a sizeable reduction of the negative impact of epidemics on the supply chains. Among other effects, the solution can have a significant impact on the IT development of rail freight transport. The solution can also have effect to the development of the network of rail-road intermodal trans-shipment points, their automation and ultimately the completion of Logistics 4.0.

Industry 4.0 and Logistics 4.0

In these times Industry 4.0 and Logistics 4.0 has become a quite popular and trending topic amongst companies. There are market leaders who have the best knowledge and resources to use the relevant tools and technologies in their daily operation, and there are small players who has limited capabilities or only able to follow these – in all of the cases it is inevitable to get to know and utilize these technics to keep and increase competitiveness. Researches and studies has a very important role to explore these opportunities and what is more to transfer the knowledge to the participants has no access at first hand. It is specifically valid for sectors like food industry and FMCG segment where we can face with falling competition and increasing pressure caused by the higher expectations but in parallel several innovative solutions as well. This gave the reason for me to take a deep look into this case and summarize recent developments.

MONITORING OF OPERATIONAL LOGISTIC PROCESSES IN GENERAL CARGO WAREHOUSES USING PREDICTIVE ANALYSIS

Due to the different characteristics of the piece goods (e.g. size and weight), they are transported in general cargo warehouses by manually-operated industrial trucks such as forklifts and pallet trucks. Since manual activities are susceptible to possible human error, errors occur in logistical processes in general cargo warehouses. This leads to incorrect loading, stacking and damage to storage equipment and general cargo. It would be possible to reduce costs arising from errors in logistical processes if these errors could be remedied in advance. This paper presents a monitoring procedure for logistical processes in manually-operated general cargo warehouses. This is where predictive analysis is applied. Seven steps are introduced with a view to integrating predictive analysis into the IT infrastructure of general cargo warehouses. These steps are described in detail. The CRISP4BigData model, the SVM data mining algorithm, the data mining tool R, the programming language C++ for the scoring in general cargo warehouses represent the results of this paper. After having created the system and installed it in general cargo warehouses, initial results obtained with this method over a certain time span will be compared with results obtained without this method through manual recording over the same period.

MECHANICAL VIBRATION AND SHOCK MEASUREMENT OF MATERIAL FLOW DEVICES AND SYSTEMS

The article deals with the measurement and analysis of the vibration of material flow devices and systems. This work has been done to find out if and in what form kinetic energy arises in comprehensive material flow processes. In the first chapter the theory of vibration measurement from periodic vibration to transient effects will be described using their physical and mathematical foundations. In the second chapter will present the results of the large-scale measurements. A special focus is on the natural frequency of the individual material flow devices. It has to be examined whether it is a certain useful frequency of technical units such as trucks, conveyor belt, etc. egsist over the entire supply chain. At the beginning of the article, the theoretical basics of metrology will be described, then the results will be presented and then the results will be summarized and evaluated. At the very end, an outlook is given about the further steps of the work.

SIMULATION OF IMAGE DATA TO SUPPORT THE TRAINING OF CONVOLUTIONAL NEURAL NETWORKS FOR OBJECTS RECOGNITION

The recognition of logistics objects is an essential prerequisite for the optimization of operational logistics processes and can be performed among others via image-based methods. However, the lack of available data for training domain-specific recognition models remains a practical problem. For this reason, we present an approach to solving this problem. The core principle of our approach is the automated generation of image data from 3D models, in which the appearance of the objects varies through variations of different parameters. The first results are promising: Without any real image data, we have created a neural network for recognition of real objects with a recall quality of 86%.

DEVELOPMENT OF A STEERING AND BRAKING SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATED CARGO-BIKES

To relieve busy urban areas of automobile traffic and exhaust emissions, bike sharing systems are increasingly being implemented. In order to expand the limited transport capacity of a bicycle, cargo bikes are used for private transport in the narrow urban area. The problem is often the availability of a cargo bike at a determined time. The limited number and possibly inhomogeneous distribution in the urban area reduces availability of the cargo bikes. To increase the acceptance of the system, the goal must therefore be to significantly increase the availability at all locations in the urban area. So far, the consumer had to get to the means of transport, now the cargo bike should autonomously navigate to the user and maneuver. This article focuses on the actuators and their modeling as an elementary part of the overall system to enable the automated journey of a cargo bike. There are currently no off-the-shelf components available for braking and steering. The steering and braking system must be able to be controlled separately from each other by humans or automatically, in order to allow manual and automatic operation. For brake and steering a suitable concept is developed, a simulation model is built and evaluated. In addition, the steering mechanism is evaluated with measured values on the real test vehicle.

LOGISTICS 4.0 – SOLUTIONS AND TRENDS

Logistics 4.0 means the application of Industry 4.0 in the logistics area. Therefore, many new practical and scientific solutions are created and published giving a huge amount of individual examples for realizing different logistics tasks. To find solutions in a systematic way, it is necessary to create and use meta-knowledge. The paper gives an overview about typical solution fields, the level of knowledge and application. It makes a difference between objects, processes, systems and the relevant infrastructure of logistics according the model “Smart Logistics Zone". The “Smart Logistics Zone” is defined as a scalable examination and action area for the analysis, evaluation, planning, control, regulation and (re-) configuration of logistics solutions. Basis of the research formed many years of scientific work and practical experiences in the area of logistics. This is connected with an evaluation of current scientific publications and own scientific projects on the area of Logistics 4.0. The starting points are changed requirements and conditions according to Logistics 4.0. Solutions of Logistics 4.0 are identified, systemized and described. One solution group are e.g. the possibilities of autonomously driving. They have the same idea to move, to handle and to transport without a driver or pilot realized by different means of transport. The majority of solutions of autonomous driving are on the level of prototypes and pilot projects. The new developed model “Smart Logistics Zone” is recommended to solve all tasks of logistics engineering according to Logistics 4.0 A new model is developed to systemize process knowledge. Logistics 4.0 is integrated. Important trends of Logistics 4.0 are characterized to sign the future. The theory of logistics must be further developed. Therefore, some new and improved systematics are presented in this paper: solutions of Logistics 4.0, strategies to improve logistical processes and trends of Logistics 4.0.