The 350 participants of the Fraunhofer IML Future Congress in Dortmund received prominent input on topics ranging from simplifying material flows using AI to ideas for space logistics. Among them was Gilgen Logistics, where innovation is a declared driver of business activities.

The future has (long) begun.

The slogan "Reclaiming simplicity with AI-based logistics" by IML CEO Alice Kirchheim, as well as the call to the hundreds of expert audience that "the time has come to jointly leverage the potential of generative AI," met with a broad response.

“This was our first time attending the Logistics Future Congress,” said Marco Moscatelli, Head of Marketing and Communications at the intralogistics specialists from Oberwangen.

On the path to innovation

After Gilgen Logistics' vision, mission, values, and, based on these, its corporate identity were re-aligned two years ago, technical development within the company has become a priority. "Based on this, we have redesigned our innovation process this year. This was ultimately an additional reason for us to attend the conference," Moscatelli said.

Daniel Fricker, Marco Moscatelli

Although AI is currently a hot topic and, as Alice Kirchheim pointed out at the start of the conference, has already become somewhat overused, the Fraunhofer Institute's choice of AI as a topic was absolutely apt. It is omnipresent. "And yet, many companies still don't know exactly where concrete applications can be found." Numerous projects and examples were outlined at the conference in which companies and researchers have successfully implemented AI.

Important impulses

Highlights included keynote speeches on simplifying logistics processes using AI, real-life examples, and the subsequent panel discussion. Moscatelli added, "They provided concrete insights that could also be relevant for us." The approach to space logistics ("The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy") was also inspiring, to which – as reported – former ESA and DLR CEO Johann-Dietrich Wörner also contributed his insights.

Input from a ZHAW project

Examples and background information also came from the ZHAW, where information about "safe, efficient, and sustainable hospital logistics" from a "Green Hospital" project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation between 2017 and 2021 led to optimization potentials that had not been sufficiently recognized in Germany to date , but ultimately to a "Green Hospital Energy Twin" in North Rhine- Westphalia.

Often very theoretical

There is a hint of regret in the assessment that, despite all the fascination of the partly visionary contributions, one would have liked to have seen a few more practical examples, since some of the projects and applications presented are often very theoretical, extremely specific and mostly only suitable for a small group of users.

This is likely to change quickly in the coming years as AI applications become increasingly integrated into concrete projects, and expectations that have not yet been fully met will be steered into more appropriate directions in reality .

www.iml.fraunhofer.de

www.gilgen.com