Author: Will Pyburn

I've just returned from an incredibly interesting two days in Stuttgart having visited LogiMAT for the first time. The attendance from vendors and visitors was overwhelming: around 1500 vendors, spanning the logistics scene, and at least 10x that many visitors (I'm sure official numbers will be published but it had to be tens of thousands). Borut and I attended with the main goal of wanting exposure to these types of conferences. We, as D365 WMS consultants, have spent our time in the past at Microsoft-oriented events, such as the DynamicsMinds event coming up in a few short months in Slovenia, which are excellent and serve their purpose dutifully. We have been missing something entirely logistics-oriented, and LogiMAT in Stuttgart delivered.

For those who have never attended and sit somewhere in the IT/logistics landscape, whether a D365 WMS customer or not, it's highly worth the visit. That is, if you remember to book on time so you can get a reasonable hotel room and flight, unlike us. Directly from LogiMAT's website, logimat-messe.de: A top event for in-company material flow and computer-controlled processes from procurement to production and distribution in the heart of Europe. It defines itself as the largest annual intralogistics exhibition in Europe, which I'm certain is the case. We had no particular "goal" when we arrived other than to broaden our logistics knowledge and be able to continuously think outside the box when it comes to solutioning gaps, implementing new processes, suggesting hardware, etc. That quickly changed when we took a detailed look at the exhibitor list and saw the breadth of what we could get into.

All 10 halls of the Messe conference center in Stuttgart were occupied: Materials handling and storage technology; warehousing and operational equipment; AGV/AMR; packaging, weighing and measuring; loading technology, loading systems; ground conveyors and accessories; information and communication technology; order-picking systems; labelling and identification; software for simulation, storage systems and stock management; software for despatches and transport, consultation, planning, implementation / Outsourcing partners; media, organizations, consultation and training. We set our eyes immediately on Hall 10, materials handling and storage technology, and Hall 8, software for simulation, storage systems, and stock management.

Hall 10 was a playground for people like us who are nerds about automation. The scale at which vendors had set up demonstrations was unreal. AutoStore had a full setup with probably a hundred, if not more, bins and several picking robots. Most of the big players did. What was truly interesting about the exhibitors in this space was the general redundancy that we saw for high-density bin-based storage solutions intended for e-commerce-style picking. I don't want to suggest that they all did the same thing because we didn't talk to nearly everyone, but the sheer volume of vendors providing similar solutions is a clear indication of the market opportunity that exists: lots of distributors are looking for ways to get more out of their space and improve picking efficiency, and are willing to make significant investments in doing so.

When speaking to these providers, we also started asking about their software controller approach and how the inventory is managed. Do they have their own WCS, WES, or WMS? Do they manage the inventory – items and quantities – in the bins, or just the bins themselves? And what do the providers expect from the WMS or the source system when it comes time to pick? Unsurprisingly, the details for the answers were all different, but there was a resounding theme: nobody wants to deal with inventory. In my head, automation vendors would always want to know the inventory to pick and reshuffle bins as needed for optimal storage. But that's far from the case. Most of these solutions are so efficient from a robotics perspective that it doesn't actually matter. Of course, when installing these types of solutions, you have to ensure that your SKU distribution in the storage makes sense and that you have the picking bots necessary to pick your A-movers properly. But aside from this, most solutions don't provide intra-storage bin optimization. Because they don't know the inventory. They expect the WMS/WES/WCS to. Something to keep in mind for your future implementation.

Confused about the difference between WMS/WES/WCS? Based on our experience at this show, so is everyone. Stay tuned for an upcoming post on our findings and how to demystify this topic.

I don't know what I would have otherwise expected in Germany, but SAP implementation partners overwhelmingly dominated Hall 8. Some regional WMS solutions and other providers, maybe not as common as the big players, were also present alongside the Gartner heavyweights Manhattan and Koerber. Only two Microsoft partners were present, but neither represented the D365 WMS (one with a self-built WMS for Business Central and another for Navision). Let's just say we hope to change that next year!

Overall, there were a few very noticeable trends from the perspective of someone who has not attended one of these types of events before:

1. Intralogistics is the focus. The term represents the logistics processes within an organization, within a facility, not necessarily cross-facility distribution or supply chain networks. This was a welcome change to the supply chain craze/narrative pushed since 2020.
2. The market for picking and/or sorting robotic arms is huge. There are tons of vendors offering these solutions. At the surface level, the differences aren't apparent. But speaking to one of the manufacturers in Hall 6, we got insights into the three key differences: payload, repeatability, and reach. As well as nuances like whether the camera supporting the bot is integrated into the arm, whether it's a standalone device mounted to the arm, where the software controller is, how the bot identifies items, etc.
3. There is some incredibly cool tech (AMRs and robotic arms, for example) that, on their own, would provide little value to an organization. Combining some of these solutions could be game-changing for well-defined, repeatable processes. It really puts the highlight on an organization's ability to bring these solutions into play: without properly defined processes, the tech supporting logistics operations is almost meaningless.
4. AI is embedded into everything, which can be exhausting to hear about, but when you speak with someone using it in a very specific and tangible manner, it is impressive. For example, we spoke to a voice-picking provider using AI to train their model to understand individual pickers in the warehouse, so training is no longer required. And anyone who has used voice picking knows how annoying and time-consuming training the devices can be.

As stated, it was an incredible event that I would highly recommend all my colleagues to attend in the future. I know at next year's LogiMAT, InterRadish will be fully present, and maybe I'll wear a shirt claiming the D365 WMS is stronger than EWM just to spark some conversation!

Interested to learn more? Reach out to our team today!