Cross-site RELAG®-World
Wilhelm Layher GmbH & Co KG is the world’s leading German manufacturer of system scaffolds, protection and event systems, mobile scaffolds and ladders and is regarded as a world market leader in its industry. Layher and SEP Logistik AG have been combining a trusting and cooperative cooperation for more than 15 years.
Layher produces exclusively in Germany in the Zabergäu region – where the family business operates three plants in the immediate vicinity. The internal transport of goods between the locations takes place by means of trailers and semi-trailers. These cross-plant transports were merged and centrally controlled as part of the RELAG®-World project in a continuous, uniform system.
Interview with Patrick Reiner, Head of Logistics at Layher
How did the idea of controlling three locations via a central, comprehensive RELAG® system originally come about?
So far, we have the RELAG® stacker control system with RTLS incl. Shipping control used at the first location and then extended to two additional locations. The construction of Plant 3 revealed the situation that the cross-plant movement of goods became significantly more complex.
What were the central functions and goals? What specifically was implemented in the project?
We wanted to optimize the control of the cross-plant trade of goods and to improve the control of the in-house trade of goods between the various departments.
This should be presented via a smart shuttle management. In addition, the system has created a new interface for booking the movement of goods. The central goal was the reduction or Abolition of individual communication to central control via RELAG®.
Another objective was to create transparency about orders and relations, as well as to evaluate the processes.
Mr. Reiner, what were the biggest technical or technical challenges during the project period and how were these solved?
The biggest challenges were the hard-to-estimate efforts, as this was a new functional environment. A transparent and dynamic project management was the solution for this.
How did you experience the cooperation with SEP Logistik AG during the conversion phase, and which milestones were particularly formative?
The cooperation has always been collegial and solution-oriented. The intensive coordination in the Go Live phase was decisive and crowned with success, as short-term challenges could be solved quickly.
Were there any special hurdles or surprises during the project from which you draw important insights today?
Since the system addresses a completely new field of tasks, the development and coordination effort was difficult to estimate. There were also different solutions for some requirements. A more realistic time planning in the project is an important finding for future projects. In some areas, the project of SEP, together with us, was expected to be too optimistic.
What concrete improvements are evident in day-to-day business today – in particular in terms of transparency, controllability and factory transport in general?
Individual communication by phone or call to shuttle movements has been reduced to an absolute minimum.
The complete shuttle traffic is shown in the system. Order relations and requirements can now be evaluated in a customer-specific manner.
Image sources of all images:
Wilhelm Layher GmbH & Co KG
