Modern industry in a nutshell – report from Top Industry Summit

The next speaker of the conference was Dawid Dąbal, Vice President of the Board at FlexSim InterMarium, who presented a technology for the optimization of planned investments. He presented a simulation which was a virtual reflection of a real system, enabling detailed analysis and checkup of all proposed improvements. With the use of simulations it is easy to determine which system, out of thousands, is optimal and can contribute to an increase in efficiency, reduce losses, increase revenues, or reduce costs.

Afterwards we smoothly moved on to the second case study, which was presented by Marcin Szczebak – Advanced Logistics Consultant, Metroplan Polska, concerning AGV systems planning. The company presented a summary of individual stages in the implementation of such a system – from planning itself, through cost analysis, implementation, to maintenance and results. There were two main conclusions from the presentation: the implementation of such a system is not long, as it takes about 12 months, and its main advantage is security, as AGV systems eliminate warehouse truck accidents.

The second discussion panel, entitled “Industry 4.0 in logistics”, was inaugurated by its moderator, Marek Tarczyński, Council President at the Polish International Freight Forwarders Association, who briefly presented the origin of the concept of “Industry 4.0”. It appeared for the first time in 2011 at the Hanover Fair, and was clarified in 2013. Then the following panelists were invited to the stage: Andrzej Bułka – President of the Board, Fracht FWO Polska, Marek Foryński – BTS Managing Director, Panattoni Europe, Łukasz Kuliński – Branch Director, ROHLIG SUUS Logistics, Marcin Szczebak – Advanced Logistics Consultant, Metroplan Polska, Leszek Szelerski – Supply Chain Director, Lafarge Polska. Marcin Szczebak began by introducing the concept of Industry 4.0 based on a study from the World Economic Forum of 2018. It stated that 70% of production companies are at the very beginning of the transformations related to Industry 4.0. Alongside the construction industry, this is the sector with the most room for action, as both are considered the least digitized areas in Europe. Companies are already testing solutions that ensure the safety of drivers and their adherence to procedures. Applications are being tested that require the driver to take a selfie before setting off. The application then checks whether the driver is properly dressed. Flexibility on the part of companies is also required, as even the smallest weather fluctuations can change customer orders from day to day, and it is worth knowing that some companies ship up to 2500 trucks with materials daily! The panelists also talked about industry threats, such as unsuccessful investments or implementations. They can increase costs, which will cause companies to consolidate, giants to arise, and small businesses to disappear. Even now, e.g. on the ship operator market, in the last 20 years the 3 largest shipping companies increased their market share from 10% to 50%. Another threat is insufficient staff. This may be remedied by the influx of workers from abroad, but this is only a temporary solution, because these people will eventually travel further to the west. On the other hand, progressing automation and digitization of industries is a more permanent solution, and enterprises invest intensively in such solutions – in accordance with the saying of the Foreign Legion: “go or die”.