Industrial Conveyor Systems and Logistics Planning

Industrial Conveyor Systems and Functions

Conveyors transport goods within operational units, such as production sites, warehouses, transshipment terminals, or airports. Beyond their primary task of conveying, these technologies facilitate distributing, sorting, collecting, buffering, and picking.

Classification of Conveyor Technologies

• Discontinuous conveyors: These produce an intermittent stream of goods and operate in individual working cycles.
• Continuous conveyors: These transport bulk or general cargo continuously.
• Floor-bound conveyors: These operate on the floor or on installations that are flush-mounted in the floor.
• Supported conveyors: These move above the floor on supports or supported rails.
• Suspended conveyors: These move along rails mounted on the ceiling.

Logistics Network Planning Strategies

Just-in-Time and Just-in-Sequence

Just-in-Time (JIT) is a production strategy designed to improve a business's return on investment by reducing in-process inventory and associated carrying costs. While JIT offers significant benefits, it requires precise coordination.

Aims of JIT:

• Minimizing storage and process costs.
• Minimizing capital commitment.
• Minimizing cycle times.

JIT is particularly suitable for A-articles and bulky, expensive goods. However, delivery processes must be perfectly coordinated, and suppliers—specifically Tier-One suppliers who provide high-value products—must be fully capable of supporting JIT strategies.

Just-in-Sequence (JIS) takes this further by ensuring products arrive at the right time and place, organized in the specific order they will be mounted during the production process.

Distribution and Transport Consolidation

Consolidation Centers and Hub-and-Spoke Systems

A Consolidation Center allocates different shipments from several suppliers based on the principle of economies of scale. This approach is often more cost-effective, even if it increases transit time, because it allows for larger transport volumes.

The Hub-and-Spoke system aims to reduce transport costs and shipping times by increasing the number of orders per shipment. This is generally more efficient and easier to organize than a traditional point-to-point system, which moves goods directly from one warehouse to another.

Cross-Docking and Local Warehousing

Cross-Docking is a strategy where no stocks are held; it is not a warehouse in the traditional sense. You only deliver what you receive from the supplier. This requires perfect coordination between arriving and departing trucks and is typically used for a limited variety of products.

Local Warehouses offer several advantages and disadvantages:

• Lower transport costs due to proximity to customers.
• Increased service levels and delivery flexibility.
• Higher stock costs due to increased safety stock.
• Increased organizational complexity for each local unit.

Typical Distribution Network

A typical distribution network often utilizes a hybrid model, combining a central Distribution Center for primary customers with several Regional Distribution Centers to optimize reach and efficiency.