News
EPG expands its software suite EPG | SUBURBAN: central planning and control of all means of transport in the warehouse.
17.03.2020
With EPG | SUBURBAN, EPG (the Ehrhardt + Partner Group) is launching a solution that gives you central and comprehensive orchestration of various means of transport – whether driverless transport vehicles (DTV), forklifts or conveyors – based on the existing order volume.
It provides reliable advance planning, taking into account orders and the warehouse infrastructure, including all the storage areas, restrictions and routes. This gives warehouse managers the benefit of significantly improved predictability of order volume and greater transparency of operations within their warehouse. All systems are coordinated to avoid costly waiting and standstill times right from the outset. With EPG | SUBURBAN, EPG is complementing its Supply Chain Execution System (SES) with an additional solution for holistic logistics networking.
EPG | SUBURBAN breaks down the high complexity of multi-resource control in the warehouse, as operating multiple systems in parallel is already the norm in many warehouses. DTVs, forklifts and conveyors need to coordinate with each other; orders have to be assigned and processed without delay. Any waiting times for individual systems because, for example, the goods are not available for retrieval, costs time – ultimately leading to unnecessary costs. Until now, there has not been a central system to assume this task for all means of transport in the warehouse. With EPG | SUBURBAN, EPG has developed a solution that delivers manufacturer-independent orchestration of transport orders in the warehouse – and directly addresses the challenges identified in the past.
High-level advanced planning is run on the basis of existing orders and the available systems. The actual warehouse equipment in use is not important, as the solution coordinates and controls DTV, forklifts and static conveyors in a similar way to a route planning system. Compared to a forklift control system, for example, which is exclusively designed to coordinate forklifts, EPG | SUBURBAN has an overview of all means of transport and is system-independent. This means that multiple systems can be operated reliably in parallel, including any necessary goods-transfer points – for example, on a conveyor system. It also prevents accidents. This increases the efficiency of order processing, as all conditions in the warehouse are taken into account in planning. Warehouse managers also have a global overview of all processes and can intervene immediately if need be.
Based on a digital warehouse map
Reliable management of means of transport with EPG | SUBURBAN is based on a warehouse map, which is a digital twin of the warehouse. This 1:1 copy of the infrastructure is mapped in a metrically accurate, digitized system and uses an innovative 3D measurement system to export the map to an OpenStreetMap format. It contains all information such as routes, warehouse technology and restrictions. EPG | SUBURBAN factors this information into the overall planning, making it possible to coordinate routes and transport in the warehouse efficiently.
In the future, it will be possible to use EPG | SUBURBAN beyond the four walls of the warehouse as well, to coordinate means of transport across the entire supply chain, all the way to the customer.