Information describes the meaningful content of a message, which is of value for the recipient. The receiver can be either a human or a machine. The sent or received information does not contain irrelevant or redundant transmissions.

In the following, digital information is of particular importance, which can be sent as data via a network, stored on data carriers and processed and output with computers and controllersor machines.

Information from goods receipt to goods issue

In intralogistics, goods are constantly on the move. Innumerable processes line the path of the goods from goods receipt to goods issue; information must be in the right place at the right time for the smooth flow of intralogistics processes. With the possibility of networking and processing vast amounts of information, process and warehouse systems can be linked and optimized. From a logistical point of view, one speaks of the “targeted information” that is actually required for the respective process.

In intralogistics, information is divided into two segments. On the one hand, there is the operative area with its production factor; on the other hand, the strategic area acts with the competitive factor, for example when viewed via ECR – Efficient Consumer Response.

In the future, information will also be made available to the industry via cloud computing, which in turn will require a rethink in practice: For example, future areas of application such as driverless transport systems (see also AGVs on TUP), sensor-actuator systems in factories, materials handling systems or the “smart” power grid require not only a high and stable bandwidth, but also extremely low end-to-end reaction times, i.e. well below ten milliseconds. Real-time applications, such as those forced by the tactile Internet, are kept locally in the distribution centers to avoid latencies.

Information in the future

Information and data will continue to influence and “intelligently” control logistics processes. The information itself is constantly adapting to its technical environment, be it size, content, structure/formatting or the applications themselves. It is and remains the raw material for every industrial process. In the future, especially the area of knowledge management (knowledge management based on the collected know-how) of a company will benefit from the preparation of individual pieces of information. Also because it makes it possible to merge different data stocks with different ERP and warehouse management systems.

It will no longer just be about key figures in general. Trends, changes and new challenges are also processed in greater detail thanks to the data collected, making logistics more transparent for all disciplines involved. Of course, the latter inevitably leads to new technical challenges, including increased data protection measures.

More information can also be found under master data.

Image rights: Author/ License CC BY-SA 2.0

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