20 YEARS OF DIVIS

Anniversary event with workshop and Kaizen

Bordesholm, 9 July 2022

Around 30 customers and interested parties followed the invitation to the DIVIS anniversary event in Hamburg and discussed innovation potentials in logistics in a joint workshop. The day programme and evening entertainment also offered many opportunities for networking and culinary delights.

20 years of DIVIS: At the beginning of the colourful anniversary event, founder and CEO Thomas Kroll recalled the beginnings of his company in a humorous talk. His rejection of a major customer back then, which ultimately led to an order, was one of the particularly instructive insights from the company's history.

Photo: Hendrik Reger, Managing Director of DIVIS

Photo: Thomas Kroll, Managing Director of DIVIS

Hendrik Reger also reported from the past and reviewed his ten-year career at DIVIS from the unexpected application acceptance to co-managing director.

Improving existing processes

After this retrospective, however, the DIVIS event was exclusively dedicated to the present and the future. The name of the floating event location on Hamburg's Mittelkanal mirrored this perfectly: "Kai 10". The pun stands for the Japanese Kaizen method for continuous improvement. It fitted ideally with the goals of the workshop, which was one of the highlights of the event.

Photo: Innovation workshop at the DIVIS anniversary event

Small groups worked on six topics in 20-minute intervals; the spectrum ranged from yard management to sustainability to the visionary "The Next Big Thing". The common denominator was the improvement of existing processes in the sense of Kaizen.

Participants develop concrete ideas

The participants developed numerous ideas for improving logistical processes: for example, linking available driver data with yard management in order to be able to automatically translate manoeuvring instructions into the respective language. Another topic section provided the suggestion that in future not only pallets but also locking bars and other load securing aids could be located in order to better track their whereabouts.

Photos: Workshop activities in small groups at the DIVIS anniversary event

Another task dealt with the principles of perception. With artificial intelligence, camera systems could in future not only identify parcels, but also their characteristics, such as stackability. Inventories could also be automated with video solutions. On the topic of sustainability, the participants agreed that logistics companies would have to work even more closely together on this megatrend. This applies, for example, to the last mile, where the packages of all parcel services could be consolidated on jointly used vehicles.

Indoor positioning: Bluetooth^® LE instead of RFID

Photo: Philipp Horka from Quuppa

An already available solution was at the center point of a discussion round on the possible applications of indoor location with the help of Bluetooth LE technology (LE stands for "Low Energy"). The innovation is used to determine the exact position of shipments within logistics halls. The technology developed by the Finnish company Quuppa works highly efficiently and can replace previous RFID solutions. Bluetooth LE is considered "state of the art" and will determine the future of logistics. This is one of the reasons why it is already an integral part of the DIVIS portfolio.

"So far this year, we have exclusively installed systems with Bluetooth LE," emphasised DIVIS Chief Sales Officer Justus Klüver-Schlotfeldt. The solution works on the basis of small Bluetooth tags or the Bluetooth LE app running on Android devices and developed by DIVIS. Locators mounted on the hall ceiling receive the Bluetooth signals from the mobile devices and register their angle of impact. "From this, the algorithm developed by Quuppa calculates the exact position of the scanned consignment", explained Philipp Horka from Quuppa.

Uwe Karrenberg, Managing Director of LOXX Lagerlogistik GmbH, enriched the round with his practical experience. The former head of the development department at Rhenus was able to confirm the positive effects of Bluetooth LE on quality and efficiency.

The subsequent lecture on "Transformation in a complex world" took the participants to a philosophical level: In view of the rapidly and frequently changing framework conditions, long-term planning is an illusion. Instead, one must permanently interpret the current impulses of the world and find new answers.

Photo: Uwe Karrenberg, Managing Director of LOXX Lagerlogistik GmbH

Photo: The panel discussion with Uwe Karrenberg, Managing Director of LOXX Lagerlogistik GmbH (2. from the left), focused on the practical use of Bluetooth LE tracking in the logistics hall.

High savings potential in the vehicle fleet

Photo: Markus Vinke, Managing Director of TIS GmbH

Just like Quuppa, the telematics expert TIS was one of the partners of the DIVIS event who enriched the event programme with their own presentations. TIS Managing Director Markus Vinke used facts and figures to show the enormous savings potential that can be realised with modern telematics and dispatch solutions.

The introduction of automated dispatching alone could save up to 15 percent of vehicle costs by increasing utilisation and minimising driving distances. Further savings potential is offered by the digitalisation of loading equipment management, driver's licence checks and accompanying documents.

Banqueting with a harbour view

The guests used the breaks between the presentations for networking in a relaxed atmosphere and to ask the speakers specific questions. Things got really cosy in the evening at the Kitchen Party in Henssler's Küche at the Hamburg Fish Market with a view of the harbour. The exquisite gourmet delights were finely seasoned with a pinch of live entertainment. All dishes were freshly prepared at various live cooking stations.

Photos: The evening programme in Henssler's kitchen was both culinary and cosy.

CONCLUSION

After the premiere of the customer event in 2018, it was high time to continue the young "tradition" of the compact information event with workshop character. The 20th anniversary provided the perfect occasion. The feedback from the guests was unanimously positive, especially since the knowledge transfer could once again be combined with an exchange with industry colleagues and networking. Without another Corona break, the next event will not have to wait another four years. Promised.