Development of a decision-making aid for the end-of-life of intralogistics systems

Logistics systems form the backbone of modern manufacturing companies: they ensure that materials, semi-finished goods, and products are reliably stored, made available, and transported. Within intralogistics, intralogistics systems (ILS)—such as conveyor, storage, and picking systems—perform key tasks in organizing and controlling internal material and information flows. However, with increasing automation and shorter product life cycles, the proportion of aging or technically obsolete systems is steadily rising. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular are faced with the challenge of not recognizing the optimal time for replacing or renewing their ILS (end-of-life, EoL) in a timely manner. A lack of transparency regarding the system status, unclear decision-making criteria, and a lack of methodological expertise often result in measures being taken too late, too early, or on the wrong basis. This often has costly consequences such as production downtime, delivery delays, and unnecessary investments.

This is where the EndLogSys research project comes in. The core of the project is the development of a practical decision-making aid that enables SMEs to systematically record the status of their intralogistics systems, predict the onset of EoL based on data, and derive economically sensible options for action. The aim is to avoid business interruptions, secure investments, and sustainably strengthen the competitiveness of SMEs in the manufacturing sector.