The Allianz Industry 4.0 Award is a prize that recognises companies that demonstrate outstanding achievements in the digital transformation of industry. The prestigious award focuses on promoting innovation and progress in the digitalisation and automation of industrial manufacturing, with a focus on intelligent technologies and transformative business models.
Dominik Schmalzried, developer of LAPP eKanban states: “I am delighted that our solution has not only impressed our customers, but also the high-ranking jury of the Industry 4.0 Award. Our eKanban solution addresses a problem that seems simple at first glance, but requires an intelligent solution to ensure a smooth process.”
Dr Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut, Minister of Economic Affairs for Baden-Württemberg, presented the award and emphasised: “This year, it is very clear that it is not only the large and well-known players who are achieving outstanding success with cross-divisional digitalisation solutions. Small and medium-sized enterprises are also steering a course for success with just as much innovative strength and agility. These “hidden champions” and the global players are the pillars of our economy.”
Intelligent cable inventory management
In discussions with numerous customers, LAPP recognised that there is often a lack of overview of cable and connection parts – for example, what stock is still available, when the drums will be empty, and when material needs to be reordered. However, this information is essential for the manufacturing industry in particular, so that production does not come to a standstill due to missing components. This is where LAPP eKanban comes in. The system revolutionises cable inventory management through digital transformation and IoT integration.
The cable drum is equipped with an inertia sensor that records the drum's rotations – both forwards and backwards – and calculates the length of cable removed. A dashboard then displays the cable inventory via real-time monitoring. If the quantity falls below a predefined minimum, the system can automatically trigger an order, taking into account consumption and delivery forecasts. In use, the system achieves a deviation of approximately +- 2 % in inventory. This virtually eliminates the probability of unexpected shortages, actively preventing production stoppages.
Industry 4.0 concept support
"Companies today are operating in highly competitive markets and must therefore focus on maximum efficiency. They also depend on maximum process reliability. Networking and automation offer great potential here because they reduce inefficient manual – and therefore error-prone – processes. This creates greater transparency, which improves planning," says Dominik Schmalzried about the eKanban system in connection with the requirements of industry.
