Hammer - Internationale Spedition, Transport und Logistik

Investigations have shown that at a great number of work organisation influencing factors, the internal logistics processes of distribution centres in connection with the supply chain are often inefficient. The logistics companies don’t have the possibilities of making work processes more flexible and implementing their short-term control. 

Aim of the research project is a practical solution in the form of equipment used by logistics companies for identification and realisation of value-added prospects for the development of existing logistics systems in high-wage locations. That way surplus capacity in personnel can be avoided by realistic prospective planning of work processes as well as inefficient internal work processes based on lacking competences or human-centred working systems. Involved are research facilities of the universities Aachen and Bochum as well as various business project partners like the Hammer GmbH & Co. KG.

Already today Aachen has been recognised in Germany and Europe as a location for innovative logistics research. By the Campus Project of the RWTH Aachen and the clusters realised in there, the logistics companies of the region of Aachen are offered excellent chances, to benefit from latest research and development results as well as innovations on the subject of logistics. In particular SME from the logistics industry are often lacking access to current research and development results from universities or research departments of large company groups.

Objective of interdisciplinary research and development projects is the initiation and stabilisation of a SME network of the logistics industry in the region of Aachen, in which they can use synergies and potentials of research and development work in the logistics cluster of the Campus of the RWTH Aachen and that way get to know the complex interrelations of logistics in real production and IT-environments.

A great number of factors e.g. legislation in the area of environmental policy, economic, ecological, market strategic and customer-side aspects more and more put the reverse supply chain into the focus of companies. The handling of products, used or returned in planning and logistics processes of manufacturers, plays an increasingly important role.

Objective of the planned research project therefore is the development of recommendations for an efficient integration of reverse supply chain management into the existing supply chain network. For the development of these recommendations strategic, tactical and operative order processing, relevant process selection and process priorisation as well as organisational incorporation are synchronized. Project-executing organisation is the research institute for rationalisation „Forschungsinstitut für Rationalisierung e.V” of the RWTH Aachen.

Aim of the project was the development and investigation of the use of truck convoys on the road. In this respect the effects on the traffic was analysed by means of real and virtual drive tests by using test carriers and a truck driving simulator.

Project partners were institutes of the RWTH Aachen and besides the Hammer GmbH&Co.KG various companies from industry.

So far standardised description criteria for classification and specification of supply and demand of transport logistics services, as well as standardised processes for quality measurement of transport logistics performances after their provision had so far been missing in the selection of suppliers.

So far standardised description criteria for classification and specification of supply and demand of transport logistics services, as well as standardised processes for quality measurement of transport logistics performances after their provision had so far been missing in the selection of suppliers.