Logisnext: “Intralogistics has become the company’s nerve center for guaranteeing product availability”

Logistics has long appeared as an operational function among others. Can we now consider it as a strategic function for companies? The role of logistics managers and directors has profoundly evolved.

They are today fully integrated into the supply chain and occupy functions that have become vital for companies. This development is all the more significant as, on the French market, production is decreasing overall while the share of imported products is increasing. Logistics therefore mechanically takes on increased importance.

It is no longer rare to see logistics directors sitting on the management committees of large groups. This clearly reflects the change in status of this function, which is now directly associated with the overall performance of the company. What are the main challenges facing companies in this area today?

The first issue concerns productivity. Companies must manage ever-increasing flows while meeting increasing demands in terms of speed, deadlines and product availability. The development of electronic commerce has further reinforced this pressure.

For the customer, the choice sometimes comes down to a very simple question, a product is available or it is not. Behind this availability lies the entire performance of the supply chain. The second issue concerns the organization of flows.

You have to determine where to store the products, how to transport them and how to optimize the entire chain so that they arrive at the right place, at the right time and at a controlled cost. What place does intralogistics now occupy in this equation? She weighs a lot more than she did five or ten years ago.

The transport of goods remains fundamental, but it has become relatively standardized. Intralogistics now constitutes a real differentiating challenge. The product offering is expanding, stored volumes are increasing and warehouses are becoming larger and more diversified.

This considerably complicates internal flows. Intralogistics has thus become the nerve center of the company when it comes to managing products, their availability and their provision to customers. Faced with the proliferation of technologies, how can we determine the solution that is truly suited to the needs of a company?

We come from a world where intralogistics was essentially manual, with operators using relatively standardized handling trolleys. Today we are moving towards much more personalized solutions. At Logisnext, we believe that there is no universal solution.

It is necessary to take into account the customer's way of working, their flows, the products handled, their size, their weight, as well as the frequency and volume of operations. Of course, automation is obviously a major development. In particular, we are developing a range of AGVs, automated vehicles capable of handling repetitive tasks when the flows are sufficiently regular.

Machine-translated from French