E² Log

Nowadays, efforts to increase the energy efficiency are taking place in many areas. As a lever for the flow of goods, logistics, which is responsible for the supply of production plants, has a great influence on the efficient use of energy. A study on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research has shown that in the production about 40 % of the primary energy demand result from the production environment.

The logistic influencing factors on efficiency are versatile and interdependent: Delivery concepts are influenced by the number and location of network partners as well as by the production concept. The production concept also determines the factory layout, the internal material flows and the corresponding conveyor technique.

The E²Log project is therefore concerned with the question of how the logistic network and production environment can be better synchronized with each other with the target of a holistic increase of the energy efficiency.

The target to increase the energy efficiency in the entire production network including the production itself always needs to be seen in the context of logistic performance and cost. Without considering delivery reliability, service level, inventory and transportation costs the dimension “energy” does not receive acceptance. Therefore, on the one hand, measures need to be identified that generally allow an increase of energy efficiency. On the other hand, opportunities need to be created that allow to assess the impact of these measures on all target figures.

Consequently, the target of the E²Log project is to develop methods and instruments for the planning and design of energy efficient production networks. From the application in practice, general design recommendations for the improvement of the energy efficiency can be derived.

The results of the project allow small and medium-sized companies as well as large companies to analyze and asses the as-is state of their supply network under cost, performance and energy aspects in a scenario-based way. In addition to methodical findings, the project results include a software tool that ensures the practical applicability:

The simulation-based expert tool OTD-NETECO offers OEMs the possibility to investigate the effects of decisions of the production on the supply network and to improve these in a targeted way. The developed product Ecoleano is an easy-to-operate, encapsulated version specifically for small and medium-sized companies. It allows these companies to evaluate their position in the supply network.

• Supported by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology
• DB Schenker
• Klingele
• Kuehne & Nagel
• Uniwheels
• Volkert
• Volkswagen Nutzfahrzeuge
• Wilo
• Wuppertal Institut