SLEM aims to make logistics in the south of the Netherlands more innovative. The project wants to stimulate an open innovation climate, where parties look for each other and work together on a more efficient and sustainable logistics process. It does this in 3 areas:

Fontys GreenTechLab

Marcel Roosen, manager of research & technology at Fontys GreenTechLab Venlo, tells: 

"From Fontys we are involved in developments within the e-fulfilment work package of SLEM. Within this work package there is a need for automation. We are working with partner companies on the "Modu-picker", a mobile robot."

Marcel explains how the robot works: "Customer orders often consist of multiple items. These come together and are packed at an Order Picking Station. We design a mobile robot setup that looks for these items together, picks them up automatically and then picks them up, moves them, scans them and places them in the shipping box."

There's a lot involved, Marcel explains. "The robot must be able to recognize the articles. In addition, the robot has to position the items without difficulty in order to place them properly in the shipping box. For that, we are jointly developing a setup of a collaborative robot and smart camera system that work together with an intelligent gripper."

Many companies seek inspiration

There are many companies looking for similar ways to make society smarter. For these companies, LIOF regularly organizes inspiration sessions around specific themes. This way companies can get in touch with each other, discuss their innovation needs and come up with great new ideas. It was also from such an inspiration session that 15 organizations together started the collaborative project SLEM. 

Pharox

As an automation company, Pharox is also part of SLEM. Joris Tenhagen, director at Pharox, says: "Reliable data is indispensable for efficient customs declarations and flawless global logistics. International e-commerce has grown explosively in recent years.  This creates enormous challenges for customs work." 

Joris explains what these challenges are: "Due to the explosive growth, the number of origin countries and destinations has also increased tremendously. The chain is also becoming more and more fragmented. This results in more and more import and export customs declarations. This means for the customs officers that there is more and more control work." 

Pharox offers a solution for the increased work. "We develop an IT platform for customs companies. This platform collects data in a smart way and uses artificial intelligence (AI). This increases the quality of data for customs declarations and allows us to automate these control processes. 

LIOF provided the connection

Partly due to the efforts of LIOF, competing customs companies have been linked together around this shared challenge and we have succeeded in putting joint objectives on paper for applying for a subsidy from OPZuid. Thanks in part to a subsidy of over 7 tons, the project could get off to a quick and sure start."

And it was precisely this good start that was needed according to Dianne Soons, Sector Developer Logistics at LIOF. "Many companies already wanted to develop and innovate. But they didn't have the right knowledge, capacity or time to do so. That's when it's important for companies to work together. That they make use of each other's knowledge and resources. And that they work together towards a common goal."

"Alone you are faster, together you will get further"

The diversity of companies in the collaborative project is a guarantee of success. Each company brings its own specialism. Dianne: "In the project there are technical companies, which for example deal with augmented reality, automation and robotics. But there are also knowledge institutes, logistics companies and government agencies. It is important that parties in the chain work together. You need each other to further optimize and streamline chains and thus make them more sustainable."

Dianne also gives a tip to companies that want to do business smarter. "Look around you at the trends and developments for the short and longer term. Seek cooperation with other partners. Of course this kind of collaborative project requires time, coordination and patience. But at the same time you learn a lot from each other and you come across opportunities you hadn't thought of before.'

Are you interested in participating?

You can participate as a pilot location, by sharing your data as a test case or simply by exchanging ideas in the community. Are you interested in this? Then sign up via Dianne Soons, LIOF.

The collaboration project SLEM consists of the following companies:  N.V. Limburgs Instituut voor Ontwikkeling en Financiering (LIOF), Stichting Fontys - Fontys Hogeschool Venlo Logistiek en Techniek, BlackBox Robotics, Optec Mechatronics, Concept Robotics, Schneider Electric Logistic Centre, Pharox, Gerlach & co international Expediteurs B.V., Verhoex Douane Advies, Gaston Schul, TU/e, 3D Visual Logistics, University of Maastricht (Brightlands Institute for Supply Chain Innovation (BISCI), Broekman Logistics and Herbalife Nutrition.