DB Schenker and Fraunhofer IML Extend Research Partnership

The Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML and the logistics service provider DB Schenker are continuing their research collaboration until the end of 2023. Since 2015, they have been working together in the ‘Enterprise Lab for Logistics and Digitization’ on projects and technologies that drive the digitalization of logistics.

(Dortmund) In 2015, DB Schenker was one of the first companies to opt for the innovative form of joint research between business and science and established a so-called Enterprise Lab at Fraunhofer IML. Representatives from both partners collaborate on technical innovations that they further develop and evaluate within the lab. DB Schenker, the globally active logistics service provider with 76,000 employees and representations in more than 130 countries, relies on key technologies that are intended to secure the company’s competitiveness in the future.

More than 35 Projects Implemented

In the first six years, the interdisciplinary teams implemented more than 35 projects and 20 prototypes for various application areas: Among other things, they developed a virtual packing training and a virtual reality forklift simulator. Workshops, lab visits, and doctoral programs were also part of the Enterprise Lab.

The Enterprise Lab is thematically very diverse and combines projects from various areas such as land transport, air, or sea freight. ‘We are pleased that we can extend our collaboration with DB Schenker and thus expand our joint top-level research to now nine years. This underscores the mutual trust and excellent cooperation of the lab partners at both the management and project levels,’ emphasizes Prof. Michael ten Hompel, Managing Director of the Fraunhofer IML.

Focus on Open Source

‘DB Schenker has made a name for itself as a pioneer in the digitalization of logistics. The Fraunhofer IML is the ideal partner for us to jointly develop the best and most innovative solutions for the supply chains of the future. We have succeeded in bringing together science and logistics experts. We are pleased that we can continue our successful partnership for another three years,’ says Erik Wirsing, Vice President Global Innovation of DB Schenker AG.

‘In the coming years, we will focus, among other things, on the topic of open source, further digitalizing the logistics processes at DB Schenker,’ gives Dr. Martin Böhmer, Lab Manager at Fraunhofer IML, a preview of the further collaboration.

Photo: © Fraunhofer IML / Image Caption: Dr. Martin Böhmer (left), Lab Manager at Fraunhofer IML, and Dr. Nuri Morava, Lab Manager at DB Schenker, will drive the digitalization of logistics for another three years.