Program
Hear from top logistics experts – both providers and users of logistics servicesPlease click on the tabs to see the different parts of the program. If it doesn’t work, it is because you have not allowed all cookies. Please click on the icon at the bottom left of your screen and allow all cookies.
Excursion to the WE|DO SuperHUB in Ostředek
The number of packages traveling between e-shops and consumers has increased radically in the last two or three years. As a result, a robust logistics infrastructure is needed to ensure fast and reliable delivery. This infrastructure includes hubs where the packages are sorted. One such operation, known in the company as the SuperHUB, was recently opened by WE|DO. It is located in Ostředek on the D1 highway, which is the ideal place for sorting consignments from all over the country. It includes almost 50 gates, 110 m of shoe sorter conveyors, 350 m of belt conveyors, 200 m of roller conveyors and 600 m of gravity conveyors. The VanRiet automatic sorter sorts up to 12,000 pieces per hour. The hall was built by the developer UDI based on the requirements of WE|DO, and the total investment, including technology, is half a billion CZK. Due to the fact that the most interesting hours of operation are in the evening, the visit will take place on the Wednesday before the EASTLOG congress.
Maximum capacity: 25 participants
Registration
Opening words
Joint morning program: HOMO LOGISTICUS
Two views of automation and human resources
Josef Středula, the chairman of the Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions, and Radek Špicar, vice president of the Confederation of Industry and Transport, will speak in the introductory part of the program. In line with the main topic of this year’s edition – Homo logisticus – we will get acquainted with the views of both speakers on the current and future position of the human in logistics and industry.
- Why do industry and logistics need to automate and what will it bring in terms of employment and labor productivity?
- How to prepare social and pension systems so that society avoids labor shocks in the future?
- How will automation, digitization and robotization affect the future purchasing power of the population and the social status of blue and white collars?
- Will some fields (e.g., warehousing) still need human workers in fifteen years?
- What do children in schools have to learn today to be successful in the labor market and in life tomorrow?
You can look forward to the answers to these and other questions during the unique opening block of the 25th EASTLOG congress.
Moderator: Stanislav Břeň, editor-in-chief of the magazine Systémy Logistiky
Robotization of logistics real estate and its impact on employees
Amazon, for which Panattoni is building a modern robotic center in Kojetín in its first multi-storey building in the Czech Republic, has extensive experience in cooperation with people and technology in logistics operations. The workplace of logistics employees has changed beyond recognition over the last decade. Not only the warehouses themselves, but also the automated technologies inside are fundamentally changing the way we work and the demands on employees. How is the logistics and work of logistics workers in the traditional distribution center that Amazon has in Dobrovíz, different from the one currently being built in Kojetín? Will robotics and plant automation change the growing demands on the number of employees in logistics or their skills?
Morning coffee break
Panel discussion: Homo logisticus ‒ The logistics human
Why is so much human labor still needed in logistics? What types of logistics operations can be fully automated or robotized? Does it make sense to go step by step in robotization and digitization, or rather to bet on a complex solution? Has the pandemic changed the way the human works in logistics? To what positions do people from whom machines or software have taken a job go? What new human competencies need to be developed for the future of logistics? Where to look for new drivers and couriers? Which logistics professions can work permanently remotely? Will the reign of the human in logistics last for much longer, or will it ever end? Opinions on these issues will be heard exclusively in the morning panel discussion, which will be attended by leading representatives of providers and users of logistics services and products.
Moderator: Jaroslava Rezlerová, ManpowerGroup Czech Republic
Lunch & BizLOG
Afternoon workshops
Digilog
The clear impact of the pandemic on humans ‒ in the case of companies on employees ‒ has accelerated the implementation of automated and robotic logistics processes. Miniloads, shuttle systems, AGV, AMR, machine learning, drones, platooning, autonomous couriers… After the pandemic, the pressure on this type of technological innovation will continue to be great. The future belongs to digitization and robotics in production and logistics. How fast will this rebirth be and will there be any place for man at the end of it?
Held under the auspices of the Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic.
Moderated by David Čapek, editor of the magazine Systémy Logistiky
Retailog
The retail and FMCG segments have passed a challenging test. It turned out after all that they can handle not only shortages of goods, raw materials and packaging but also shortages of people in production, warehouses or stores. In the meantime, they rode the wave of accelerated, and often forced, digitization. Little could have forced retail to move to e-commerce as quickly as a pandemic which turned customers, who for years happily pushed their shopping carts through bricks-and-mortar stores, into sophisticated online shoppers using tablets, price-comparison tools, payment gateways, and changes in courier delivery systems. What changes does this bring for logistics?
Held under the auspices of the Czech Confederation of Commerce and Tourism.
Moderated by Petr Hříbal, editor-in-chief of the magazine Zboží&Prodej
HRlog
Home office, quarantine, care-giver allowances, testing, video consulting… Just a few of the terms appearing in the dictionaries of HR managers in the last two years. The pandemic has changed the way people work in many fields and at different levels of the company. Some firms are resisting the transition to the digital environment, while others are not completely allowed to do so by the nature of their work, and still others are waiting to see how it all turns out. People tend to accept unforced changes very slowly, and the coronavirus appears to have caused a transformation that would otherwise have taken years. How ready is logistics for this HR revolution?
Afternoon coffee break
Joint afternoon program: GREENLOG
Net-Zero Logistics: What does it mean and how can it be achieved?
Many companies are now aiming to make their logistics operations ‘net zero’ by 2050 or earlier, but what exactly does net zero mean in the context of logistics? By how much can we realistically reduce logistics emissions by 2050 and how can the logistics sector support ‘negative emission’ efforts to remove greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere? This presentation will attempt to answer these questions from a European standpoint.
Sustainable logistics: Three practical examples
So-called ecological solutions should be truly sustainable, not just “green”, appealing or marketing-interesting. Therefore, we invite Professor Vladimír Kočí, who is the head of the Institute of Sustainability and Product Ecology of the Institute of Chemical Technology in Prague and who also deals with LCA, i.e., analyses that try to reveal/calculate the real impacts of the solution on the environment. We will first look at the overall importance of logistics and transport in sustainability strategies in companies and how LCA studies can help companies achieve their sustainability goals. Subsequently, we will focus on several specific logistics or packaging projects and evaluate the extent to which they can be considered sustainable. At a practical level, we will try to reveal where the line lies between ecologically and economically beneficial project and greenwashing.
Three examples of green logistics that will be presented at the EASTLOG congress:
- LNG vehicle test, in which Budějovický Budvar and Iveco are cooperating. Vojtěch Lechner (Budějovický Budvar) and Miroslav Hnát (Iveco) will present.
- Electrification of the Pharos depot of DPD SK, which is a joint innovation of Direct Parcel Distribution SK and ChargeUp. Presented by Milan Jurík (Direct Parcel Distribution SK) and Ondřej Synek (ChargeUp Engineering).
- Impact of the photovoltaic roof of the Amazon warehouse in Kojetín on the environment. Jiří Zita (Panattoni) will present on behalf of the developer and client Amazon.
Panel discussion: Going for the green
Are newly built warehouses really “green”? How do companies deal with transport requirements that are more environmentally friendly? Where are the biggest reserves when looking for energy savings? Will the green industry benefit Czech industry, or will it rather cause it to suffer? What fast, efficient and cost-effective steps can be taken for a “greener” company? When will renewable energy sources gain a greater stake in logistics or industry? What role does transport packaging play in the green logistics mix for companies?In the main panel discussion of the afternoon program, these and other questions will be answered by experts who focus on sustainable logistics.
LOGISTICS BUSINESS MIXER
RIO EASTLOG: CARNIVAL COMES TO THE O2 UNIVERSUM
Rio Eastlog? You read that right. In April, the famous Brazilian carnival returned to the scene after three long years in which it could not take place due to the pandemic. The whole of Brazil celebrated for ten days in a row, but you don’t have to go all the way to Rio de Janeiro to enjoy traditional Brazilian samba. We will bring the carnival to you for the 25th anniversary of the Eastlog congress.
After the inspiring program of the conference, the Logistics Business Mixer brings an opportunity for relaxation and chatting with colleagues, clients or competitors. And this year you will enjoy the tastes, sounds and atmosphere of the Rio Carnival.
- Enjoy a plate of Brazilian specialties
- Taste the refreshing national cocktail of Brazil, the Caipirinha, among other drinks
- Feast your eyes on the dance troupe Tradición – five colorfully dressed dancers performing salsa, samba and Tropicana carnival routines
- Dance to the sounds of the Latino musical group Carisma
- Remember the festive moment with carnival-inspired pictures of you and your colleagues courtesy of Smilebox
Don’t miss this unique chance to experience the Rio carnival right here in Prague! The show starts immediately after the end of the conference program at 18:30.
Evening program
DIGILOG
Automation and digitization of logistics processes
The presentation will provide an overview of interesting automation and digitization projects in the logistics of Škoda Auto. The specifics of the logistics process in connection with the onset of electromobility will be presented. New demands on logistics in ensuring the storage and handling of parts for the production of electric vehicles will be mentioned, including the effects on the change of personnel qualifications.
Maximize efficiency and significant savings thanks to autonomous trucks
At the Greiner Packaging plant in Louka near Litvínov, where plastic packaging is produced, especially cups for the food industry, they have long focused on the automation of intralogistics and processes. One of the latest projects is the implementation of four fully autonomous Agilox trucks from 4IGV. The trucks communicate with each other during charging and at work. For example, when six orders come together for them in a minute, they pass tasks to each other. The work is done by the truck that is closer to the place of need, thus eliminating unnecessary crossings. The implementation of automation from 4IGV also had a significant impact on reducing labor costs. The return on investment in Greiner Packaging is four years.
Connecting Radioshuttle and automatic reach trucks in the company Linea Nivnice
This case study by Linea Nivnice and Toyota Material Handling CZ will describe a fully automated warehouse with Radioshuttle – a three-stage project of continuous automation of the flow of goods at a manufacturer of baby food and fruit drinks. Thanks to the cooperation of automatic technologies such as Autopilot and Radioshuttle, warehousing operations are ensured from production to dispatch – i.e., taking over products from four production lines, transporting them to the warehouse, warehousing using a shuttle system, unloading and transporting pallets to the loading ramp in the dispatch zone.
Check out the video invitation:
Digitization: A win in customer-supplier relations
Digitized and correctly set-up business processes are the key to clarifying and accelerating the movement of goods in the supply and demand chain. The company eD‘ system offers over 150,000 products from more than 500 global brands and handles 10,000 consignments from its warehouse each day. And it is the digitization of internal processes that helps it maintain an overview of goods and documents and high work efficiency. In this presentation, you will learn that it is not necessary to spend billions in order for logistics and related processes to work properly and efficiently. Digitizing does not have to mean buying an expensive robot. It is about resetting the thinking of company management and gradually changing individual processes. It is possible to start with the smallest and simplest, regardless of the size of the company.
Digitization of logistics processes at Dexis Slovakia
This story of Dexis Slovakia could be described with exaggeration as the path from primitive communal logistics in 2005 to modern logistics of the 21st century. A lot has changed: From the contact center to the e-shop, the company moved on to managed warehouses and business case logistics. The practice of simply printing labels was improved only after sending data from mobile terminals directly to carriers. The company, which had been solely focused on solving its own needs, suddenly began to deal with the lease of storage capacity and the provision of services to other companies. Received invoices took on an electronic form, processing and approval. Manual control has been replaced by paperless processes and with it a double growth in turnover.
Automated solution in a complicated operation
The case study of KIEKERT and STILL ČR is proof that automation can be applied to every operation and has its place in the future in logistics. The automated solution of trucks for KIEKERT, one of the largest manufacturers of car-locking systems, brought several challenges – the need for hybrid operation, handling very narrow alleys and sharp turns, three-shift operation. What solution did STILL CR finally propose and how satisfied is KIEKERT with it? You will find out in an exclusive case study at the EASTLOG congress.
RETAILOG
Plzeňský Prazdroj’s journey towards logistics automation
Plzeňský Prazdroj has recently implemented several interesting supply-chain automation projects. A few years ago, it implemented the Control Tower and mobile Direct Store Delivery (mDSD) solutions, thanks to which it can monitor the status of deliveries in real time and simultaneously speed up and simplify the work of drivers. In this exclusive presentation at the EASTLOG congress, we will look at further transformation projects, including automated mixing of goods on pallets, the implementation of Automated Guided Vehicles in Radegast or the planned commissioning of a fully automatic warehouse in the Plzeň facility, which should take place at the end of this year.
How logistics helps reduce food waste
Food waste is one of the big problems of Czech retail and society as a whole. Combating it as part of a sustainability strategy is one of Penny’s long-term priorities. One of the most significant activities is the cooperation with the Czech Federation of Food Banks (CFFB), with which Penny started cooperation in 2017. In addition to regular contributions from food and drugstore companies, the company supports the logistics of food banks. In the spring of this year, a new CFFB logistics center was opened in Dubeč near Prague. How does food-bank logistics work and how can it help reduce the volume of food thrown away?
Medical supplies in close proximity to customers
MAPO medical deals with the sale and distribution of consumables for healthcare, spas and nursing. It needs quality storage facilities, but also very good accessibility to the backbone roads. For its last-mile logistics, the company has therefore secured warehouse space in the CTPark Prague East logistics complex. “The goal was to streamline the continuous supply of our clients. The strategic location of the logistics center near the D1 motorway was crucial for our selection,” says Martin Polach, managing director of MAPO medical, which distributes medical supplies from Nupaky. This is the second logistics distribution center that the CTP developer has leased to MAPO medical and which they have completed together for the distribution of medical material or medicinal products. A strategic location, modern glass facade, custom-built building including office space and future showroom, the highest rating within the BREEAM certification ‒ these are the main benefits of the building, which will also be presented by CTP business developer Michal Bujárek.
Panel discussion: The confoundingly dynamic e-commerce
Where to get new couriers and not “steal”? Do the dispensing boxes help to fundamentally address the challenges of last mile logistics? What are the more sustainable forms of transport for B2C delivery? What are the challenges posed by phenomena such as same-hour delivery? To what extent has machine fullfilment entered e-shop logistics? What are the obstacles to greater automation and robotization of logistics processes in e-commerce? How can automation help with the logistics of goods sensitive to freshness or residual expiration? We will answer these questions and more with e-commerce experts in the panel discussion of the RETAILOG workshop.
HRLOG
Round table for logistics HR managers
The human resources situation is turbulent, to say the least. The logistics market has suffered from a shortage of workers at many levels, and now everything is further complicated by the war in Ukraine. Many able-bodied men are being called to defend their country, and mothers with children come to the Czech Republic, whose work integration is, of course, limited by the need to fulfill the role of a parent. The only thing that hinders the strong development of the logistics market is the lack of manpower.
At the same time, companies facing automation and robotization face several challenges: finance, return on investment, less flexibility, the current possibilities of technology suppliers or the need to find a balance between machines and human workers. Because the situation is so complicated, we have decided to return to the program one of the most-popular workshops ever – HRLOG. But not as a workshop for presenters and listeners, but as a round table to which all interested parties are invited. Every opinion counts, every case study is inspiring.
Moderator: Roman Molek, Transearch International
SEELOG
Excursion to the HP Tronic distribution center in Jirny
The HP Tronic group employs 3,000 people and last year reported a turnover in excess of 24 billion CZK. The Datart online store, which has part of its logistics operations in the Prologis Park Prague-Jirny, was the main contributor to this economic result. The distribution center with an area of 30,000 square meters, from which up to three million pieces of goods can be shipped per month, would not be possible without automation. Currently, the warehouse uses several technologies: for example, an OSR shuttle (Knapp) for high-density storage of small goods, connected to pick-it-easy stations complemented by pick-by-light technology for efficient picking, a four-story pick-to-belt gallery, 3.5 km of conveyors, VNA trucks , drop shelves or automatic strapping machines. The latest technical addition is the Opera automatic packaging line with multiple conveyor inputs. The capacity of the machine is 900 packages per hour, and it packs any goods from the cardboard forms into final boxes with dimensions from 200 × 150 × 50 mm up to 600 × 500 × 440 mm. The warehouse also includes mezzanines, an elevator and stationary pallet racks. The participants of the congress will be guided by the head of the logistics center himself, Michal Prádl, who notes that the company tries to automate all possible processes.
Maximum capacity: 20 participants
Tour of the logistics and production of Kiekert-CS in Přelouč
Kiekert is a manufacturer of car locks with a one-third share of the global market. In the Czech town of Přelouč, where almost half of the group’s 5,300 employees work, 200,000 locks are produced daily. Kiekert-CS is constantly innovating in production and logistics. This is partly due to the fact that the company does not have the required number of qualified people or to growing wage demands, but also to the fact that in a clearly defined area on the banks of the Elbe without the possibility of territorial expansion it needs to receive material, produce and store. There are a growing number of workplaces in production where the handling of parts or assembly of locks is provided by robots, of which there are already hundreds. In Přelouč, they also have their own research and development, including, for example, an acoustic chamber where one can see how the banging on the car door has various “tones”.
Their logistics is no less interesting. The heart of the warehouse is the once-expanded high-capacity miniload, in which components are stored and picked for production. The space-limited storage zone for high racks is filled with mobile racks, which increase the storage density. The supply between the warehouse and production is newly solved using two automated towing sets. A recent innovation is also the deployment of Agilox autonomous trucks, which ensure the transport of finished products and packaging within a relatively tight layout in one of the production halls. Last but not least, the elevator solution for the supply of production or the CNG filler for passenger cars and handling equipment is interesting.
The tour of the inspirational logistics and production of Kiekert will be led by the CEO of Kiekert-CS, Petr Kuchyňa, and Kiekert-CS’s warehouse manager, Michal Oravec.
Maximum capacity: 40 participants
Excursion to the Tesco distribution center in Postřižín
For a quarter of a century, the heart of Tesco’s business in the Czech Republic has been the food and other necessary products that the chain brings to its customers on a daily basis. Tesco operates 185 stores of various formats, as well as an online shopping service with availability for 10 million people. The company’s business requires reliable, fast and efficient logistics and distribution processes. Tesco is able to provide these thanks to the distribution center in Postřižín, where there are warehouses in several temperature regimes (dry, refrigerated from +2 ° C to +25 ° C).
The Postřižín DC has been in operation since 2006, employs hundreds of workers and has a current capacity of 25,000 pallet places. The total area is more than 110,000 m2 with a storage area of 39,000 m2 for durable and 25,000 m2 for fresh food. The distribution center stores food and non-food goods and supplies stores throughout the Czech Republic on a daily basis.
The excursion during the EASTLOG congress will be led by the best possible guides: the DC manager, Ladislav Hudec, and Tesco’s distribution manager for the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Marcel Škoda.
Maximum capacity: 50 participants
