Logistics is no longer limited to the transport of goods from A to B. From the point of view of digitization , especially in industry, intralogistics has become a key element of production . “Autonomous transport equipment, intelligent warehouse automation, and self-optimizing material flow planning are important solutions for flexible production supply,” states Dr. Klaus-Dieter Rosenbach, Chairman of the VDMA-Dachverbands Fördertechnik (VDMA umbrella organization for materials handling) and Member of the Executive Board of Jungheinrich AG .

VDMA estimates the production volume of the industry in Germany to be in the range of 20.8 billion euros as of 2016. The growth forecast for 2017 is 3%. An important industry segment is logistics software and enterprise, which also includes special machine software. This sector had a volume of 3.1 billion euros in 2016, behind cranes and hoists (4.1 billion euros), industrial trucks (4.0 billion euros), and continuous conveyors (3.2 billion euros). The industry’s largest export market is Europe, at 8.5 billion euros, followed by Asia, at 1.8 billion euros, and the United States, at 1.4 billion euros.