At the LogiMAT logistics trade fair 2023, LTW Intralogistics GmbH presented its new Intralogistics Operating System, LIOS.
Our interview partner Bernhard Peter started as a plant electrician at LTW Intralogistics GmbH a good 30 years ago and has been Managing Director at the Engineers of Flow in western Austria since April 2023.
Mr. Peter, with your many years of knowledge of the LTW Intralogistics company, can you tell us for sure how the LIOS concept started?
We realized many years ago that to maximize our machine benefits, we needed to integrate software as part of our offering. Over the past decade, we have supplied individual components such as stacker cranes, including our own material handling system, and the customer’s external service providers have provided the associated Warehouse Management System (WMS) software. However, each customer has a different business and different items or goods to move, as well as different processes to comply with. The focus is increasingly shifting toward software to ensure the efficient execution of daily operations. Here, for example, the seamless integration of the various applications of the customer’s service providers, such as freight forwarding companies, plays a significant role. The integration of production data is also crucial to enable effective supply chain management.
With our new total solution, we are now aiming to provide state-of-the-art software for our customers. After all, customer needs are always our top priority. We therefore first approached our customers and asked them how our systems could best complement their handling. The feedback from our customers has served us as the basis for developing truly usable software.
Where do you see LTW Intralogistics with LIOS in five to ten years?
In five to ten years, we aim for software that is as easy for our customers as the software on a cell phone. It should be intuitive, functional, and fully equipped with all the necessary features. We want to create a simple and sustainable solution that always uses the latest technologies and remains open to further developments. Given the new application trends emerging every day, openness to technology is a decisive factor.
To survive in today’s market, it is essential to function as a full-range supplier and not just offer hardware. Customers prefer a turnkey system with all the necessary interfaces, from the hardware to the coupled ERP software. The possibility of further development in line with requirements is essential. Our credo is to produce customized plants, both in hardware and software, for our customers. LIOS (LTW Intralogistics Operating System) is available as a software solution for this purpose.
How do you assess the cooperation with Cloudflight, Mr. Peter?
The cooperation with Cloudflight is extremely positive. We took the selection of a partner very seriously and invested a lot of work. In the end, the range of services, the experience, the affinity for technology as well as the references, and the smooth cooperation were decisive factors. Cloudflight offers us a mixture of technology transfer and technology know-how, the incorporation of future considerations as well as experience from other software technologies or other software customers, which they have made in completely different industries and with completely different applications. On the front end, for example, we learned a lot, especially in terms of UX and UI design. This is all complemented by a friendly and collaborative way of working. This is a big advantage for us and deserves high praise.
