Manufacturing logistics and procurement – October 2021

Digital twin developments
Fontys University of Applied Sciences ICT (in Dutch) is collaborating on research into the application of digital twins in the work field. Simulations and virtual reality applications have been used for some time to design and maintain systems. Digital twins are the next step within the Smart Industry/Industry 4.0. The project is being carried out as an Euregio Meuse-Rhine (EMR) project within the international partnership Digital Twin Academy. The goal is to unlock knowledge and applications of digital twins for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Traceability in the supply chain
FDA has announced the 12 winners of the “FDA New Era of Smarter Food Safety Low- or No-Cost Tech-Enabled Traceability Challenge”, launched as part of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010. A goal of the FDA’s New Era of Smarter Food Safety initiative is to achieve end-to-end traceability throughout the food safety system. Another goal is to encourage the development of creative financial models that are low to no-cost solutions, proportional to benefits derived from participating, and enable human and animal food operations of all sizes to participate in a scalable, cost-effective way.
Recent supply chain delays and disruptions have negatively impacted the lives of Americans, leaving many feeling frustrated, angry, and scared that the disruptions will never end, according to a new study by Oracle. The study of more than 1,000 U.S. consumers found that worries about more delivery delays, product shortages, and disruptions are worsening across the nation due to the rise of the COVID-19 Delta variant, and that people are looking to brands to help settle their concerns.

Artificial Intelligence
The publication (in Dutch, 1.2 MB) on ICT, knowledge and the economy by CBS (in Dutch), shows that in 2019, 45% of Dutch large companies used one or more Artificial Intelligence technologies. On average, 12% of the companies used, for example, speech recognition, machine learning and pattern or face recognition.
MIT researchers have created RFusion, a robotic system that can locate and retrieve items, even if they are buried under a pile. RFusion, is a robotic arm with a camera and radio frequency (RF) antenna attached to its gripper. According to the researchers, the RFusion approach is a great step forward for robotics operating in complex supply chains where identifying and ‘picking’ the right item quickly and accurately is the key to getting orders fulfilled on time and keeping demanding customers happy.

Medicine carton packaging machine
An article (470 kB) by Wenzhou Polytechnic entitled, ‘Design and Test of Box Suction and Opening Mechanism of the Medicine Carton Packaging Machine’ has been published in the International Core Journal of Engineering.

Optimizing the packaging management
KTH School of Architecture and the Built Environment has published a report (5 MB) about a supply chain model to optimise the packaging management of racks which are customer owned. The racks are used to transport finished products to the customers.

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