62 everything: “For autonomous driving you need blanket 5G coverage,” says Wirsing. Innovation for Wirsing means “taking a look at things, delving into them … but then quickly letting them go again.” Wirsing is assisted in this trial-and-error process by Nuri Morava, Program Lead Global R&D and Early Stage Technologies, according to his business card. Or as Morava explains: “I’m in charge of the research and development programs.” Together with his colleague Laura Peters, Morava is the link between DB Schenker and the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics (IML) in Dortmund, Germany, who joined forces seven years ago to create the “DB Schenker Innovation Lab.” Anything that doesn’t exist yet, “we simply invent ourselves,” says Wirsing. “ Anything that doesn’t exist yet, we simply invent ourselves. Erik Wirsing, Vice President Global Innovation at DB Schenker “Our topics are worked on by interdisciplinary teams,” says Morava. Once his team has collected any questions arising in the company and listened to ideas and requests from the customers, colleagues from DB Schenker put their heads together with staff from the Fraunhofer Institute to work on the specific topic. But the Fraunhofer experts, too, often come up with important ideas for potential topics to be considered, which then go through various phases until the steering committee has narrowed them down for a new lab project. The Fraunhofer IML offers the “Enterprise Lab” format, with around 10 companies currently using such labs. One of the ideas they tested for DB Schenker was how 3D printing technology could be used in entrepreneurial ways. This was almost five years ago now, explains Dr. Nuri Morava The business studies graduate has been with DB Schenker since 2018. As Program Lead R&D, he is responsible for the programs for the company’s research and development department. As such, his job is to monitor technological progress and explore it early on for opportunities in the logistics realm. 63 Innovators DB Schenker has a state-of-the-art lab for developing and testing the technologies that will shape the logistics of tomorrow. Turning the tide In Norway, DB Schenker is planning an autonomous, fully electric coastal feeder ship with zero emissions. Electrified 2021 saw DB Schenker test a driverless e-vehicle for transporting goods. Virtual reality New training program: using a VR headset, staff at DB Schenker can learn motion sequences from anywhere. E-employees An autonomous forklift truck has been in operation at our Eching site since 2020. 3D printing DB Schenker is the first logistics provider in the world to offer a 3D printing service – since 2021. Multitalented The scientists in our lab are working on autonomously flying inventory multicopters. The aim: automated warehouse stocktaking. 59 57 58 60 64 61 Morava: together with the Fraunhofer IML, DB Schenker examined areas such as market positioning, business models and the state of the technology. Something that was thought to be in competition with the industry – after all, what does a logistics company do when all its customers’ spare parts can be 3D printed on site? – eventually became a genuine distinct business model, since 3D printing, too, requires the structures that DB Schenker offers. “Up to now, professional 3D printers have simply been too expensive for most companies. And they also have to be fed with raw materials,” explains Morava. Raw materials that have to be delivered. While the exploration of 3D printing was more like a study for the DB Schenker Innovation Lab, elsewhere the results were more concrete: the high cost of training was to be reduced and upskilling improved, “with more of a fun element,” says Morava. This squaring of the circle is made possible by virtual reality. With a virtual reality headset, employees learn, for example, how to drive a forklift truck. It sounds like a video game – and it almost is: in the “Packing Training” program, for instance, the learner finds themself in a virtual environment with a table, on which lies a half-eaten apple, explains Morava. They have to decide what to do next: How do I clear away the table? Which packing material do I use? How do I label it? And what do I do with the apple? Even though there might be a little grumbling when a 150-year-old company comes up against the issue of innovation, Morava is very pleased with the progress, because “a lot more people across the whole organization are now engaging with the subject of innovation.” And therefore also with the future of DB Schenker. 16 17
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