Bayer AG : Innovative and sustainable logistic solutions for the future

Monday - January 16, 2012

Innovative and sustainable logistic solutions for the future

Bayer MaterialScience and partners present concept for the last mile at imm

Under the name "e.goal 2020", the partners of the future_bizz network will present a pioneering and sustainable logistics concept at the imm International Furniture Fair, focusing on the last mile. Bayer MaterialScience's contribution to this project is the visionary concept of a universal box for the entire process chain, from the ordering of goods, through their internal distribution in separate, single households, to their final disposal.

Cologne, January 16, 2012 - Global megatrends like urbanization, globalization and individualization pose new challenges for logistics, particularly under the aspect of environmental compatibility and resource conservation. At the same time, however, they also create market opportunities for the future. Bayer MaterialScience is involved in the development of innovative material solutions for future logistics concepts. The company is currently cooperating with a team of partners - Deutsche Post DHL, Frackenpohl-Poulheim, Hettich, Miele and Zentek - on a project that forms part of the Future_bizz network's Open Innovation approach.

The team has evolved a pioneering system solution for the commodity flow and recycling stream of the year 2020. The result is new supply and disposal systems that not only represent important value-added for the consumer but also yield ecological and economic benefits.

The partners will present a pioneering and sustainable logistics concept at the imm International Furniture Fair taking place January 16-22, 2012, in Cologne, Germany, (Hall 4.2, Stand C-002). It involves new processes in the consumer's direct living environment, focusing on the last mile. Bayer MaterialScience's contribution to this project is the visionary concept of a universal box for the entire process chain, from the ordering of goods, through their internal distribution in separate, single households, to their final disposal.

The concept name for the reusable and standardized box - e.goal 2020 - is the abbreviation for "efficient green ordering and logistics." "It essentially stands for a sustainable logistics concept for the transport of goods while simultaneously saving space, travel, time and, not least, material," explains Dr. Christopher Stillings, who is responsible for coordinating developments in the field of logistics at Bayer MaterialScience.

"The box is equally suitable for high-value and sensitive goods, such as food and pharmaceuticals, as it is for books, electrical articles, sporting goods or even for the transport of trash," he adds. The outside of the box could be color-coded to restrict its use to specific classes of materials.

The concept of the e-goal box provides for additional functionalities if required. The container can, for example, be equipped with a cooling or heating unit to stabilize or preserve the contents. In addition, the lid can be sealed and provided with an RFID tag. The contents can be secured with the aid of special retaining devices. In the future, it is quite conceivable that small robots will be used to transport these boxes inside buildings.

Depending on its use, the box could be made from a variety of materials, including particularly rugged, lightweight, weather- and light-resistant plastics that give the box the durability required for repeated use. Rigid polyurethane foam is an ideal thermal insulation solution. In such applications, it is certainly the most effective material when it comes to ensuring the supply of food items to consumers without any interruption of the refrigeration chain. A nano-foam with an even higher thermal-insulating capacity could be used in the future. With the help of suitable coatings, the interior or exterior surfaces could be given an "easy-clean" treatment or an antimicrobial finish.

The project presented here relating to e.goal 2020 is a refinement of other logistics concepts already developed by Bayer MaterialScience in conjunction with its partners, such as the "CargoPacks 2020" project. The aim of this project was also to identify megatrends at an early stage and to develop solutions as a team together with suitable partners.

As part of this project, a competition was held in 2009 for the VisionWorks Award, in which design students from five universities were asked to develop creative ideas for transport and logistics. It resulted in a number of impressive concepts and prototypes that were developed as part of an interdisciplinary approach.

About Bayer MaterialScience:
With 2010 sales of EUR 10.2 billion, Bayer MaterialScience is among the world's largest polymer companies. Business activities are focused on the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. The main segments served are the automotive, electrical and electronics, construction and the sports and leisure industries. At the end of 2010, Bayer MaterialScience had 30 production sites and employed approximately 14,700 people around the globe. Bayer MaterialScience is a Bayer Group company.

About future_bizz:
future_bizz is a network of companies that jointly develop business ideas for all areas of life. future_bizz members Bayer MaterialScience and Hettich, in collaboration with DHL, Miele, Zentek and Frackenpohl Poulheim, have produced the study "e.goal 2020 - efficient green ordering and logistics" for the commodity flow and recycling stream of the year 2020 based on the network's future studies.

About DHL:
DHL is the international logistics industry's market leader and "The logistics company for the world." Its foundation is DHL's competence in the transborder express business, in air and sea freight, in road and rail transport, in contract logistics and in international mail. With a global network and local know-how together with a commitment to a service orientation and quality, some 275,000 DHL employees in over 220 countries and territories offer unique and innovative solutions tailored to the needs of their customers. The company assumes social responsibility with its climate protection programs, catastrophe management and the promotion of education. DHL is part of the Deutsche Post DHL Group. The Group posted sales of more than EUR 51 billion in 2010.

DHL Solutions & Innovations (DSI) was established in accordance with the Group's Strategy 2015. The focus is on the development and marketing of cross-divisional solutions that make the lives of DHL customers easier. At the same time, DSI is researching the logistics solutions of tomorrow. Solutions are developed from the idea to market maturity in collaboration with the DHL divisions, with DSI providing teams of experts.

About Frackenpohl Poulheim:
The internationally acclaimed design studio of Frackenpohl Poulheim is based in Cologne and has a global customer network. It has been developing design solutions for its customers for over ten years. Its threefold set of balanced values - aesthetics, functionality and innovation - turns the resulting product experience into a predictable factor for success. Realistic visualizations of what the future may look like serve the client as a basis for strategic decisions in portfolio management or are used for very specific product developments.

About Hettich:
Hettich is one of the world's largest manufacturers of furniture fittings and a partner to the furniture industry around the globe. A worldwide group of companies with more than 5,500 employees has been established under the Hettich brand. Customers are the furniture industry, trade and craft as well as the do-it-yourself segment. The company is headquartered in the East-Westphalian city of Kirchlengern.

About Miele:
Miele is the world's leading supplier of premium household appliances. Founded in 1899, the company is headquartered in Gütersloh in Westfalia.

About Zentek:
Zentek is a joint venture composed of leading independent waste disposal companies in Germany. Zentek organizes and operates disposal solutions for transregional, national and international commercial and industrial customers. Zentek is also addressing the nascent challenges of urban mining and logistical complexes where supply and disposal solutions can be meaningfully combined. Zentek is headquartered in Cologne.

This news release including pictures is available for download from the Bayer MaterialScience press server at .

Information for editors:
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