Volkswagen names Knapp top innovator

Who's the most innovative of them all? According to German automotive giant Volkswagen, if you're talking about logistics innovations, the hands-down winner is Knapp AG.

Every year, VW holds a competition to identify the best new logistical approaches and IT concepts from sources both inside and outside the company. Following a multistage screening process that includes concept presentations and factory visits, the finalists are invited to VW's Wolfsburg, Germany, headquarters to present their solutions at VW's annual Logistics Innovation Day. At this year's event, Austria-based systems integrator Knapp beat out a field of 18 other finalists to take top honors for its autonomous, flexible AGV (automated guided vehicle) shuttles.

Knapp's winning solution merged two systems in order to provide a continuous supply of components to VW's production lines. Known as the "Take Away" concept, the solution combines Knapp's Open Shuttle transport system with its YLOG-Shuttle storage system, effectively automating the entire warehouse with direct connections to work stations on the production floor, the company says. "Combining the highly flexible storage system YLOG-Shuttle System with the highly flexible transport system Open Shuttle offers an ideal solution for the automatic supply to production work stations," Christian Brauneis, Knapp's director of business unit industry solutions, said in a press release.