Logistics Information Technology Infrastructure

The element of information and control is needed by all the elements to act as triggers to various operational procedures. We have mentioned the information needed for inventory. Order levels help decide what orders need to be picked and packed in warehouses and enable the planning and organisation of transport. Information and control’s role are to help design information systems that can control operational procedures. They are also key in the forecasting of demand and inventory as already mentioned.

Along with transport infrastructure, an efficient information and communication infrastructure is vital for the development of logistics concepts and for the performance of logistics processes. This infrastructure is to a great extent based on telecommunication infrastructure and can be set up using different networks (landline, mobile telephony, radio network, microwave radio relay), depending on the services offered (GSM, UMTS) and on the data transfer. There is, however, a tendency towards the development of a uniform network infrastructure through which all services can be offered and utilized. This network infrastructure is based on the Internet Protocol (IP) which replaces the circuit-switched networks with a packet-switched network infrastructure.

Telecommunication networks can exhibit different structures (network typology) which utilize various types of hardware and access methods for data connection and transmission. These, in turn, determine the rate of transmission, the data throughput, and data security concepts. Thus, local networks (LANs – Local Area Networks) consist of several computers and external devices (printers, scanner etc.) which are interconnected in one building. Internet access is given via a router. In contrast to LANs, WANs (Wide Area Networks) cover a large geographical area. Commercial WANs are designed for maximum capacity utilization and consist of circuit-switched connections, point-to-point connections, packet-switched connections, and Virtual Private Networks (VPN). In order to support these services and to achieve high transmission speeds, optical transmission media (fiberglass) are used more and more frequently for broadband infrastructure.

All these hardware and software installations are usually hosted in IT rooms, server rooms, or in data centers which display a specific infrastructure. The infrastructure of data centers includes the provision of rooms, energy supply, air conditioning, and object security

The development of IT and computer technologies does not only substantially influence the kind of services rendered in data centers. it also affects the property and room layout. Data centers are a specific type of real estate which are also termed collocation centers, IT centers, IT hotels, server hotels, telehouses, and so forth.

We can also see an increase in the number of data center parks in which companies rent cages, several rooms, or entire buildings which are then equipped or (re-) constructed according to the customer’s specifications. These types of solutions offer the advantage of redundant provisioning of building infrastructure as well as the possibility to provide office space with emergency workplaces. These workplaces can be utilized in emergency situations (disaster recovery, business continuity) in order to continue business without interruption, which is also becoming increasingly important in a logistical context.

Satellite Systems and Satellite Navigation

World-wide telecommunication is to a great extent based on satellite systems. This technology makes it possible to set up a comprehensive infrastructure that offers services with high data transmission rates. A logistical example of this is the ERMTS (European Railway Transport Management System), which offers several projects and services in the area of railroad information systems, as for example the international GSM-R-network (Global System for Mobile Communication Railways). This network is a platform for commercial railroad radio systems.

Apart from the support of telecommunication services, satellites also offer satellite navigation as one of their core functions. This method enables the determination of an object’s position. Using suitable technologies and programs, modern satellite navigation makes it possible to determine the coordinates of locations based on their distances to at least three satellites. The construction of the European satellite system Galileo, due to be operational by 2013, is of paramount significance for the commercial use of satellite systems. Galileo will be a system of the European Union which adds to the already existing state-owned US satellite system GPS (Global Positioning System) and to the Russian system Glonass (Globalnaja Nawigazionnaja Sputnikowaja Sistema). The system will comprise 30 satellites. Galileo will make it possible to offer different services which vary in regard to accuracy, number of signals, and reliability of service.

Commercial satellite navigation services are especially suitable for logistics and can be used for the navigation of continental transport, telematics platforms, for locating purposes in aviation and shipping, and as research platforms for transport and logistics systems. The additional availability of these applications in comparison to existing systems is mainly due to the system’s high accuracy and its world-wide availability. Central to these applications is the localization and tracking of goods which are transported in a multi-modal manner. This requires constant location of the respective carriers and of the goods transported, and all parties involved in the supply chain need to be able to continuously obtain information across all transport modes and independent of their location (location information).