Glossary

Intralogistics

The organisation and technical realisation of all material and goods flows within a site. Lifting aids and balancers are used here above all at picking, packing and transfer stations, where high repetition at moderate weights creates the strain.

Also: Internal logistics · Transport technology

Also known as

Internal logistics
Transport technology

What intralogistics covers

Intralogistics is the organisation, control and execution of material and information flow within a site: goods-in, storage, internal transport, order picking, packing, despatch – and the software that controls all of it.

The term is deliberately broader than conveyor technology. Conveyor technology supplies the machines; intralogistics additionally answers the question of which goods have to go where, when and in what quantity, and how the system knows.

Where lifting remains despite automation

Storage and retrieval machines, conveyors and automated guided vehicles have largely taken over transport. Manual work has not disappeared; it has moved to the interfaces.

Goods-in: depalletising and separating delivered goods.
Picking station: transferring cartons and packs from the storage container to the order container.
Packing and despatch: palletising, repacking, building mixed pallets.
Returns and exceptions: everything that does not match the standard format.

The strain lies in the total

At these stations the individual pack is rarely very heavy. What strains is frequency, grip height and reach: many hundreds of transfers per shift, some from the floor, some above shoulder height.

In Germany there is no fixed statutory weight limit for this. The Manual Handling of Loads Ordinance (Lastenhandhabungsverordnung) requires a risk assessment that evaluates weight, frequency, posture and working conditions together – commonly using the key indicator methods. A pack that is harmless on its own can add up to a high load.

Relieving strain without slowing the flow

In logistics the pick rate counts. A lifting aid is only used if it keeps the pace: fast one-handed pick-up, no re-gripping, short paths. For cartons and sacks this usually means vacuum grippers on an easy-running balancer or vacuum tube lifters under a rail system.

Simple measures work alongside: grip heights between knee and shoulder, lift tables, heavy articles on the middle levels. The order is always the same – organise the station first, then choose the device.

What Entracon offers here is on the matching page.

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Overview

Four terms that are often confused

Term	Means	Perspective
Intralogistics	organisation, control and technology of all goods and information flows within a site	the overall system
Material flow technology	planning and technology of the route material takes through production	the route of the material
Conveyor technology	machines that move goods over a distance	the means of transport
Material handling	collective term for moving, storing, protecting and controlling material	the usual international term

Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions about Intralogistics

What is the difference between logistics and intralogistics?

Logistics covers the entire route of the goods including transport between companies. Intralogistics looks only at what happens within the site – from goods-in to loading.

Is a lifting aid worthwhile for light parcels?

That is decided not by the individual weight but by the risk assessment of the workstation: weight, frequency and posture together. With many hundreds of lifts per shift, even a moderate pack weight can produce a high load.

Does a lifting aid slow down the pick rate?

At the start of the shift the hand is often faster. Across the shift, output with a lifting aid stays more even because fatigue is lower. The precondition is a gripper that works one-handed and without re-gripping.

Where the term appears on this site