Improving the Internal Big Volume Transport Logistics at Bosch Thermotechniek Deventer

This master research assignment is performed at Bosch Thermotechniek, which is an internationally operating production company in the heating and hot water industry. The logistics of supplying the production lines with materials is divided in several supply streams. One of those streams contains the big volume materials, which are placed on pallets. The pallets are transported by forklifts, but Bosch wants to replace the forklifts as safety and innovation are important issues. An extensive simulation study is performed in Siemens Plant Simulation to determine a suitable and efficient way of replacing forklifts by an Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) system or by a milkrun system (a train with wagons). Multiple solutions methods concerning the strategies for the logistics are simulated and evaluated for the impact on costs, delivery times, and the service level of the systems.