Scalability in focus - How motion pioneer Schaeffler stays ahead of the pack with SYNAOS

Text: Julian Borchert-al-Huribi

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Always on the move: For nearly 80 years, Schaeffler has been a pioneer in motion technology, known for driving numerous technical innovations. Naturally, automating intralogistics is a top priority. In 2023, the technology company made digitalization a key part of its corporate strategy, with a major focus on strategically digitalizing intralogistics processes. The goals: to react more flexibly to changing conditions, manage production more sustainably, and quickly realize efficiency potentials.

The Challenge: Intralogistics processes cannot be efficiently automated with local, isolated IT solutions.

For Roberto Henkel, SVP Digitalization & Operations IT at Schaeffler, it was clear from the start: Mobile robotics will play a central role in every Schaeffler plant. But site-specific island solutions were out of the question. Instead, they needed a scalable, cloud-based fleet manager to centrally control the automation of local material flows with small, homogeneous mobile robot fleets across multiple locations, while also offering enough flexibility on-site.

‍Tangible Results Over Theoretical Sales Pitches

In early 2023, a team of colleagues from various divisions, regions, and functions began preparing for this implementation project.

Tim Menapace, IT Solutions Architect, has been part of the team from the start. He recalls, "Initially, we defined two existing AGV pilot applications that represented the overall landscape at Schaeffler. We benchmarked these against the external market, and evaluated various vendors. We didn't want PowerPoint presentations or sales pitches. What we wanted was to see how a provider performs in project implementation with a deadline."

These proof of concept (PoC) pilots were tested in Schaeffler's Homburg and Haguenau (France) plants, with three and four AGVs, respectively. At both locations, the SYNAOS Intralogistics Management Platform (IMP) continues to reliably manage the robot fleets.

The Solution: A Central Fleet Manager – Cloud-Based, Scalable, Vendor-Independent

SYNAOS impressed the Schaeffler team for several reasons. Tim Menapace explains, "We were convinced by SYNAOS' high level of expertise. They asked the right questions and understood the challenges we face as a large corporation in intralogistics. It was communication at eye level."

SYNAOS' SaaS approach was another winning argument: "SYNAOS takes full responsibility for IT operations via SYNAOS IMP, allowing us to focus on our core topics and technologies. This software outsourcing approach fits perfectly into our overall Cloud-First architecture," aligning with Schaeffler's vision of digital infrastructure.

‍Watch our Customer Story: Schaeffler x SYNAOS

• What does Schaeffler's global intralogistics strategy look like?

• What makes the Schaeffler AG a "Gold Partner" for SYNAOS?

• What key role does the SYNAOS Intralogistics Management Platform (IMP) play?

Find out about the answers and more in our customer story video.

‍Mobile Robotics: Relieving Workers, Increasing Efficiency, Ensuring Competitiveness

A quick look at the official definition of “automation” highlights its true importance: Automation is the setup and execution of work and production processes in such a way that humans do not need to be directly involved, allowing all processes (including control, regulation, and sometimes monitoring) to occur automatically (source: bpb). As a merely controlling instance, humans thus focus on value-added tasks.

Christian Gladow, VP IT Productline Shopfloor Execution Solutions, contextualizes this for Schaeffler: "In the end, it's always about competitiveness, efficiency, and productivity. Automation in logistics helps us relieve our specialists from physically demanding work. Intralogistics is a key process in manufacturing that directly impacts how robust our operations are. It's about delivering materials and resources with high availability to where they're needed."

Andre Heskamp, VP IT Productline Connectivity and Process Control Solutions, adds, "In Schaeffler's future factory, we will continue to focus on our core fields of technology and manufacturing excellence. Central to this are automation and efficiency in material provision. To achieve this, we will integrate more AGVs into our processes at our over 80 production sites. This requires a central, scalable, and integrated software solution. The SYNAOS IMP is already a cornerstone in Schaeffler's solution landscape."

‍VDA 5050 Communication Standard: No One Can Afford Isolated IT Solutions

The established VDA 5050 communication standard enables interaction between mobile robots from different manufacturers with a central fleet control system.  

Tim Menapace highlights the importance of this standard, which made the automation project possible: "We need various vehicles to transport our diverse load carriers from point A to point B. Schaeffler relies on the VDA 5050 standard developed by the VDA, the VDMA, and the automotive industry. The beauty is that this standard integrates seamlessly with SYNAOS' solution and fits into our overall understanding of digitization."

At Schaeffler, all applications and shopfloor assets – production machines, peripherals, and sensors like fire alarms, doors, and traffic lights – are connected to a central message broker. The AGVs also connect to this message broker, transmitting their information to the SYNAOS IMP. This is made possible via VDA 5050, a core element of Schaeffler and SYNAOS' visions. "Instead of isolated solutions and individual fleet managers controlling their AGVs, we have created a holistic overall architecture for control and data integration," explains Menapace.

The Result: More Efficient Processes, Relieved Workers

‍Robotic Colleagues Relieve Specialists

The efficiency of intralogistics processes has improved since partnering with SYNAOS, particularly at the Höchstadt site. Here, a total of four forklift AGVs handle the necessary internal transports. Ralf Fuchs, Head of Campus Logistics at the Höchstadt plant, shares: "In a very short time, we successfully launched our automation project here. The AGVs operate at 98% capacity and handle hundreds of orders per day."

Fuchs emphasizes the constructive collaboration between the teams. "The software training sessions initiated by SYNAOS have significantly increased our colleagues' understanding of our automation project and the software." It became clear to everyone involved: monotonous material transports and physically demanding tasks are now handled by their robot colleagues.

Pioneer and Visionary: Schaeffler’s Software-first Architecture Approach

Schaeffler and SYNAOS are set to deepen their cooperation in the future. "We are clearly on a growth trajectory," says Dr. Wolfgang Hackenberg, CEO and Co-Founder of SYNAOS. "Schaeffler has approached the AGV topic very visionary. They made a clear architectural decision early on, focusing on structuring, modularity, and the role of software in intralogistics automation. Our All-in-One and One-for-All solution is the right tool for both simple and complex intralogistics automation projects, and for integrating manual traffic."

Schaeffler's deliberate approach to centralizing the control of individual mobile robot fleets and scaling them cloud-based with a SaaS-solution is almost unique in the industry. "If you want to see the future of mobile robotics, you should visit Schaeffler's plants," advises Hackenberg. "There, it's truly evident how you can combine simple processes, hardware, and good software solutions to lead the industry in production digitalization."

Since the successful PoC phase at the Homburg and Hagenau sites, the SYNAOS IMP has also been managing the small, homogeneous robot fleets at Schaeffler's Sasbach and Höchstadt locations. Expansions are planned for Sasbach, Szombathely (Hungary), Schweinfurt, and Herzogenaurach. SYNAOS' fleet management software will also be deployed at Schaeffler’s North American sites in Cheraw and Fort Mill and Irapuato (Mexico) as well as Schaeffler's Asian plants.

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