Intralogistics in Digital World – Different Mode and Means of Transport in Internal Processes

Purpose: The main goal of this article is to show intralogistics modeling in the digital world, focusing on aspects of changing means of transport and impact of these changes on transportation organization. The author used a 3D simulation technologies to show the effects of organizational changes in intralogistics (different means of transport and different transport organization). Moreover, the author wants to show that methods from external transport (supply chain) can be easily transferred to the intralogistics level. During the bibliographic analysis, it was noticed that the topic discussed is new, and additionally, when analyzing the mode of transport in intralogistics, there are no articles in the searched literature database, what can be defined as a research gap. Which additionally indicates the need for and sense of such an article. Design/Methodology/Approach: For the purpose of this article the literature review and bibliometric analysis were made (quantitive approach). Thanks to them, a research gap was defined. The author draws attention to the fact that methods from the supply chain can be transferred into internal logistics. Internal transport within a given enterprise is a transport network in micro terms. The author at this research focus on aspects of impact of changing means of transport to the mode of transport. For showing the influence of it, author decided to use simulation technology (quantitive approach). Findings: Two simulation models were designed and built to show the implementation of intralogistics processes using different means of transport. For both of them, the activities performed by transportation employees were analyzed, as well as the distance covered. For both cases, the method of organizing transport routes was analyzed, in relation to the models known in external transport (supply chain) for the organization of transport orders. This allowed for the possibility of transferring the method from SC to intralogistics to be shown. Practical Implications: The application of computer simulations in the area of intralogistics described in this article, with particular emphasis on the impact of organizational and technological changes on the analyzed process, can be used in practice in the area of internal transport. Showing the impact of changing the organization of transport from forklifts to transport using logistic trains can serve as a starting point for further test scenarios for enterprises. The use of computer simulations has great potential due to the possibility of testing changes and their impact on the process in the virtual world, which reduces risk, costs, and negative impact on the environment. Originality/Value: Article combine all aspects in one research: computer simulations, intralogistics and transport modes, what fill up the research gap. The author presents that the mode of transport defined in the literature in the context of external transport can be easily transferred to the intralogistics level. For a more practical aspect, the author analyzes and presents these modes on simulation models. Moreover, based on these computer models, the impact of changing the means of transport into an intralogistics system was defined.