2.4 Catalogue of Criteria for Autonomous Control in Logistics

Over the past years an increase in complexity of production and logistics systems regarding organisational, time-related and systemic aspects could be observed (Philipp et al. 2006). As a result, it is often impossible to make all necessary information available to a central entity in real time and to perform appropriate measures of control in terms of a defined target system. This development is caused by diverse changes, for example, short product life cycles as well as a decreasing number of lots with a simultaneously rising number of product variants and higher product complexity (Scherer 1998). Hence, new demands were placed on competitive companies, which cannot be fulfilled with conventional control methods. Conventional production systems are characterized by central planning and control processes, which do not allow fast and flexible adaptation to changing environmental influences. Establishing autonomous control seems to be an appropriate method to meet these requirements. The major aim of establishing autonomous logistics processes is to improve the logistics system’s performance. The basis for achievement of this objective is a comprehensive understanding of the term autonomy in the context of logistics processes. The idea of autonomous control is to develop decentralised and heterarchical planning and controlling methods in contrast to existing central and hierarchical planning and controlling approaches (Scholz-Reiter et al. 2006). Autonomous decision functions are shifted to logistic objects. In the context of autonomous control, logistic objects are defined as material items (e.g. part, machine and conveyor) or immaterial items (e.g. production order) of a networked logistic system, which have the ability to interact with other logistic objects of the considered system. Autonomous logistic objects are able to act independently according to Published in: Hülsmann, M.; Windt, K. (eds.): Understanding Autonomous Cooperation and Control in Logistics – The Impact on Management,