Artificial intelligence: KNV Zeitfracht collaborates with scientists from the Fraunhofer IAO

Erfurt, July 22, 2020.

KNV Zeitfracht is collaborating with the renowned Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering (IAO). A joint project has been agreed upon with the researchers in the forward-looking field of artificial intelligence (AI). KNV Zeitfracht’s project proposal won a two-stage selection process conducted by the AI Advancement Center “Learning Systems.” The Fraunhofer AI experts will now spend three months exploring how KNV Zeitfracht can tailor its wholesale offerings even more closely to customer needs in the future.

Under the title “Advancing Dynamic Planning through Artificial Intelligence,” a functional prototype is expected to be implemented as soon as the project phase is complete. The initiative is backed by the State of Baden-Württemberg, the Fraunhofer IAO, and Tübingen’s Cyber Valley. The work is funded by the state government.

Thomas Raff, spokesperson for the management board of KNV Zeitfracht: “With innovative projects like this, we’re setting trends and positioning ourselves well for the future. Collaboration between academia and industry will be beneficial for both sides.”

Around 70,000 new books are published in Germany every year. KNV Zeitfracht is already using dynamic replenishment alongside the expertise of its buyers to keep the range of many hundreds of thousands of books, games, calendars, audio books, non-books and other items up to date and available, largely automatically. Based on artificial intelligence, the software will now learn how items will sell in the future in order to react dynamically to the market and incorporate trends or seasonal events. A wide variety of data sources are used for this purpose.

About KNV Zeitfracht
KNV Zeitfracht is the leading logistics service provider for the book and media industry. It is part of the Zeitfracht Group, an owner-managed family business headquartered in Berlin. KNV Zeitfracht employs around 1,600 people at its sites in Erfurt and Stuttgart. KNV Zeitfracht's logistics center in Erfurt is one of the largest and most modern logistics facilities in Europe.

 

Press contact
Heinz Joachim Schöttes
Friedrich-Olbricht-Damm 46-48 | 13627 Berlin
Phone: +49 (0)30 | 403 691 721
joachim.schoettes@zeitfracht.de