The digital transformation presents intralogistics with new challenges, but also opens up great potential in terms of efficiency, sustainability and process reliability. The companies ORGATEX and IOX demonstrate in their collaboration how innovative IoT solutions, including a so-called IoT button and container labels with e-paper displays, help replace paper-based processes, prevent material downtime, and promote sustainable working practices.
The challenge: Outdated processes as sources of errors and obstacles
Intralogistics requires innovative solutions to make processes more efficient and sustainable. A key issue here is the still widespread reliance on paper-based processes in many companies. These not only demand significant resources and time but also make the work prone to errors. Outdated or unclear information can lead to misunderstandings and delays in production and logistics processes, which often negatively impact overall efficiency.
Another area of concern is inefficient reordering of materials: It is often necessary for employees to manually reorder consumables and have to go to remote storage areas to do so. It is also problematic when certain items are not recorded in the ERP system and therefore cannot be reordered automatically. In extreme cases, such processes can lead to production stoppages if materials are not available in time. This not only negatively impacts productivity but also drives up operating costs.
Additionally, the demands for sustainability and resource conservation are increasing. Customers, partners, and regulatory authorities are increasingly calling on companies to reduce CO₂ emissions and minimize waste—also by eliminating paper usage. Political regulations further increase the pressure on companies to implement innovative and environmentally friendly solutions, which are often complex and costly to implement.
Born from a shared vision to tackle the challenges of modern intralogistics, such as those described above, a partnership was formed between ORGATEX, an expert in intralogistics solutions, and IOX, a company specializing in IoT technologies.
While ORGATEX brings in-depth expertise in logistics processes and a broad customer portfolio, IOX contributes technological know-how for the development and implementation of IoT solutions. This combination of industry knowledge and technological innovation laid the foundation for a successful partnership.
The solution: A button and an e-paper display as accelerators of digital transformation
At the heart of the collaboration between the two companies, both based in the Düsseldorf area, is a hybrid development approach that leverages the strengths of both partners. ORGATEX analyzes the specific requirements of customers on-site and works together with IOX to develop tailored solutions. IOX complements this hands-on approach with agile development processes such as rapid prototyping and Scrum to bring innovative products to market quickly and efficiently. Through this close collaboration, two key solutions have been developed to address major challenges in intralogistics.
One of these joint solutions is a digital container labeling system equipped with durable, large e-paper displays: the eOX label replaces paper-based tags and enables real-time display of information such as inventory levels or production orders directly at the relevant shelf, storage location, or container. This eliminates errors caused by outdated or illegible information, reduces search times, and saves resources. The information can be integrated into cloud services and is centrally managed through a user-friendly backend. Updates are only applied when the user presses the refresh button. The flexible adaptability of the displayed data ensures optimal transparency throughout the entire logistics chain.
The second key solution is the eOX button: It allows employees to reorder materials or report malfunctions with a simple push of a button. This minimizes unnecessary trips to the warehouse and reduces production downtime. Additionally, the IoT button can also be used for pick-up requests between departments, such as ensuring compliance with cold chain requirements, further expanding the scope of this solution. The eOX button also features an e-paper display that provides feedback on successfully placed orders and delivery dates.
Technologically, both solutions are based on Low-Power Wide-Area Network (LPWAN) technologies such as Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) and LTE Cat-M1. These are well-suited for industrial environments as they offer long-range coverage and stable connectivity, even in facilities with extensive metal structures. At the same time, they minimize device energy consumption and can be implemented easily without complex additional infrastructure. Integration into existing IT systems, especially ERP systems, is achieved through REST APIs or no-code tools, which further reduce implementation effort. This ensures seamless integration between the new solutions and existing processes.
The result: Saving 90 pages of paper per order
The implementation of IoT solutions from ORGATEX and IOX leads to significant improvements in intralogistics. They deliver measurable efficiency gains, reduced errors, and optimized resource usage. A key benefit is the drastic time savings in material reordering: With the eOX button, employees can request replenishments at the push of a button, almost completely eliminating production downtimes.
The eOX label digital container tags with e-paper displays replace paper-based processes, eliminating sources of error and, for one customer, reducing paper consumption by up to 90 pages per order. Information on inventory levels or production orders is now available in real time directly on the containers. At the same time, these material savings help conserve resources and reduce the carbon footprint (CO₂).
