Entrepreneurs looking for a location for a logistics centre in Hesse face the same problem as planning associations that want to market a business park or local politicians who are supposed to steer transport projects. They all need a variety of geographical, demographic and infrastructural data for their decision-making - such as location-based demand volumes, traffic flow data or infrastructural capacities. But only some of this data is available in sufficient detail, such as traffic flow data on federal motorways. The majority of the required information, on the other hand, either does not exist or is not readily available.

The project

Due to its central location within Germany and the European Union, Hessen is highly relevant for the logistics sector, for logistics processes and for logistics-related mobility. Scientists from Hessen's five state universities of applied sciences and the Offenbach University of Applied Sciences therefore want to close the gap between required and available data and create a logistics atlas for the state.In future, it will provide decision-makers from public institutions, trade, industry, logistics service providers and associations with detailed, local and spatial data that can be used to reliably make appropriate decisions with a local or regional focus.
The scientists recently completed the first step on the path to the "Logistics Atlas Hessen". Supported by the innovation fund of the House of Logistics and Mobility (HOLM), they conducted an empirical study to determine the need for logistics data. On the one hand, they collected available data sources, prepared them and made them available. On the other hand, they conducted interviews with 44 experts from Hesse - potential users - on relevant decision-making issues regarding logistical aspects and recorded the necessary data in a "Decision Dictionary".

The next steps

The next step is to find a way to make the amount of heterogeneous data available in a network. The project is currently exploring the various possibilities and is also looking for funding.
The project leader was Prof. Dr. Michael Huth from Fulda University of Applied Sciences. However, the project was carried out - and this shows the solidarity of the Hessian universities of applied sciences - by no less than ten logistics professors from the universities of applied sciences in Darmstadt, Frankfurt, Friedberg, Fulda and Wiesbaden as well as the Offenbach University of Applied Sciences. "This cooperation would not have been realised without the central platform HOLM as a house and fund," Professor Huth is certain. And Prof. Dr. Kai-Oliver Schocke from the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences emphasises: "The fact that scientists from all Hessian universities of applied sciences in Darmstadt, Frankfurt, Friedberg, Fulda and Wiesbaden collaborated on the project with their good relationships to actors in the logistics sector ensures the comprehensive survey for the entire federal state. In this way, we can provide data not only for individual regions, but for Hesse as a whole, and with the level of detail and spatial reference that is necessary for a targeted decision."

Final report

The final report on the Logistics Atlas of Hessen is available for download.

Project period: 1.5.2014-31.3.2015
Project management: Prof. Dr. Michael Huth, Fulda University of Applied Sciences
Project partners: Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, Fulda University of Applied Sciences, RheinMain University of Applied Sciences, Central Hessen University of Technology