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Interview
"Motion-Mining® helps to understand and evaluate process landscapes."
Experte: André Nowak | 03/20/2025 | Teilen auf in
Sascha Feldhorst, one of the founders and managing directors of MotionMiners GmbH based in Dortmund, develops sensor technology and solutions for customized process analyses – based on the movement profiles of people and machines.
Mr. Feldhorst, with the help of motion analysis, you make operational processes measurable and enable companies to future-proof their workflows. How does it work and what are typical applications?
Sascha Feldhorst: Our technology enables companies to automatically capture and analyze motion data in order to optimize processes. This includes identifying unnecessary movements, finding optimal transport routes, and ensuring smooth collaboration between humans and machines – all to avoid downtime and reduce setup times. Using sensors and beacons, we typically collect the movement patterns of people, vehicles, and machines over a period of two to three weeks, including workflows such as driving maneuvers and lifting movements.
The data is collected in an anonymized manner. We then combine this situational overview with existing Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) as well as ERP and MES systems. We focus in particular on what happens between individual data points in the operational data – and how employees, work systems, the work environment, and tools interact. From this, we create a picture of the process landscape, which we use – among other things – to identify potential for digitalization, efficiency gains, and sustainability using machine learning and AI approaches. Since employees also wear sensors on their bodies, we can additionally identify improvement potential in areas such as ergonomics and occupational safety.
We work with medium-sized companies as well as large corporations like DHL. The results of our projects are typically handed over to in-house consulting teams or external consultants. If these resources are not available, we can provide further analysis and derive measures as part of a full-service model. Alternatively, customers can license our hardware and software to carry out optimization projects independently. The technology is universally applicable – from logistics and the food and chemical industries to the automotive sector.
Could you give us an example of a customer project, including the results?
SF: In 2022, the retail company tegut… built a new logistics center with a total area of 90,000 square meters. In order to meet the defined performance targets, the goal during the ramp-up phase was to establish efficient and high-performing processes in the long term. Our process engineers and logistics experts first conducted a comprehensive manual process analysis in the areas of order picking, storage, and replenishment, and defined the target and KPI framework for the upcoming measurement phase.
We then equipped over 60 employees, as well as vehicles and tools such as electric pallet trucks and forklifts, with our sensor technology. On the shop floor, we defined 140 distinct measurement zones. Over a two-week period, we were able to collect extensive motion data at the site. To break the results down to the item level, we linked the collected data with the existing WMS. Our analysis enabled us to make second-accurate statements about process steps and provided a high level of transparency regarding main traffic flows, secondary processes, activity distribution per area and customer, as well as ergonomics.
For example, we analyzed full and empty runs as well as fleet utilization, and found that around 60 percent of transports were empty runs. In total, we identified eight areas for optimization. Based on our results, tegut… was able to align its picking aisles with the optimal material flow from goods receipt to goods issue, maximize the share of value-adding activities through optimized order scheduling, and scale the transport vehicle fleet according to actual needs. Overall, the company achieved efficiency gains of more than €700,000 per year.
Due to increasing uncertainty regarding economic development, some companies are currently scaling back their investments. How do you view the current developments?
SF: In recent years, many investments in automation and digitalization were postponed, often citing strong day-to-day operations as the reason. But now, in a weaker economic phase, is exactly the right time to invest in future-proof processes and position oneself for the next upswing. AI – especially large language models (LLMs) – opens up new opportunities for data collection and analysis, and companies should take advantage of them. Otherwise, the pressure will only continue to grow.
In increasingly automated production environments, it is critical to ensure seamless collaboration between humans and machines – especially since the skilled labor shortage is expected to worsen again in the next economic boom. Waiting is not an option: companies that don’t start optimizing their processes now risk falling behind in the near future.
Please give us a brief preview of your talk at the INDUSTRIAL FUTURE DAY 2025. What can participants look forward to?
SF: To make informed investment decisions, companies need solid data and a sound ROI assessment – especially in uncertain times. Using real-life case studies, we will demonstrate how our Motion-Mining® technology helps to understand and evaluate process landscapes, and how we work with our clients to develop forward-looking solutions. In addition, we will highlight the importance of a reliable data foundation and take a closer look at our various analytical approaches.
