What’s new in Opcenter Intra Plant Logistics 2601 and 2607
Smarter material handling, more flexible execution, stronger security and advanced transport planning
Opcenter Intra Plant Logistics (IPL) continues to evolve toward a more flexible, extensible, mobile and enterprise-ready intralogistics platform.
Material handling and commissioning capabilities have been expanded with FEFO-based replenishment, more flexible Commissioning Planning, virtual-container splitting, improved picklist handling, dynamic printer selection and enhanced support for warehouse position naming. Together, these capabilities provide greater control over how material is selected, picked and handled while improving operator efficiency.
Warehouse execution is becoming increasingly mobile and task-oriented. New Mendix-based Incoming Material Registration and Split applications bring key material-handling activities directly to PDA devices, enabling operators to execute processes where the physical material is handled while providing greater flexibility to adapt the user interface and business logic.
Transport Management now provides richer timing information for external sequencing and optimization, enabling more advanced planning based on operational time constraints and supporting scenarios where transport requests are split or combined into optimized execution structures.
At platform level, standardized role-based authorization strengthens access control across applications and APIs. Additional APIs, system events, SDK templates and Mendix extensibility provide a stronger foundation for customer- and solution-specific adaptations. Enhancements to decimal quantity and unit of measure handling further improve consistency across applications, devices and external integrations.
Together, these enhancements improve day-to-day warehouse execution while strengthening IPL as an extensible platform for advanced material flow and transport orchestration..
Key highlights
- Smarter material replenishment through First Expired, First Out (FEFO) prioritization
- More flexible and customizable commissioning and picking processes
- Improved operator efficiency through mobile, task-oriented warehouse execution
- Consistent decimal quantity and unit of measure handling across applications and integrations
- Enterprise-ready role-based authorization across IPL applications and APIs
- More advanced transport planning through time-constrained external sequencing
- Greater extensibility through APIs, system events, SDK templates and Mendix-based applications
- Improved usability across commissioning, storage, material registration and material control
Material Replenishment Optimization Based on FEFO
IPL supports first expired, first out (FEFO) prioritization for material replenishment. Materials closest to their expiration date can be prioritized for use, helping reduce waste and supporting product quality and regulatory compliance.
FEFO is implemented as a configurable cost rule. A default cost can be defined for material without an expiration date, allowing mixed inventories to participate consistently in replenishment. The scheduler applies the FEFO rule using the same mechanism as existing cost rules, and users can test the rule in the IPL Configuration application before enabling it in production.
Benefits:
- Reduced risk of expired inventory
- Improved inventory turnover
- Lower material waste
- Stronger support for quality and compliance requirements
Dynamic Label Printer Selection in Commissioning
Operators can select a network label printer directly in the Commissioning client, both in the web interface and on PDA devices.
This removes the dependency on a fixed or preassigned printer and allows operators to select a printer appropriate to their current location or task. The selected printer is clearly displayed and stored locally for reuse, and subsequent label-printing actions are routed automatically to that printer.
Benefits:
- Greater operator flexibility
- Fewer printing errors
- A more efficient commissioning workflow
Search in Blocked Material Configuration
Blocked Material Configuration includes search and filtering capabilities. Users can locate records using criteria including part number, manufacturer, lot number, supplier, date code, container identification, and country of origin.
Partial text input is supported, making it easier to locate records without knowing the complete value.
Benefits:
- Faster blocked-material administration
- Reduced search effort
- Lower risk of handling errors
Enhanced Decimal Quantity Support
IPL standardizes decimal quantity handling across cultures and system locales. A dot is used as the decimal separator independent of regional operating-system settings.
This behavior applies across the supported IPL web applications, PDA applications, legacy Windows applications, and public APIs. In the specified web applications, comma input is restricted to prevent ambiguous or invalid values.
Benefits:
- Consistent quantity handling across sites and devices
- Simpler data entry
- Reduced localization-related errors
Customizable Commissioning Planning
New APIs and system events enable customers and integrators to create more flexible Commissioning Planning flows rather than relying only on fixed out-of-the-box behavior.
System events can be subscribed to as triggers for automation and customization. External systems can provide suggested containers, and picklist priority can be adjusted through an API to influence execution according to urgency, production demand, or other operational rules.
An example SDK template and supporting documentation provide a starter for developing customer-specific Commissioning Planning logic.
Benefits:
- Support for more advanced picking strategies
- Deeper integration with external logic
- Greater flexibility to adapt commissioning to customer-specific material flows
Split Material to a Virtual Container During Commissioning
Material can be split during commissioning without requiring a physical target container. With the Pick Needed Quantity Without Container option, the operator scans the source container and IPL creates a virtual container for the required split quantity.
Because the target is virtual, there is no target-container barcode to scan. The capability is therefore particularly relevant for workflows where carriers are used to collect and transport picked material.
Benefits:
- More flexible material picking
- More efficient carrier-based commissioning workflows
Dynamic Update of PartInfo During Material Registration
PartInfo defines the required Unit of Measure for a part and is typically synchronized with ERP or MES. IPL can update PartInfo dynamically during material registration instead of relying only on preloaded master data.
This supports scenarios where IPL performs Unit of Measure conversion as well as scenarios where conversion is handled externally by ERP or MES. The capability is intended for parts whose Unit of Measure remains stable; registration is rejected if an existing part is encountered with a different Unit of Measure.
Benefits:
- Simpler integration and faster onboarding where unit of measure information is managed by ERP or MES
Control the Number of Picklists Shown in Commissioning
A Delivery Group setting allows customers to control how many picklists are displayed in the Commissioning client.
The Kit Build Number determines the number of visible picklists. A value of zero shows all picklists. Picklists are displayed according to priority, and the next one becomes visible when another is completed or manually closed. When several delivery groups are selected, the configured limit applies across the selected groups.
Benefits:
- Better operator focus and improved control in environments with many simultaneously available picklists
Display External Position Names in Commissioning and Storage
IPL can display external position names alongside internal IPL X.Y.Z locations in Commissioning and Storage when work-unit positions are defined.
This allows operators to see location names that match familiar warehouse naming conventions while IPL continues to maintain its internal location structure. Scanning continues to use the internal IPL location, while labels can show the external position name.
Benefits:
- Improved usability
- Reduced operator confusion
- Easier adoption in existing warehouse environments
User Authorization
IPL provides a standardized authorization model based on Keycloak roles. This extends authentication with the ability to control what authenticated users are permitted to access and do.
Role-based access control applies across WEB, PDA, and Mendix applications. Application tiles and functions can be exposed according to assigned permissions. Mendix applications can define functional permissions such as view, edit, or approve, and authorization is also enforced at BFF and API level.
Role administration is centralized in Keycloak, providing a common authorization foundation across IPL application technologies.
Benefits:
- Improved security
- Controlled access to relevant applications and functions
- More consistent enterprise access management
Transport Management – Timing Attributes for Transport Requests and Orders
Transport Management provides additional timing information to support external sequencing and optimization.
Transport Requests can contain Earliest Start, Latest Start, Earliest Finish, and Latest Finish. These timing attributes can be configured in the IPL user interface, imported through APIs, and provided to an external sequencer together with queued Transport Requests.
The optimized result can be returned to IPL as Transport Orders. The optimized execution structure does not have to maintain a one-to-one relationship with the original requests: requests may be split into multiple orders or activities from multiple requests may be combined according to the optimization strategy. A typical example is tugger train optimization based on route-driven task allocation.
Benefits:
- Better external transport optimization
- More precise scheduling using time constraints
- More flexible integration with advanced sequencing solutions
Incoming Material Registration in Mendix
A Mendix-based Incoming Material Registration application moves inbound material registration from the legacy PC-based client to a PDA experience.
Warehouse operators can register incoming material directly at the point of receipt. The application supports barcode-driven data capture, purchase-order-based processing, container registration, and label printing.
Because the application is built in Mendix, both the user interface and business logic can be customized for customer-specific receiving processes.
Benefits:
- Real-time registration at the point of receipt
- Improved operator mobility
- Greater process flexibility
Split Application in Mendix
A Mendix-based Split application brings container split execution to PDA devices.
Operators can scan a source container, review key information, and create one or multiple target containers in the same mobile workflow. Displayed information includes container ID, lot number, quantity, part number, manufacturer part number, date code, and Unit of Measure.
New split containers inherit properties from the source container, and both source and target remain at the same location after execution. Label printing is integrated into the PDA flow with support for a configurable default printer and manual printer selection. Both integer and decimal quantities are supported.
Benefits:
- Improved warehouse operator productivity
- Mobile task-oriented execution
- Integrated label printing
- Greater extensibility through Mendix
Conclusion
With release 2601 and 2607 Opcenter Intra Plant Logistics demonstrates its continued evolution toward intelligent, connected, and user-centric intralogistics. By addressing both day-to-day operational needs and long-term platform extensibility, these enhancements help customers optimize material movement, improve productivity, and adapt more easily to changing business requirements.
- Ready to explore IPL 2601 and 2607 for your operation? Contact your Siemens representative or your Siemens partner to discuss deployment options and next steps.
Learn more about Opcenter IPL
Discover the power of Opcenter Intra Plant Logistics to optimize your material flow from warehouse to factory floor. With real-time inventory management, smart JIT material replenishment, and special material management, you can increase line performance, maintain inventory accuracy, and ensure smooth material flow. Learn more about how this solution can revolutionize your intralogistics capabilities.
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