Frießinger Mühle is using VEGA Inventory System and radar level sensors to improve stock visibility, automate inventory management and optimise flour production and delivery processes.
For flour manufacturers operating at industrial scale, inventory visibility is imperative. From grain intake through to flour dispatch, the ability to monitor stock levels accurately and manage material flow efficiently can affect production continuity, warehousing and delivery performance.
At Frießinger Mühle in Bad Wimpfen, Germany, digital inventory management has become part of daily operations. The flour mill uses radar sensors and VEGA Inventory System software to monitor silo levels, manage stock movement and support production planning across the site.
With more than 23,000 tonnes of grain storage capacity and annual flour production reaching 400,000 tonnes, the mill handles daily volumes of both incoming grain and outgoing flour products.
Every day, up to 1,200 tonnes of grain are delivered to the facility while a similar volume of finished flour products is dispatched to customers by truck and ship. The operation also manages a broad product range. Around 200 million packaged units leave the mill annually, ranging from 500g consumer packs through to 25kg commercial formats.
According to Willi Erich Frießinger, the sixth generation preparing to lead the family business, customer requirements are becoming specialised.
“Our goal is to supply our customers with flour varieties tailored exactly to their needs,” he said.
Alongside standard flour grades such as type 405, 550, 1050 and wholemeal flour, the company also produces a wide range of specialised products for different baking applications. These include pizza flour, waffle mixes, spaetzle flour and baking blends tailored to individual customer production systems.
“Bakeries need customised flours, precisely tailored to their individual production methods,” said Frießinger.
Managing that level of product variation requires accurate coordination between warehousing, production and logistics.
“We can only meet this diversity of requirements if we automate our delivery and warehousing processes,” he added.
Inventory visibility
To support this process, the mill uses VEGA Inventory System to centralise inventory management and stock monitoring across the facility. The software integrates data from suppliers, warehouse operations and purchasing systems into a single platform, allowing dispatchers and operators to monitor stock levels in real time.
Inside the control room, operators monitor silo levels and material movement across multiple screens displaying live inventory data. The system tracks different grain types and batches while also monitoring filling and emptying rates inside individual silos. Graphical progress charts allow operators to identify stock movement patterns and optimise delivery scheduling.
Plant manager Klaus Hecht said the software allows staff to respond quickly to changing production or supply requirements.
“This allows us to diversify our sources of supply and react quickly to short term increases in demand for individual goods,” said Hecht.
Operators can also identify available silo capacity immediately if unscheduled deliveries arrive at the site. The system is designed to improve both operational efficiency and production planning by reducing manual stock monitoring processes.
Radar measurement
The inventory system relies on data collected from VEGAPULS 6X radar sensors installed throughout the facility. More than 200 measurement points across the storage silos are equipped with radar level sensors that continuously monitor stock volumes.
The level data collected by the sensors is then processed by VEGA Inventory System to support material planning and inventory forecasting. Rather than providing a snapshot of current stock levels, the software also analyses historical consumption data to estimate future demand requirements.
Using historical usage trends, the system can generate forecasts for future material needs and support procurement planning. For flour manufacturers managing multiple grain types and specialised products, accurate forecasting is important to avoid both stock shortages and unnecessary overstocking.
The challenge for operators lies in balancing procurement timing, storage costs, customer demand and market price fluctuations. At Frießinger Mühle, inventory automation is helping simplify that process by reducing the amount of manual monitoring required.
Reducing infrastructure complexity
The digital inventory system has also helped simplify infrastructure requirements within the facility. More than half of the mill’s measuring points are already connected to VEGA Inventory System.
Because the newest mill building was designed with the inventory platform integrated from the beginning, measurement data can now be transferred directly to the company’s ERP system over the web. The software also offers additional capabilities that could support future supply chain automation.
One potential feature would allow inventory systems to connect with supplier or customer silos, enabling automated replenishment or delivery scheduling once stock levels reach predefined thresholds.
Balancing supply and demand
For flour manufacturers operating at scale, inventory management extends beyond simply tracking stock levels. Operators must ensure the right grain varieties are available at the right time while avoiding unnecessary inventory build-up.
That process becomes difficult when factoring in procurement pricing, storage costs, customer demand forecasts and contract obligations. While experienced operators understand the dynamics of their customers and supply chains, managing large volumes of interconnected operational data can still become complex.
At Frießinger Mühle, automated inventory monitoring has become an important tool for simplifying those decisions while improving visibility across the business.
Following the expansion and modernisation of the facility through the addition of a third 63-metre-high mill building, the company has continued increasing its use of digital inventory management technologies to support production efficiency and operational planning.
