The Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML is the partner of choice for integrated logistics research. It works in all fields of internal and external logistics. In keeping with the Fraunhofer concept, solutions to problems for immediate use in business are developed on the one hand, but initial research is also conducted on the other hand for periods of two to five years, in some cases even longer. Currently, 377 scientists as well as 250 doctoral candidates and students work at the institute founded in 1981, supported by colleagues in workshops, laboratories and service departments.

Teams assembled according to project and customer requirements create cross-industry and customer-specific solutions, among other things in the field of materials handling, business process modelling, transportation systems and resource logistics. Other current research focal points include artificial intelligence, smart finance, and the Internet of Things, which is coordinated by the institute throughout the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. Fraunhofer IML is also working on the implementation of a decentralized, federal, and open platform economy in Germany and Europe with the Silicon Economy major research project. The institute has access to a total of 30,000 employees in 76 organizations of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft for interdisciplinary projects. The general management of the Fraunhofer Transport Alliance, bundling the traffic and transportation expertise of 17 Fraunhofer institutes, is also located in Dortmund.

Furthermore, Fraunhofer IML is a key supporter of the »Digital Hub Logistics« providing room for start-up initiatives to develop digital products and business models. A variety of research associations, including in the area of fundamental research, exist through the three directors, Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Michael ten Hompel, Univ.-Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Michael Henke and Prof. Dr. Uwe Clausen, all of which also hold professorships at the Technical University of Dortmund. Locations aside from Dortmund include Frankfurt/Main, Hamburg, Prien am Chiemsee and Beijing.

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