Method for the demand-controlled supply to and disposal away from at least two production stations of the tobacco processing industry with full and/or empty transport units, said transport units being moved by rail, by means of self-propelled transport vehicles within a storage and transport system which is designed as an overhead system with a central store as a storage system comprising at least one storage shelf and a rail network forming part of the transport system, to which each production station is associated for the supply of each production station and for the disposal away from each production station, characterised by the following steps: a) requesting a full or empty transport unit which is available within the storage and transport system (14, 15), by a transfer unit, which forms a linking member between the storage and transport system (14, 15) and the associated production station, with a material flow control, b) assigning a transport task by the material flow control to a transport vehicle with the requested full or empty transport unit, c) moving the transport vehicle with the full or empty transport unit in the transport plane on the rail network from the start position of the transport vehicle as far as the transfer unit of a production station initiating the transport task, said production station being located in a production plane below the transport plane, d) transferring the full or empty transport unit from the transport vehicle to the transfer unit in a transfer position, e) lowering the full or empty transport unit by means of a lift arrangement from the transport plane into a transfer plane located below the transport plane, wherein the steps d) and e) are also able to be carried out in reverse sequence and the transport vehicle is released for the next transport task after the transfer of the full or empty transport unit to the transfer unit, wherein the full or empty transport units, which in each case are formed from a load carrier and a loaded goods carrier, after transfer from the transport vehicle to the transfer unit are transported by the lift arrangement vertically downwards into a first transfer plane, wherein the full or empty loaded goods carrier is removed from the load carrier in the lower transfer plane, transported to a station for altering the filling level of the loaded goods carrier and transferred thereto. a) requesting a full or empty transport unit which is available within the storage and transport system (14, 15), by a transfer unit, which forms a linking member between the storage and transport system (14, 15) and the associated production station, with a material flow control, b) assigning a transport task by the material flow control to a transport vehicle with the requested full or empty transport unit, c) moving the transport vehicle with the full or empty transport unit in the transport plane on the rail network from the start position of the transport vehicle as far as the transfer unit of a production station initiating the transport task, said production station being located in a production plane below the transport plane, d) transferring the full or empty transport unit from the transport vehicle to the transfer unit in a transfer position, e) lowering the full or empty transport unit by means of a lift arrangement from the transport plane into a transfer plane located below the transport plane,