Shared warehouse, double efficiency thanks to Schenker

The KHS assignment was a real challenge for Schenker Deutschland AG. KHS was the first customer to move into DB Schenker's new 20,000 square meter Shared Logistics Center in Dortmund. In the following autumn, Weidmüller, an internationally operating electronics group, moved into parts of the second construction phase at the Westfalenhütte with a further 20,000 square meters and another 700 square meters of office space. At the same time, DB Schenker Logistics put a new distribution center and finished goods warehouse into operation in Bergkamen, where it provides complex logistics solutions and services for the household, catering and hotel goods manufacturer WMF.

Sebastian Peiler, Head of the Shared Logistics Center (SLC) in Dortmund

The "customer goods hotel"

Material flow: Mr. Peiler, what is special about the Shared Logistics Center (SLC) in Dortmund?Sebastian Peiler: Three things make the SLC here at Westfalenhütte remarkable. The concept: In a Shared Logistics Center, we share personnel, technical and spatial resources for various customers. This allows us to make sophisticated logistics processes in warehousing, distribution and shipping much more efficient. Secondly, there are the transport links: rail connections, main roads and six highways as well as the port and airport - all available and close by. And finally, in Dortmund and in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, we have a wide range of workers with excellent profiles and experience in the industry.

MFL: What distinguishes the SLC from traditional business?Peiler: With an SLC, we operate a kind of "customer goods hotel". The idea is to bring customers from similar industries together in one facility and share resources. In Dortmund, we were able to implement the "SLC Ruhr" quickly because the concept was so well received by customers - even if they come from different industries: We currently support the plant manufacturer KHS, the electronics group Weidmüller and WMF as a manufacturer of household and catering goods.

MFL: What's next?Peiler: We have won three major customers with this model in a short space of time - that's a great achievement not only for our company, but also for our employees! We are now looking to see which small or medium-sized companies in the region might be interested in our service portfolio.

4,000 items picked and packed per day

Schenker Deutschland not only handles order picking for plant manufacturer KHS.

Today, KHS has been operating at full capacity at the SLC for almost two years. A shuttle service runs four to six times a day between the warehouse and the main plant. Additional goods arrive on dozens of trucks from all over the world: Around 800 pallets and packages arrive every day, both from external suppliers and from KHS' own plants. KHS keeps 55,000 individual parts in stock at the SLC at all times. In addition to picking, the employees also pack parts. They put up to 4,000 items a day into prefabricated cartons or pack them securely for transportation in the carpentry shop. The goods are then stored in the customs and shipping warehouse and are ready for the shipping order.

KHS not only has to be at the forefront in terms of technology, but also in terms of service, and therefore offers its customers high-quality services for all aspects of the systems - and not just for new machines, but also for older series, conversions and retrofits. "What sets us apart is the extreme longevity of our products," says Frederic Nitka, the responsible project manager at KHS. "It is not uncommon for a system to be in operation for 30 years, and there is also a lively used machine market - which is why we have to keep the relevant spare parts in stock for a long time."

Emergency logistics alongside day-to-day business

This is supplemented by sophisticated emergency logistics: if, for example, a component fails in the bottling plant of a regional brewery in Spain, a replacement part must be delivered as quickly as possible to avoid expensive production downtimes. Shortly afterwards the phone rings at the SLC in Dortmund and a KHS service employee places an order for the delivery of the required component. A quick look at the stock lists: the component is available. A short time later, the truck that is to transport the gear wheel weighing several hundred kilograms to Spain arrives. Meanwhile, the DB Schenker employees pack the spare part securely for transportation. Soon the truck is at the loading ramp, the spare part is lifted into the wagon with the forklift - and off it goes to the south. Soon afterwards, up to 132,000 cans per hour are once again rattling through the repaired filling line.

This and similar operations are part of the logistics services that DB Schenker provides for its customer KHS in Dortmund. "In the event of such machine downtimes, we have to deliver immediately and with one hundred percent stability," says Nitka. He emphasizes: "In addition to the daily business!"

Axel Novak

Contact:

KHS GmbH 44143 Dortmund Tel.: 02 31 / 5 69-0 E-Mail:

Schenker Deutschland AG 65451 Kelsterbach Phone: 0 61 07 / 74-00 E-mail:[email protected] www.dbschenker.com/de