Faurecia, which is part of the Forvia Group, ranks among the top 10 global automotive suppliers. Faurecia currently operates 257 factories and 39 research and development centers in 33 countries worldwide and employs around 111,000 people.

Increasing number of small-volume products

Faurecia Clarion Electronics (Fengcheng) is a subsidiary of Faurecia Clarion Electronics Business Unit and mainly produces electronic products for vehicle interiors, including intelligent connected terminals for vehicles. With the development of the automotive industry and changing market conditions, the number of small-volume products with multiple specifications is increasing and traditional warehousing techniques are outdated. Optimizing storage capacity and just-in-time product flow has become a key factor that can maintain productivity and achieve cost savings and efficiency gains.

Faurecia Fengcheng had three main challenges to overcome with its new logistics solution: Firstly, the need for storage capacity had increased and the existing storage facilities could no longer meet current production requirements. In addition, the logistics storage and picking methods were old-fashioned, the efficiency of the manual storage areas was low and the error rate was high. In addition, Faurecia Group says it is actively pursuing a green environmental policy and pursuing the zero-emission path, advocating the integration of intelligent, digital and automatic technologies to build a green and sustainable automotive electronics supply chain.

Pallet shuttle, small parts shuttle and AGV

HWArobotics has developed a customized solution that combines a pallet shuttle system with a small parts shuttle system. The pallet shuttle supplies the small parts shuttle system, which in turn provides picked containers according to the goods-to-person (GTP) principle. These containers are then efficiently fed into production using autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs). This intelligent integration of various automation technologies has significantly increased the level of automation in Faurecia's logistics processes and enabled an efficient, end-to-end material supply of raw materials and finished products. While HWArobotics acted as a general contractor in Asia, the company deliberately opted for long-term partnerships with local integrators in Europe and overseas.

Reduced costs, lower error rate

The individual storage solution increased the space utilization by more than 4 times: The raw material handling warehouse has seven aisles and is designed for 50,000 storage locations. It is equipped with 14 SLS300 shuttle robots for container handling and seven container lifts, which make material handling more efficient. The combined pallet warehouse is used for the mixed storage of finished products and raw materials with a total of 1,884 storage locations. It is equipped with five FPSS1500 pallet shuttle robots and two pallet lifts.

As part of the solution, automated goods retrieval was also implemented without human intervention, resulting in a 60% reduction in labor costs and a reduction in the error rate. By automating the process of storing and retrieving goods with robots, the uncertainties and errors caused by human operation are minimized while improving the efficiency of incoming and outgoing processes. The Faurecia Clarion Electronics Super Factory was put into operation in 2024.

"Key to efficiency, sustainability and competitiveness"

"The Forvia project impressively demonstrates the potential of our innovative storage and logistics solutions. The opportunities for Europe are enormous: we look forward to communicating the exceptional benefits and high quality of our container and pallet shuttle systems to general contractors and logistics planners across Europe. These technologies are key to ensuring efficiency, sustainability and competitiveness in an increasingly complex and challenging market landscape," summarizes Mark Vogt, VP Sales & Business Development at HWArobotics.