Albert Craiss GmbH & Co. KG has put its 15th branch into operation: in the Czech town of Mohelnice, the Swabian logis-tics specialist is from now on managing the warehouse for an existing customer at its new production facility. From incom-ing goods through production right down to packaging, Craiss is seeing to the order-based commissioning there. It is already the second joint project of the Mühlacker firm and the publicly listed company.
"Contract logistics is logistics of trust – the customer must be able to rely on you one hundred percent as a fixed component of its supply chain," says Jörg Schneider, General Director of Contract Logistics at Albert Craiss GmbH & Co. KG. "I am therefore very proud that at the new location, we are again able to contribute to realising a manufacturing process that is as productive as possi-ble, for such a prestigious client." The service provider is taking over the necessary intralogistics for the manufacture of geared motors in the already existing, but completely renovated, industrial property in Mohelnice. In order to work as efficiently as possible, the logistics company has linked its warehouse management system with the customer's IT. "The goal is for material to not be moved unnecessarily but to be brought to the member of production staff in a bite-sized manner and as specific to an order as possible, directly to his workplace, so that he can focus exclusively on the production," says Schneider of the lean logistics approach being implemented.
The 6,000-square-metre warehouse is directly connected to the production area and equipped with a wide variety of shelving technology: standard pallet, order-picking and continuous shelving. Around 5,000 pallet bays are available, as well as additional order-picking and packing stations, staging areas and railway stations for the tugger trains deployed. "This equipment ensures the best possible warehouse utilisation and consolidation," says Schneider. The plant is currently in the start-up phase. Following commissioning towards the end of last year, further product lines are currently being added gradually, and employees are being assigned. By the spring of 2020, the final expansion stage will be reached, with around 40 employees.
With this new branch in the east of the Czech Republic, Craiss is following a clear strategy. "Both the product range and the geo-graphical focus make the project ideally suited to our goal of growing in the contract logistics sector over the next ten years not only in German-speaking countries, but also in Eastern Europe," says Schneider.