Craiss takes over contract logistics for automobile manufacturer

• Logistics service provider is awarded prestige project

• Craiss has been managing warehouses in Kornwestheim since August

• The next step in expanding their contract logistics has been taken

 

By managing the warehouse in Kornwestheim, site manager Markus Grötzinger (left) and project manager Max Rahn have taken an important step in the growth strategy of Albert Craiss GmbH & Co KG in the field of contract logistics.

Albert Craiss GmbH & Co. KG joins the supply chain of a wellknown German automobile manufacturer. The logistics expert from Mühlacker has been responsible for storing and picking body parts in Kornwestheim since 1st August. After a fourweek familiarisation phase and a summer break, the 12,000-square-metre warehouse resumed operations at the end of August. It is currently Craiss's largest contract logistics project.

"Craiss and the automotive sector are a successful combination. We know the automotive industry, its high requirements and standards," says Max Rahn, the responsible project manager at Albert Craiss GmbH & Co KG, about being commissioned by the Stuttgart company. A logistics service provider was sought for the existing warehouse in Kornwestheim who could supply the plant on a just-in-time and just-in-sequence basis. The warehouse was previously operated by the manufacturer itself. "We are right at the beginning of the production chain and therefore have a particularly high level of responsibility," explains Rahn.

It is a task that involves a high handling volume. Up to 120 truckloads of bulky goods, such as side walls, are processed there each day. However, the mudguards and the like do not stay in storage for long. The stock is transshiped two to three times a month on average. For site manager Markus Grötzinger and his around 85 specialists, this translates into a three-shift system five days a week.

The Swabian logistics experts did not have much time to prepare between the commissioning and the start of operations: after the start of the project was delayed by the coronavirus crisis in mid-May, the seven-person project team had three and a half months to familiarise themselves with the conditions and processes on site and to recruit and train employees. "The customer's crew wel-comed us with open arms, trained us very well and provided us with active support – whether by video conference or in person," says Rahn.

With the flagship project right on its own doorstep, Craiss has succeeded in achieving another growth spurt in the field of contract logistics. The owner-managed company intends to expand this considerably by 2025.