About a year after the warehouse in Freiberg am Neckar was commissioned, Craiss Generation Logistik GmbH & Co. KG have opened another logistics centre this summer on behalf of a German car manufacturer. The new warehouse in Markgröningen in Baden-Württemberg offers the necessary expanded storage capacity. At both locations, the logistics service provider stores and picks parts exclusively belonging to the customer with which it supplies its Stuttgart production site just-in-sequence. Craiss planned the structure and organisation of the 8000 square-metre space in close coordination with the automobile manufacturer. A special feature of the facility is the picking zone with no forklift trucks.
“After we reached our capacity limits in Freiberg, the joint planning and commissioning of the new logistics centre in Markgröningen was the necessary solution and a welcome challenge,” says Max Rahn, project manager responsible at Craiss Generation Logistik GmbH & Co. KG. The logistics service provider had the contract approved with the awarding of the Freiberg order last year, which provided for the option of an additional warehouse.
After a two-month planning phase, in which Craiss refined the structure of the logistics centre which had been outlined by the customer, work started in May of this year. An old assembly line was uninstalled, new shelving systems installed and fire-protection measures extended. “The very short preparation time shows, once again, that we are a well-established team, both internally and with the customer," says Rahn. From August 01, 2022, operations under the direction of Daniel Grawe then began step by step.
Currently, 20 specialists take care of incoming goods, warehousing and numerous value-added services, as well as the provision of automotive components as required. However, this number is expected to rise to around 70 – the expected full capacity – in summer 2023. The employees in the picking zone cover all distances solely on foot, ensuring a smooth process. “On the one hand, there are safety reasons for this, on the other hand, we were able to keep the alleys very narrow and thus save vital space. Apart from that, we are just as fast over short distances on foot as with a forklift truck,” says Rahn.
As in Freiberg am Neckar, various components for vehicle assembly are stored in Markgröningen. This requires Grawe and his team to pick and deliver the components to the factory precisely, because “The cars are already in the assembly line and are assembled in synchronous order. If we deliver a part at the wrong time, this delays the entire production,” Rahn explains.
With the new logistics centre, Craiss is further expanding its own contract logistics division. The company has set itself the goal of growing significantly in this area by 2025.