Inplant Logistics – Page 9
-
FeatureData and the digitisation of the supply chain
The automotive industry is being transformed by new vehicle technology, but operational processes are also undergoing profound changes driven by unprecedented levels of data
-
NewsWood you believe it? Materials handling with a difference
A new company based in Chemnitz is seeking to overturn conventional wisdom when it comes to material handling equipment – by using wood as a construction material
-
FeatureLogistics 4.0: how smart technologies are lifting logistics to another level
After a period of exploration, OEMs, tier suppliers and logistics providers are getting serious about making their operations smarter and more connected – Logistics 4.0 is here
-
FeatureDelivering a smarter factory
Magna Steyr’s vehicle assembly plant in the Austrian city of Graz is not a typical automotive factory; the site, which in 2018 brought its cumulative total production tally to 3.5m vehicles, produces vehicles under contract for OEMs such as Daimler, BMW and Jaguar Land Rover. Efficiency is important in any ...
-
FeatureFlight club: Why more logistics operations are signing up to drone technology
Impressive advancements have been made in drone technology over the last few years and many believe that drones will play a key role in the logistics of the future, for internal business functions as well as deliveries to consumers. In fact, NASA estimates that there will be 7m drones in ...
-
FeatureMercedes-Benz Wörth plant reaches CKD milestone
Workers at Mercedes-Benz Wörth plant in Germany, have dispatched the 750,000th complete-knock down (CKD) truck kit from the facility’s CKD Centre.
-
FeatureBrose adopts AGVs to improve efficiency
Automotive parts supplier, Brose, has announced it is using automated guided vehicles (AGVs) at one of its UK plants in Coventry to optimise logistics operations, achieve efficiency gains and win new business on future model launches.
-
FeatureReality check: How AR can improve efficiency in logistics
A growing number of companies in the automotive industry are embracing the use of augmented and virtual reality technology for tasks such as part picking and inventory management, as well as for training. We look at some of the latest applications
-
FeatureVW turns to Amazon to streamline its supply chain
Volkswagen Group has announced it will use Amazon Web Services (AWS) to automate manufacturing and logistics processes across its network of 122 plants and more than 30,000 facilities that make up the group’s global supply chain.The carmaker said it had signed a multi-year agreement with AWS, the cloud computing unit ...
-
FeatureBMW looks to the cloud to boost productivity
BMW has begun using a digital cloud platform built on software supplied by Microsoft to increase manufacturing and supporting logistics productivity. The Open Manufacturing Platform (OMP) is designed to accelerate the use of internet-of-things (IoT) technology in the supply chain and factory. BMW said it would be shared among OEMs, ...
-
FeatureVW reshuffles top managers in components operations
Heiner Lanze (pictured) has taken over as head of procurement at VW’s newly independent business unit, Volkswagen Group Components.Most recently, Lanze was responsible for procurement at Volkswagen do Brasil and the South America region. Before that, he was vice-president of procurement at Scania in Brazil. His career in the VW ...
-
FeatureElectricity crisis hits South Africa’s automotive industry
Rolling power cuts across South Africa are threatening the automotive logistics chain, as the country’s overburdened state electricity provider Eskom struggles to meet the needs of business. Vehicle sales are down as consumer confidence has fallen and automotive manufacturers are keeping production going by sacrificing non-essential plant functions. President and ...
-
FeatureŠkoda’s CKD centre puts AR on the map
Škoda Auto has begun a large-scale trial of augmented reality (AR) technology to support logistics in the complete knockdown (CKD) centre at its Mladá Boleslav plant in the Czech Republic.The video mapping system is being used to help staff load sets of semi-knockdown components onto pallets for export, and consists ...
-
FeatureAudi trials used car batteries in factory vehicles
Audi is trialling fork-lift trucks and tow tractors powered by used lithium-ion batteries at its main plant in Ingolstadt, Germany.The development is the latest stage in the company's research to find second uses for used batteries. Like all OEMs, Audi is obliged by law to take back batteries once their ...
-
FeatureFCA to build new US plant and expand five others
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) has revealed plans to spend $4.5 billion on building a new assembly plant in Detroit and adding production capacity at five existing plants in Michigan.The investment will create almost 6,500 jobs, though 1,400 posts will be lost as one shift at FCA’s Illinois plant is cut.The ...
-
FeatureJustin Newell joins Inform as COO
German software optimisation specialist Inform has appointed Justin Newell (pictured) as chief operating officer (COO) at its division in the US – Inform Software Corporation. He moves to Inform from his role as general manager at finished vehicle transport provider, Reliable Carriers.Newell has more than 20 years’ management experience including ...
-
FeatureŠkoda Scala production starts in Czech Republic
The all-new Scala has started rolling off the assembly line at Škoda’s Mladá Boleslav plant, in the Czech Republic – the first model from the company based on parent Volkswagen Group’s MQB-A0 platform.Production of the Scala, which was designed and developed in Mladá Boleslav, involves certain components being produced in ...
-
FeatureUzavtosanoat to rename GM Uzbekistan and raise output
Uzbekistan state-owned corporation Uzavtosanoat has confirmed it plans to rename GM Uzbekistan following the withdrawal of the US carmaker from the joint venture. It has not yet indicated what its new name will be.At a press conference in Tashkent on February 6, Aziz Shukurov, deputy chairman of the board of ...
-
FeatureQ&A: Scott Krebs, Orbis
What does Orbis see as the main problem in providing accurate data on where a container is, whether empty or full, and what is it doing to solve some of these problems for its automotive customers?In the automotive industry, one of the biggest obstacles is standardisation. Toyota puts identification on ...
-
Feature
Standing up to risk
Given that it has recently welcomed a new government, is preparing for the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and is tackling a worsening domestic security situation, it is safe to say that the Mexican automotive industry faces significant risks as it seeks to improve on its position as the world’s ...