All Plant Logistics articles – Page 16
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FeatureRudolph Logistics to open first US facility near BMW Spartanburg
Rudolph Logistics is investing $18m in its first US warehouse located in Greer, South Carolina, just 1.6km from BMW’s Spartanburg plant.The 16,000 sq.m facility, which is sited on 2.3 hectares at the Caliber North Business Park, is expected to start operations in September with 150 staff under a new division ...
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FeatureZebra survey shows manufacturers moving to greater use of technology
Manufacturers are making ever greater use of industry 4.0 technology in their supply chains and moving ever closer to smart factories, a survey by technology provider Zebra Technologies has suggested.Zebra’s 2017 Manufacturing Vision Study, based on 1,100 respondents from the automotive, high-tech, food, beverage, tobacco and pharmaceutical sectors in Europe, ...
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FeatureŠkoda opens automated warehouse at Czech plant
Škoda Auto has opened an automated small parts warehouse at its Kvasiny plant in the Czech Republic.The company said the €8m ($9.3m) investment was one of the biggest logistics projects in its modern history, adding that it would improve efficiency and make its on-site logistics processes more flexible.“With the new ...
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FeatureDigitalisation: for better or for worse, you can't just ignore it
Disruption or continuous improvement? That is the question over what digitalisation, autonomy and electrification will do to automotive logistics. Will new players swipe away older ones as though deleting undesirables on an app, or will technology improve efficiency and customer reach?The stock market drives the bleaker outlook for some. With ...
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FeatureDifferent digital paces
The headline above might well have read ‘industry and logistics 4.0’, ‘the industrial internet of things’, ‘factories of the future’, ‘smart supply chains’ or ‘manufacturing 2025’.Or we might have turned to one of a growing number of acronyms used to outline the car industry’s future, like Mercedes-Benz Car’s CASE or ...
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FeatureMercedes-Benz S-Class drives itself from assembly line to loading area
The potential for self-driving cars in finished vehicle logistics has been highlighted by the recent start of Mercedes-Benz S-Class production in Sendelfingen, Germany, where a newly built car drove itself off the assembly line to a loading area about 1.5km away.Cameras, together with radar and ultrasonic sensors, worked in conjunction ...
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FeatureHirotec introduces self-driving robot for parts dipping
Hirotec America, a supplier of weld assembly equipment to major OEMs, has introduced an automated machine in its production operation in Michigan.A Yaskawa Motoman dual-arm manipulator has been integrated into an OTTO 1500 self-driving vehicle from OTTO Motors to pick up and dip parts in black oxide for corrosion protection.The ...
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FeatureLatest logistics behind start of Mercedes E-Class cabriolet assembly in Bremen
Mercedes-Benz has started series production of the new E-Class cabriolet model at its plant in Bremen, Germany and has highlighted the logistics and digital communication technology underpinning the production process.The E-Class cabriolet is being built on the same line as the E-Class coupé, and the C-Class coupé and cabriolet. To ...
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FeatureExecutive changes at Volvo Cars' new integrated logistics department
Volvo Car Group has confirmed a number of key logistics appointments as part of a wider reorganisation and integration of its global logistics functions.Magnus Ödling (pictured left) has been appointed senior director for global core and car program, a role that will cover logistics engineering across the supply chain. Starting ...
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FeatureEurope conference: No easy way to the digital supply chain
The 2017 Automotive Logistics Europe conference reminded delegates that, despite a better economy, the industry is under pressure. However, new technology looks set to offer the supply chain as much opportunity as disruption, if companies are able to keep up. Marcus Williams, Christopher Ludwig and Gareth Tredway report from Bonn, ...
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FeatureEurope conference: Live poll results
Live polling conducted at the Automotive Logistics Europe conference revealed that a third of delegates see implementing new technology and IT systems as their company's biggest challenge over the coming year and that reliability of service was the most sought after quality in a logistics service provider. Delegates at the ...
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FeatureAudi to hold second Smart Factory hackathon at Ingolstadt facility
Audi’s production division will be holding its second Smart Factory hackathon at its Ingolstadt facility in October.The goal for the students and young professionals that participate is to work out practical solutions for future production processes during the 25-hour event. Specialised knowledge will include IT, mathematics, business administration and communication ...
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FeatureGartner rankings highlight trend towards digitalisation
This year’s supply chain rankings from research and advisory firm Gartner have shown little change as far as the automotive sector is concerned but highlight digitalisation as one of the key trends accelerating companies’ capabilities.BMW remains at 22nd in the list of the top 25 companies, which seeks to identify ...
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FeatureSupply Chain Conference: The future is already here
A drone demonstration by Venture highlighted the potential of new technology for inventory management at plants and warehousesThat the automotive industry will see [sta_anchor id="1"]exponential change is something that many, if not all, experts and executives predict – even if they disagree about the pace and scale of change. ...
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FeatureSupply Chain Conference: Subaru transforms to lean at Indiana plant
Carmaker Subaru has successfully transitioned to a lean process flow at its production plant in Indiana, in the US, in a major project with third party logistics provider Venture Global Solutions, ahead of the launch of the new Impreza model.“We needed to be able to change our production methods at ...
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FeatureSupply Chain Conference: Silicon Valley has this industry in its sights
Silicon Valley will soon force a disruptive pace of change in the automotive sector and its supply chains, Scott Perry, chief technology and procurement officer at transport, logistics and supply chain management solutions provider Ryder, warned delegates at this week’s Supply Chain Conference in Atlanta.Stressing that the US technology hub ...
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FeatureThe end of the line?
As the vehicle industry and market moves towards higher levels of electrification and connectivity, production experts anticipate a change from the traditional assembly line layout that has dominated the industry for nearly a century. Instead, OEMs are expected to increasingly orientate their plants and supply chains around more flexible, digitally ...
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FeatureLooking for the human-machine touch
Digital technology is fast changing the way vehicles are built, with labour, data and engineering management set for new levels of automation, according to experts speaking at the recent automotiveIT Forum Production and Logistics.But while automotive plants and their supply chains adapt new concepts and equipment, including for logistics and ...
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Reinventing itself to keep abreast of changing demand
Despite uncertainty surrounding the UK’s departure from the European Union, carmakers in the country have announced a number of investments in the past 12 months that should, in the medium term at least, keep the country’s vehicle production networks competitive and growing.According to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers ...
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FeatureDHL Supply Chain to handle in-plant logistics for JLR in Brazil
DHL Supply Chain has been awarded the contract to manage in-plant logistics at Jaguar Land Rover’s (JLR’s) new manufacturing plant in Itatiaia, Brazil (pictured).JLR opened its 750m reais ($215m) manufacturing facility last June. It is the first wholly-owned manufacturing plant the carmaker has set up outside of the UK (its ...