TRUMPF (Ditzingen, Germany) has opened a new logistics center at its headquarters in Ditzingen—an investment totaling around €40 million to give its customers faster access to consumables and spare parts.

Covering 13,000m², the new building features 20m ceilings, and is divided into office space and a warehouse area. With more than 30,000 items in stock, the central warehouse is the main hub of the company's worldwide logistics network. The company dispatches around 60,000 items from the warehouse every month, for a combined total of around 270,000 packages per year. European customers receive approximately 90% of these items one day after placing their order.

TRUMPF's new logistics center at its headquarters in Ditzingen, Germany. (Photo: TRUMPF/David Franck)

The new building features new warehousing and picking technology. In a further boost to its in-house digitalization initiative, the company has deployed digital processes not only to manage the stocks on the shelves, but also to control the overall flow of materials to and from the warehouse. An automatic small-parts store currently accommodates 23,000 tote boxes for fast-moving parts. This is supplemented by a manual shelving system on four levels to store slow-moving products, as well as various pallet racks for large and bulky items. Its new warehouse management system is based on SAP EWM with a direct link to the automatic parts store. The company's goal is to maximize the reliability of its spare-parts logistics operations and create stable foundations for future growth.

The company's plan is to have all locations digitally connected within the next five years, according to Nicola Leibinger-Kammüller, CEO of the TRUMPF Group. It began moving its logistics operations to the new building in spring 2017.