The design and construction of the new Audi logistics centre in Ingolstadt, Germany, is the result of close collaboration between the automaker and two VINCI Energies business units, Actemium ASAS Valencia and Actemium ASAS Saarbrücken. This was a major challenge in terms of coordinating all the stakeholders.
In March 2023, Audi opened a new logistics centre in Ingolstadt, in the south west of Germany. The site includes an automated warehouse with eight stacker cranes and a capacity of 60,000 KLT containers, a circuit of entry and exit conveyors, picking stations, and a robotic palletisation station, in a facility capable of handling 1,200 orders an hour.
Commissioning this centre enabled the renowned Volkswagen-group manufacturer to double its capacity for managing replacement parts and reduce delivery times to its customers – central European Audi dealerships.
The VW group entrusted Actemium with the design of this new logistics centre, one of the largest of its type ever built by the VINCI Energies brand specialised in optimising industrial processes. “The €9.5 million tender was awarded in January 2021,” explains Eloy Hernandez Coffey, Commercial Director at Actemium ASAS Spain, which specialises in materials handling systems, particularly in the automotive sector. “Production ramped up gradually from the summer of 2022 onward, with the site reaching full capacity in March 2023.
“A single overall project manager has final responsibility for making the project a success, and is the main contact for all stakeholders”
Completion of the project was prolonged by almost a year due to modifications that Audi introduced during the design and engineering phase. The most significant of these was the integration of an end-of-line robotic cell to completely automate palletisation.”
Lengthy engineering phase
The organisation of this large-scale project was managed by two teams from the Actemium network working in tandem: ASAS Valencia (Spain) for all back-office tasks, engineering studies, design, fabrication and testing; and ASAS Saarbrücken (Germany) for direct customer management, with a project manager, a site manager and an engineering coordinator working closely with the customer and ASAS Valencia.
As Eloy Hernandez Coffey explains, “Actemium ASAS is used to this type of collaboration with group business units and the formation of cross-business teams hailing from different countries, including Spain, Germany and the United States. How a project like this is launched internally is key: the team meets and defines each member’s responsibilities. A single overall project manager has final responsibility for making the project a success, and is the main contact for all stakeholders.”
Unlike most VW group projects, while Ingolstadt was guided by a precise picture of the customer’s needs, the specific solution had to be invented from scratch. “The solution was conceived in a lengthy engineering phase that kept getting longer due to new functionality requirements,” says Eloy Hernandez Coffey.
Another unique feature of this project was the development of a custom software layer that connected to Audi’s ERP system and encompassed warehouse management and the picking management software. Ten Actemium engineers were involved in the design and construction of the new logistics centre, making full use of 3D design solutions. The completed project is testament to the innovative solutions Actemium can bring to the logistics sector.
03/14/2024
