STUTE to manage new AIRBUS logistics centre in Bremen
“AIRBUS’ decision to outsource its logistics operations is a milestone in the aircraft builder’s development,” commented Jan Ellerbrock, project manager for the AIRBUS logistics centre. The outsourcing projects in Hamburg and Bremen are driven by the company’s objective to further optimise its centralised logistics operations with the support of suitable outsourcing partners.
In September 2003, AIRBUS assigned the planning of the new logistics centre in Bremen to STUTE. The logistics specialist has now also been awarded the contract to manage this dedicated logistics centre. Jan Ellerbrock emphasised that STUTE's successful handling of the Hamburg-Hausbruch project however wasn’t the decisive factor in winning the contract. "The invitations to tender for the two projects were prepared at roughly the same time, so we weren't yet in a position to take the Hausbruch project into consideration. What convinced us was seeing how successfully STUTE had set up and managed the spare-parts distribution centre in Hamm-Uentrop for agricultural machinery manufacturer CLAAS, and in particular the quality and costs of the services provided.”
"This new agreement with AIRBUS yet again demonstrates our subsidiary’s proven logistics expertise to serve highly specialised industries,” emphasised Ewald Kaiser, managing director of Kühne + Nagel (AG & Co.) KG. “At the same time, the extended partnership with AIRBUS confirms our market position as one of the leading contract logistics providers.”
The total investment volume is approximately 15 million euros and is largely financed by an investor contributing 10 million euros. STUTE itself is investing five million euros in warehousing technology and equipment. Preparation of the plot began in October 2004, and in May, warehousing equipment will be installed. The facility, which will feature 8,000 sqm of logistics space, will come into operation towards the end of 2005 and is expected to be running to capacity by February 2006.
STUTE will be taking on around 90 new employees to perform receipt-of-goods and dispatch functions, and to provide production-synchronous order picking of individual items from an inventory of some 50,000 different articles. They will be assisted by AIRBUS staff, who will be responsible for quality controlling. The facility in Bremen is organised along the same lines as the logistics centre for AIRBUS in Hamburg. ”However, we haven't tried to replicate the Hamburg project but have significantly condensed it," explains Kai Barwig, STUTE’s project manager.
A joint STUTE/AIRBUS project group is presently engaged in implementing the requirements specified by the aircraft manufacturer with regard to technological realisation, materials flow, IT structures and preparatory construction work. One area of particular interest is the training of STUTE employees. Staff will attend courses lasting several weeks so that they are able to achieve the standards of efficiency in the warehousing and production-supply operations required by AIRBUS. For example, the staff in Bremen will be expected to store every single item destined for assembly in an aircraft in fully documented, ready-to-go consignments, whose exact whereabouts and identity can be checked at any time. This is a statutory civil aviation regulation and as such applies fully to the dedicated logistics centre.
AIRBUS has three production centres in Bremen and will be adding a fourth in the near future. The main manufacturing activities are the production of one-off sheet-metal components, the assembly of landing flaps for the entire AIRBUS family of aircraft, and the finishing of wings for the A310, the A330 and the A340. The tail section of the fuselage for the A400 M military transporter will be built in the fourth production centre once it is up and running. In Bremen, AIRBUS currently employs around 1,500 staff.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
21st Century Aircraft Technology
AIRBUSis jointly owned by the EADS aerospace concern (80 %) and the British company BAE Systems (20 %). It has its headquarters in Toulouse, and as a global player employs a workforce of around 50,000. AIRBUS has entered into partnerships with leading industrial companies all over the world and is supported by a network of some 1,500 suppliers in 30 countries. In Germany alone it has 17,000 employees at seven different locations. The largest of these is its Hamburg works, where there are 10,000 staff.
AIRBUS produces the following families of civil aircraft: (i) the A320 family with standard, single-aisle fuselages; (ii) the A300/310 family with wide fuselage cross-sections; (iii) the A330/340 family of long-haul aircraft; (iv) the completely new A380 family of superjumbo aircraft offering (in the standard version) accommodation for 555 passengers in two passenger decks extending along the entire length of the fuselage. In addition, AIRBUS builds the A400 M military transport aircraft.