trailer world issue Three 2009

Rubrik with a component in advance, for example a hanger bracket, which the customer then has welded into place by the sub-supplier. When the vehicle frame arrives back at the custom- er’s plant we then provide the axle. On the other hand, a smaller-scale custom- er receives everything together in a package on an agreed date. Customers in this catego- ry then work according to the principle of workshop production, with all the parts be- ing welded at a single workplace and the axle being installed under the chassis. It is frequently the case that customer-spe- cific labelling is required. A company manu- facturing at two plants can, for example, tell from these labels in which plant and where the respective axle or part has to be stored. Then again, other customers build special running gear. We have examined our scope of delivery in such instances, and arrived at the conclusion that, with the delivery time in mind, it is better to stockpile certain articles. This means that our deliveries there are fast- er and the customer can likewise pass on the time saved to the end user. You have also developed the company’s own packaging This packaging makes for safe and secure transport, in addition to which both we and our customers can work well with it. An axle transportation rack contains three axle units. These are in some cases put in place as needed for the customer’s production proc- ess. This, for example, can mean that the axle with ABS lies at the front of the rack and the two without ABS behind it or the last one is the steering axle. The customer can then have the rack driven right up to the production area and fit everything directly. The labeling on replacement-part packaging serves as ad- vertising, and the customer is able to see that the package contains a genuine BPW replace- ment part. Why does BPW invest in such efforts? The fact is that every good logistics concept ought to be characterized by a win-win situa- tion, in other words stock reduction on both sides, for example, and optimization or even elimination of individual steps in the process chain. Ensuring that this is the case calls for extremely high quality in terms of informa- tion. We can react better when we have earlier knowledge of what the customer is planning and when this is to happen. What role does the topic of logistics play in BPW’s service standards? A very big one. We have developed an in- dicator in this connection, namely the deliv- ery service level, on the basis of which we can daily assess and evaluate the degree of adher- ence to quantities and deadlines. We already started concerning ourselves with this topic at an early stage, and have since learned that an increasing number of customers too are evaluating the delivery service – which means that we can then also compare their results with ours. What do you also do in your sphere of activity towards quality management? We make sure that the delivery service lev- el remains as high as possible, and have also concluded quality assurance agreements with our suppliers in connection with purchasing. We perform audits at suppliers’ premises and have ourselves audited likewise. One of the topics involved in this context is, for exam- ple, that of environmental protection. How resource and energy-saving is our work? We also have tools with which we can measure the quality of our warehouse staff’s daily work. What do you like about your work as a whole? I never used to be able to imagine myself sitting in an office, but here I have new tasks every day, and each day brings with it new chal- lenges from the most varied sources: these, for example, include contact with customers and suppliers, road traffic, transport, productivity, warehousing – and that’s something I simply find exciting. (jg) »A good logistics con- cept is a win-win situa- tion for both manufac- turer and customer.« Peter Schmitz: The right material is leaving “his” logistics centre in the right quantity at the right time to the right place. Info More information about logistics at BPW can be found at www.bpw.de/en/service/logistic-concepts.html Interview Photos:Stretz 34 Issue Three 2009

trailer world issue Three 2009

Pages