All Inplant logistics articles – Page 13
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Toyota accelerates use of hydrogen at Motomachi
Toyota has deployed 20 more fuel cell forklifts at its Motomachi assembly plant in Japan, along with a hydrogen station for refuelling.Used to move parts and goods around the factory, the lift trucks join two older fuel cell forklifts with a lift capacity of 2.5 tonnes that were introduced 14 ...
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ACEA warns of assembly line stoppages after Brexit
Whole production lines could come to halt in the automotive industry, if customs checks are introduced after Britain leaves the EU, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) has warned.The sector body issued its warning ahead of a summit on March 22nd at which EU leaders (minus the UK), are expected ...
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Ford invests to meet surging demand for SUVs
Ford has invested a further $25m to increase line speed at its plant in Louisville, Kentucky to meet a 25% increase in output of the Lincoln Navigator and Ford Expedition SUV models as retail sales surge in the US.Its investment there includes 400 new robots and a data analytics hub ...
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Bosch and MAN win VDA award
Robert Bosch and MAN Truck & Bus have been announced as dual winners of this year’s VDA Logistics Award, with digital logistics solutions in intra-logistics and empty container scheduling, respectively. It is the first time the award has been shared between two companies. The award, from two of the country’s ...
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Mercedes automates tool selection for CLS
Mercedes-Benz has begun using an automated system to provide operation-specific screwdrivers to workers assembling the new, third-generation CLS at its Sindelfingen plant in Germany.The move is designed to provide staff with optimal support by supplying tools automatically along with the right order data and process parameters for the assigned vehicle, ...
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Logistics IT: Is there an app for that?
At US finished vehicle logistics specialist Jack Cooper Logistics, recounts president Andrea Amico, as part of a contract for carrying out the collection and inspection of ex-fleet vehicles on behalf of a US carmaker, the need to supply seven images of each inspected vehicle was suddenly upped to a requirement ...
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Automation: Paving the way for progress
Ask automotive manufacturers what their primary concerns are today within warehouses and factories and they will probably allude to one of three key things – productivity, safety and waste. Although various solutions are available to help alleviate problems in these areas, one of the most important is materials handling technology. ...
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Disaster recovery: Prepared for the worst?
As the scale of the destruction wrought by the earthquake and subsequent tsunami that devastated Japan’s north-eastern coastline in March 2011 became apparent, managers within BMW’s purchasing function were asked if it would affect the company. Their answer? No – because BMW had no suppliers in Japan.But that wasn’t quite ...
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Volkswagen appoints Thomas Ulbrich as head of new e-mobility division
Thomas Ulbrich (pictured), currently management board member for production and logistics at Volkswagen, is to take charge of e-mobility at the German carmaker.From February 1st , Ulbrich will head a newly created division covering the e-mobility series and production of vehicles on the group’s new modular electric drive kit (MEB) ...
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Vauxhall to cut a further 250 jobs as it moves to a single shift at Ellesmere Port
Vauxhall Motors has announced it is making a further 250 redundancies at its Ellesmere Port plant in the UK, following a meeting it held on January 4th with union Unite.The latest announcement comes on top of the 400 redundancies announced in October last year, at which point the carmaker also ...
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Audi’s logistics part 2: Pursuing practical progression
There is little question that finished vehicle logistics has been among the least automated segments of the overall automotive production and supply chain process. From loading and unloading vehicles to and from trucks, ships and rail wagons to inspection and parking, as well as scanning vehicles into inventory and tracking systems, outbound logistics has remained, by and large, a manual, labour-intensive operation
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Audi’s logistics part 1: Prepared for a new reality
The recent history of the Audi brand is written deeply into the company’s supply chain and logistics, and can be read across the carmaker’s expanding geography, plant and parts handling operations
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Siemens Financial Services calls for careful investment in digitalisation
The automotive sector needs to invest carefully to reap the benefits of a potentially more efficient manufacturing and distribution model as the fourth industrial revolution – also referred to as industry 4.0 – takes hold, Siemens Financial Services (SFS) has warned.Advising the sector to get ready for “extended disruption” in ...
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Seat builds tallest warehouse in Spain to support Martorell assembly
Spanish carmaker Seat has revealed it is building an automated logistics centre at its Martorell factory outside Barcelona that will include the tallest warehouse in Spain. The facility is expected to be completed by the last quarter of next year.The logistics centre will cover a total area of 5,700 sq.m ...
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Volkswagen earmarks €22.8 billion for modular and electric vehicle future
Volkswagen has announced a major €22.8 billion ($26.7 billion) investment programme in its plants around the world to prepare them for modular production and for an electric vehicle offensive in the coming years.The main focus will be on Germany, which will account for investments totalling €14 billion. A big part ...
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New awards celebrate excellence and innovation in automotive supply chains
The Automotive Logistics Group, which publishes the highly respected Automotive Logistics magazine as well as organising a series of global logistics conferences, has today announced the launch of an exciting new awards scheme for the automotive supply chain management sector.The Automotive Logistics Awards – Europe 2018 will recognise and reward ...
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Seat looks to digital supply chain and connected cars with Telefónica deal
Spanish telecommunications provider Telefónica is to become an IT supplier to carmaker Seat, following an agreement signed in the first week of November designed to develop connected car technology, as well as digitalise the supply chain and manufacturing process.Among the aims of the agreement is the application of 5G connectivity ...
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IT implementation: Touching the cutting edge
Twenty years ago, parts of today’s automotive supply chain would have seemed like science fiction – plants keeping just a few hours’ worth of highly traceable inventory, unmanned drones being used to monitor site activity, glasses with computer chips in them, self-driving vehicles, and management systems that predict the future, ...
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BMW tracking: Prevention is better than a cure
Few manufacturing operations have expanded as much over the past two decades as BMW’s Plant Spartanburg in Greer, South Carolina. After producing 411,000 X-series SUV models in 2016, it is now the carmaker’s largest global facility by assembly volume, and is headed towards its maximum capacity of 450,000 units per year, including the launch this year of the new X3.
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Mines of information
Having invested over the past 20 years in data acquisition technology, the automotive industry is now casting around for ways to make sense of that data.