Complex spare parts logistics
Today, 1,625 suppliers, 3 international warehouses (“Sources”) and 7 national distribution centres (“Nationals”) ensure the supply of Ford vehicles in Europe with approx. 200,000 spare parts.
Optimisation of the supply chain
The spare parts logistics of Ford AG illustrates the problem of optimising a logistics chain:
Many links in the chain (suppliers, warehouses, customers), a very large product range (approx. 120,000 items per country), stocks that are difficult to organise (e.g. discontinued models), a multi-level procurement and distribution system and much more stand in the way of service-oriented and cost-effective spare parts logistics.
Distribution Requirement Planning (DRP)
viaLog developed a DRP approach to optimise spare parts logistics in Europe. This is an IT-based processing system that
- manages the multi-level procurement, storage and distribution system,
- processes and coordinates the procurement, ordering and replenishment activities of these levels, as well as the fulfilment and distribution of spare parts.
- and optimises target stocks and delivery service levels.
In addition, viaLog carried out
- a critical review of the procuremen and distribution network
- and checked the system parameters (choice of sales channels, time windows, scheduling, etc.).
The implementation of the results and integration into a “world wide logistics” approach is ongoing.