SSI Schäfer Ensures Fast Order Processing at bilstein group

With steel construction from in-house production for an automatic small parts warehouse and shelving systems, SSI SCHÄFER provides a reliable basis for a powerful logistics operation at the spare parts specialist bilstein group. To ensure the global availability of their products and services in the future, bilstein is investing in another logistics center at the Gelsenkirchen site.

(Neukirchen/Ennepetal) The bilstein group, a family-owned business in its seventh generation headquartered in Ennepetal, North Rhine-Westphalia, brings together the brands febi, SWAG, and Blue Print under one roof. The company supplies wholesalers and workshops with more than 60,000 different spare parts and repair kits, thus contributing to ensuring the mobility of car and truck drivers worldwide. “Our industry is undergoing a continuous transformation,” says Felix Wortmann, project manager at bilstein group.

“With the new building in Gelsenkirchen, we are significantly expanding our logistics capacities, especially in light of a forward-looking development of the company. With the second fully automated logistics center in Germany, we are positioning ourselves to be even more customer-friendly and making an important contribution to reliably supplying wholesalers with our quality products.”

In addition to a high availability of the product range, reliable and timely order processing based on mature technologies is essential. When awarding the contract for in-house steel construction for the various manually operated shelving systems as well as the fully automated small parts warehouse, the choice once again fell on SSI SCHÄFER, the world’s leading provider of storage and logistics systems.

Intralogistics Steel Construction as the Basis for a Powerful Logistics Organization

Since August 2020, assembly work in Gelsenkirchen has been in full swing. The responsibility of the intralogistics specialist SSI SCHÄFER, directly commissioned by bilstein group, includes the manufacture and installation of the steel structure for the automatic small parts warehouse (AKL), a movable shelving system, a wide aisle storage system, a pallet flow rack, and a container conveyor technology platform. “Manufacturer competence is immensely important in steel construction as it forms the backbone of powerful intralogistics,” emphasizes Vanessa Henrich, Head of Product Management, Productline Steelwork High Bay Warehouse, at SSI SCHÄFER.

“To enable a smooth project process, not only standards and legal requirements must be adhered to. Additionally, other aspects must be proactively considered, such as optimal use of hall space and a maximum level of scalability as an option for future expansions.”

Reliable Partnership

Given the ambitious timeline leading up to commissioning, effective communication was also essential. In this context, SSI SCHÄFER acts as the central contact for the majority of the steel construction, providing all components from a single source. Minimizing contact points saves time and costs. “We have already realized projects with SSI SCHÄFER and have come to know the company as a strong and reliable partner that works with us on an equal footing and also thinks long-term,” adds Felix Wortmann. These factors are relevant, as the goal is to secure competitiveness in a dynamic industry over the long term.

Commissioning by Mid-2022

So far, there have been no pandemic-related interruptions in the implementation of the tightly scheduled phased concept. Together with the planner and SAP EWM general contractor, responsible for the planning, project development, and realization of the entire intralogistics, all partners are working hand in hand towards the goal of starting operations in the new logistics center by mid-2022. The steel construction will then serve, as Vanessa Henrich puts it, as the substructure or functional “race track” on which the other intralogistics components will later efficiently and safely carry out their assigned storage and transport tasks, ensuring the delivery capability of bilstein group.

Photo: © SSI Schäfer / Image caption: Felix Wortmann, project manager for the new building of bilstein group