Logsol Creates a Logistics Master Plan for Alstom in Bautzen

The logistics and factory planner LOGSOL is set to create a logistics master plan for Alstom Transportation Germany in Bautzen, the rail vehicle manufacturer with a French parent company. The plan is to double the indoor and outdoor storage area to 51,000 m2 at the site. A site transformation envisions a specialization in final assembly in Bautzen, while other core competencies will be relocated to other Alstom plants.

(Dresden/Bautzen) The Alstom plant site in Bautzen is steeped in industrial history dating back to 1846. Amidst scattered small halls, where the first electric trams were built starting in 1897, Marcel Richter and his colleague Simon Schröder surveyed transport routes in early 2023. When the Senior Logistics and Factory Planner felt the large joints under his shoes, it was clear to Marcel Richter: “The aging floors are not optimal for forklifts.”

Production Area Freed for Logistics

“As part of our site transformation, we want to insource logistics from external locations,” says Tobias Sturm, who, as logistics manager at Alstom in Bautzen, oversees an area with more than 250 employees, including logistics service providers. A variety of externally rented logistics spaces are to be returned to the plant.

“We needed a concept for how to best utilize the freed-up production areas for logistics,” he explains. He has a long-standing, trusting cooperation with LOGSOL through the time window management software RampMan® and the container management software BinMan®. Additionally, he noted: “The expertise from the logistics master plan for the Alstom plant in Henningsdorf near Berlin convinced us to work with the right partner.”

Data collection and current analysis initially meant legwork for Richter and his team. The experts had to not only take detailed measurements on the Bautzen plant site but also at six external locations up to 40 km away that were to be integrated.

They considered all relevant levers of material flow and storage structures:

• Where does the goods receipt take place?
• What storage technology is used?
• How are picking areas designed?

However, the path to the master plan was rocky. LOGSOL has extensive experience in establishing a logistical framework and extrapolating for the target scenario. However, to calculate everything and conduct analyses, a lot of master and movement data is needed. “The challenge was that we did not have a good data basis,” says Tobias Sturm.

Current Analysis Took Longer Than Expected

In everyday operations, there were not enough capacities to input everything for “a comprehensive picture” in the SAP Enterprise Resource Planning system. Therefore, he appreciates that LOGSOL was able to “flexibly and intelligently solve” the data collection: “Short-term requests were considered very quickly and unbureaucratically.” For Marcel Richter, it is part of the daily project business to handle structured and analytical tasks even with few starting data. Even if it meant being “on the road longer” than expected for the current recording.

“The fragmentation of the historically grown site has impacted logistics,” says Marcel Richter. If one area was not sufficient for a shelving warehouse, he had to piece together puzzle pieces differently. After just four months, LOGSOL delivered a well-planned result for additional logistics areas, including necessary construction measures.

Implementation by 2026

“In a very manageable timeframe, we received an excellent decision-making template,” says Tobias Sturm happily. “We are happy to use LOGSOL for further conceptual support,” he adds. For this, Marcel Richter is already warming up: The concept is to be implemented in Bautzen by 2026, with LOGSOL again involved in the first partial realization.

Photo: © Logsol