Case study: Supplier management

Following a devastating plant fire that severely damaged our customer's production site in the Czech Republic, the company was faced with an enormous challenge. As a major TIER 1 supplier of cover and trim mouldings for various OEMs, a quick and efficient reorientation of the production site was essential. In addition to restoring production capacity, the warehouse infrastructure and the entire material flow processes had to be completely reorganised. This took place against the backdrop of the imminent SOP (Start of Production) of several vehicle projects of a renowned OEM, for which all processes and concepts had to be reorganised.

During this critical phase, our company stepped in as an integral part of the customer care team on site. Our task was to ensure effective shortage management by planning and organising daily deliveries to the customer. It was crucial not only to overcome the current bottlenecks and challenges, but also to develop long-term solutions in order to sustainably optimise the production and delivery processes.

As a partner to our client, we worked closely with the teams involved to develop a holistic solution that not only met the short-term requirements but also ensured the company's long-term competitiveness and reliability. Through close coordination with the project teams and continuous communication with our client's OEM, we were able to ensure that the upcoming vehicle projects were realised on time and with the highest quality despite the unforeseen challenges. Our flexibility, expertise and commitment played a key role in minimising the impact of the plant fire and helping our customer to emerge stronger from this crisis.

The reorganisation of the production site after the plant fire required a thorough analysis and planning of all affected processes. We worked closely with the client to determine the requirements for restoring production capacity and reorganising the warehouse and material flow processes. Various aspects were taken into account, including the availability of suitable production facilities, the optimisation of storage areas and systems and the design of efficient material flow routes. The bridging period until the actual implementation of a comprehensive SAP system in production and the warehouse could only be successfully mastered through close cooperation between operational logistics planning, production planning and the dispatch centre. 

In order to meet the upcoming SOP of the vehicle projects, all relevant processes and concepts were reorganised. This included the adjustment of production plans in continuous dialogue with procurement and delivery planning, the implementation of new quality control procedures through the acquisition of modern tools/software and the training of employees in the updated processes and procedures. Particular attention was also paid to ensuring a smooth transition between the old and new production sites in order to minimise disruptions in supply chain management. To this end, the production of relevant ramp-up components was outsourced to partner plants, thus creating a new, stable material flow. The implementation of new quality processes was accompanied by constant, spontaneous quality checks in production and dispatch shifts, which we carried out hand in hand with quality officers and logistics specialists from our customer OEM.  

As part of the customer care team, we also took on the daily management of shortages with our customer's OEM to ensure that deliveries to the customer were continuous despite the challenges of the relocation. In order to fulfil the overarching goal of being able to switch back to regular transports, there was a particular focus on building up a safety stock for 4 days at the customer's premises. This required close cooperation with the production and other logistics teams in order to identify bottlenecks (e.g. availability of semi-finished products/sub-components from tier 3 suppliers) at an early stage and often to develop spontaneous/creative solutions to optimise supply chain performance/ensure series production. By using lean methods such as KAIZEN and 5S, we were able to achieve continuous process improvement and promote a culture of operational excellence.

In addition, we established a robust communication system with the OEMs to keep them informed about the progress of production and delivery activities. This enabled us to proactively identify potential bottlenecks and coordinate risk mitigation measures in good time. 

Thanks to our comprehensive support and commitment, we played a key role in ensuring that the customer was able to meet its delivery commitments to the OEMs despite the challenges posed by the plant fire. All 7 vehicle projects had a safety stock of at least 4 days at the end of our order period. All 7 vehicle projects were sufficiently supplied over the entire order period to avoid a production standstill of more than 6 hours. In total, more than 10,000 vehicles were retrofitted at the same time, and the backlog that had built up due to missing deliveries during the relocation/plant fire was completely eliminated. The changeover to regular transports was thus achieved and works via a booking portal of the OEM. Production planning and delivery planning were switched back to EDI-supported call-offs and, following an inventory + implementation of an SAP WMS system, all products in the warehouse were systematically recorded in a chaotic storage system. The dispatch handling time (h/truck-40t) was demonstrably reduced by an average of 3 hours. 

Our collaboration helped to rebuild the OEM's trust in its customer and cement a long-term relationship. The customer is currently building a new production site in the immediate vicinity and would like to continue using the current, rented site as a warehouse in the future.