BY DAVID MALONEY, CHIEF EDITOR
WAREHOUSE AUTOMATION
specialreport
FAST GROWTH IS OFTEN THE CATALYST THAT
brings change to distribution operations. Such was the case
for febi bilstein, one of the world’s leading suppliers of
aftermarket automotive parts.
Based in Ennepetal, Germany, febi is part of the
Ferdinand Bilstein GmbH company, which was founded
in 1844. Originally, it supplied
tools and parts for the iron
industry. Car parts distribution started in 1921, and that
segment has grown rapidly
with acquisitions of other parts
suppliers, including the SWAG
and Blue Print brands, which,
like febi, are united under the
umbrella of the bilstein group.
The company now reaches
customers in more than 140
nations worldwide. Most customers are wholesalers, though
the company does distribute
directly to some retailers and
repair shops.
Over time, that steady
growth began to put a strain
on the fulfillment side of the
operation. Simply put, febi
bilstein realized it would have to expand its distribution
capabilities to keep pace with demand. It would also need
a way to accommodate its rising stock-keeping unit (SKU)
counts. The Ennepetal operation currently handles about
47,000 SKUs, but that number is expected to grow substantially.
Trouble was, the Ennepetal facility’s location offered no
room to build out. The solution was to build upward with
high-bay automated storage systems and to add automated
systems to whisk orders through the site. The facility now
contains 49,720 square meters (535,182 square feet) of pro-
cessing space spread over several floors.
Since it automated its operations, febi bilstein is better
able to control quality, costs, and labor. It also fits much
more product into a smaller
footprint.
But the parts supplier’s huge
investment in automation did
not happen overnight. The
family-owned company had
first installed an automated
picking solution—Witron’s
Order Picking System (OPS)—
in 2005 to see if automation
should be its direction for the
future.
“We had a small OPS system
as a trial system to find out
whether we could cope with
the technology and whether
the collaboration with Witron
was a good one,” explains
Wortmann says febi bilstein decided to go with the
automated solution because its business growth demanded
it. “We know that the technology is the best solution for
us. We can handle it, we can cope with it, and it provides
The driving force
of automation
German auto parts supplier febi bilstein uses a set of sophisticated
automated solutions to keep its customers’ cars running right.
