Würth puts new transfer warehouse into operation

Adolf Würth GmbH & Co. KG, a specialist for assembly and fastening materials based in Künzelsau, commissioned its new transfer warehouse at the Hohenlohe Industrial Park in Kupferzell in May 2020. World-leading technical planning and consulting company io-consultants GmbH & Co. KG and its subsidiary io-DigitalSolutions GmbH jointly expanded Würth’s central external warehouse logistics, beginning in 2017 and covering all the stages from concept planning through to go-live. The transfer warehouse, which spans more than 50,000 square meters, supplies customers throughout Europe. Würth has invested a total of €73 million in the warehouse and the conversion of the shipping department. By the time it is fully completed in 2024, 300 employees are expected to work there.

The new transfer warehouse can be used for a variety of purposes and has been the hub for European goods transshipment since the start of productive operations. The aim is to improve service quality and to supply customers even faster. To this purpose, several shipping points and external warehouses, previously located within an 80 km radius of Künzelsau, have been consolidated into the transfer center’s storage space of approximately 50,000 m². Acting as planning partner for logistics and IT, io-consultants mastered the challenges of all project phases together with Würth from concept planning to implementation and go-live. “Our logistics and IT experts brought the new logistics site to a successful conclusion for our long-standing client Würth, even against the challenging backdrop of the pandemic. The location can now fully support the Würth Group’s growth,” says Rainer Diez, partner at io-consultants. Sebastian Molle, Principal Consultant at io-DigitalSolutions and IT sub-project manager, adds: “The teamworking and focus on the overall goals were excellent from all sides, as was the forward-looking and effective project planning. These were all key factors in the project’s success.”

When fully implemented, the transfer warehouse will have 12,800 pallet spaces as well as 72 docking stations for loading and unloading trucks. At the heart of the warehouse is a manual pallet rack storage system, measuring approx. 180 x 90 meters and divided into eight picking zones extending over two building sections. Automated guided vehicles are used to transfer the picking carts from one zone to another and to supply the packing area. SAP EWM is being used as the warehouse management and control system. io-DigitalSolutions guided the introduction from the conception phase through to the implementation and test phases and go-live – in parallel with the logistics sub-project.

“Our new transfer warehouse benefits our clients and us in equal measure. The project also further cements the history of cooperation between Würth and io-consultants . Considering the magnitude of the project, there was remarkably little disruption. This was down to the exceptional performance of the entire team,” emphasizes Jörg Becker, responsible for logistics projects in the Würth Group and overall project manager. io-consultants had already seen through the construction of the new Sales Center West, which began operations in 2015.