// io Project io is designing LIEBHERR's U.S. distribution center LIEBHERR is investing in Tupelo, Mississippi: a state-of-the-art spare parts center designed to ensure fast deliveries and efficient logistics solutions. Read article

// io Knowledge An Interview with Jörg Ströbele, Managing Director of LIEBHERR Logistics Read article

// io Project io optimizes logistics for Endress & Hauser Read article

New Distribution Center for LIEBHERR in Tupelo

At LIEBHERR, they think big—and it’s a tradition. After all, this company—founded in 1949 in Kirchdorf an der Iller and now employing over 50,000 people across more than 150 subsidiaries—deals in truly heavy-duty equipment. For example, earthmoving machines or tower cranes for the world’s largest construction sites, all the way to mining dump trucks and offshore cranes for drilling platforms. No wonder, then, that the property recently acquired by LIEBHERR in the Hive Business Park near Tupelo, Mississippi, is quite impressive. It measures 480,000 square meters—48 hectares—on which a state-of-the-art spare parts center is now being built. With this distribution center, LIEBHERR aims to expand its logistics network across North and South America, optimize its growing after-sales business, and strengthen its presence in the American market. It is scheduled to begin operations as early as next year.

Jörg Ströbele Managing Director of LIEBHERR Logistics

// io Project io is designing LIEBHERR's U.S. distribution center

Comprehensive site analysis and concept development by io

As a first step, io addressed the question of location. “We determined the optimal region for the site using a center-of-gravity analysis,” Höcherl explains. “We then calculated the future transportation costs for the inbound and outbound freight volumes at the potential locations, taking into account the determined cutoff times as well as regional cost differences.” Once the Hive Business Park near Tupelo, Mississippi, was identified as the ideal location, LIEBHERR was quickly convinced as well. At the same time, work began on the other tasks. io grouped them into three additional modules so they could be worked on simultaneously—despite the varying dependencies among the individual tasks. Within a few months, the project team developed a modern concept for the in-house operation of a highly automated spare parts warehouse, which will enable LIEBHERR to efficiently ship spare parts throughout North America in the long term.

An Interview with Jörg Ströbele

Why was Tupelo, Mississippi, chosen as the location?

LIEBHERR evaluated all of its locations in North and South America and identified the regions around Memphis, Atlanta, Louisville, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and Chicago as potential options. Decisive factors included the logistics infrastructure, proximity to domestic and international airports, the availability of labor, and the presence of a free trade zone. All of these factors are present in Tupelo, Mississippi, which is why, after thorough evaluation, this location was selected.