The HARTING Technologie Gruppe is a provider of industrial connectivity technology, employs nearly 6,000 people worldwide, and has various production and sales sites on all continents. At the Espelkamp location, both production and logistics are represented, and in 2019 the new European Distribution Center (EDC) was opened there. Up to 10,000 parcels and 200 pallets are dispatched daily on around 110 trucks and vans from this site.
The new construction project was supported by Körber from the very beginning. The SAP and automation expert assisted HARTING in realizing a next-generation supply chain. Körber had already supported the previous facility for 25 years, allowing HARTING to rely on extensive know-how and experience.
The result is a highly integrated logistics system consisting of modern automation solutions and the warehouse management system SAP EWM, including SAP EWM MFS (Material Flow System). Highlights of the new construction project include the 20-meter-high high-bay warehouse with 6,900 pallet storage locations, as well as a ten-aisle automated small-parts warehouse (AS/RS for totes) with 120,000 container storage locations.
A Distribution Center, Not a Warehouse
“It was important — this was always our number one premise — that we wanted to create a distribution center, not a warehouse. That means we want to transship products. And in order to move them quickly, we wanted to rely as much as possible on automation. Reliable, fast processes with automation,” explains Achim Meyer, Managing Director of HARTING Logistics.
Various trades were implemented, including steel construction, storage and retrieval machines, conveyor technology, stretchers, palletizers and depalletizers, as well as the connection to HARTING’s commercial IT network. The entire facility operates under SAP Extended Warehouse Management — every container that starts moving is controlled via the integrated and highly flexible warehouse management system. With this SAP EWM logistics solution, HARTING and Körber have created a system that can respond flexibly at any time to changes in logistics.
Managing Director Achim Meyer is very satisfied with the results: “My conclusion is that we have implemented a successful project. We have successfully completed the ramp-up phase. We want to continue to grow with the facility, continue to grow with our revenue targets, and we will pursue these growth goals together with Körber Supply Chain.”
