TRUMPF new logistics center promotes digitalization

TRUMPF recently opened a new logistics center at its headquarters in Ditzingen at an official ceremony attended by some 200 invited guests and Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut, Baden-Württemberg’s Minister of Economic Affairs. The company invested some 40 million euros in the new facility to give customers all over the world faster access to consumables and spare parts. Due to the rapid growth of the TRUMPF Group, the old warehouse building at the company’s headquarters had reached the limits of its capacity.

Covering 13,000 square meters, the new building with 20-meter ceilings is divided into office space and a warehouse area. The project team carried out the planning and implementation of the logistics areas, construction, and IT systems in parallel right from the start. With more than 30,000 items in stock, the central warehouse in Ditzingen is the main hub of TRUMPF’s worldwide logistics network. The company dispatches around 60,000 items from the warehouse every month, for a combined total of some 270,000 packages a year. European customers receive approximately 90 percent of these items just one day after placing their order.

This new building features cutting-edge warehousing and picking technology. In a further boost to the company’s in-house digitalization initiative, TRUMPF has deployed digital processes not only to manage the stocks on the shelves, but also to control the overall flow of materials to and from the warehouse. An automatic small-parts store currently accommodates 23,000 tote boxes for fast-moving parts. This is supplemented by a manual shelving system on four levels to store slow-moving products, as well as various pallet racks for large and bulky items. Maximum transparency and responsiveness are assured thanks to a new warehouse management system based on SAP EWM with a direct link to the automatic parts store. TRUMPF’s goal is to maximize the reliability of its spare-parts logistics operations and create stable foundations for future growth.

Nicola Leibinger-Kammüller, CEO of the TRUMPF Group, underscored the importance of the building in her speech: “Our plan is to have all our locations digitally connected within the next five years in order to manufacture our products more efficiently and offer even better service to our customers. This new logistics center symbolizes our determination to achieve that, and it also highlights our commitment to Baden-Württemberg and our Ditzingen headquarters.”

Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut, Minister of Economic Affairs, also addressed TRUMPF's digital ambition in her speech: "TRUMPF shows the possibilities of digitization and internationalization. That TRUMPF has already crossed the threshold to the digital age is clearly demonstrated by the new logistics center. "
The company began moving its logistics operations to the new building in spring 2017. It was designed by Barkow Leibinger Architects, Berlin, with io-consultants from Heidelberg supporting the project as the general planner. IT and systems implementation was carried out with the support of the Falkenberg-based company IGZ.