BMW invests in automated logistics

The BMW Group has revealed that it is increasingly relying on innovations from the fields of digitalisation and Industry 4.0 in production logistics.
The company has increased focus on applications such as logistics robots, autonomous transport systems at plants and digitalisation projects for an end-to-end supply chain.
According to the company, innovations coming out of many pilot projects are currently being implemented worldwide in logistics at BMW Group plants and staff can now control logistics processes from mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets and use virtual reality applications to plan future logistics.
“Logistics is the heart of our production system. Our broad spectrum of ground-breaking projects helps us run increasingly complex logistics processes efficiently and transparently. We are taking advantage of the wide range of available technological innovations and working closely with universities and start-ups. We are already working with tomorrow’s Industry 4.0 technologies today,” Jürgen Maidl, Head of Logistics for the BMW Group production network said.
Around 1,800 suppliers at more than 4,000 locations deliver over 31 million parts to the 30 BMW Group production sites worldwide every day. Digitalisation and innovations help the company organise logistics more flexibly and more efficiently. At the same time, almost 10,000 vehicles coming off the production line daily must be delivered to customers around the globe. Digitally connected delivery, so-called Connected Distribution, ensures that these transport routes are also more transparent.