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MArkets & InnOvAtIOn
Pooling knowhow
and resources
DB Schenker has established a think tank for auto logistics. The
aim of the DB Schenker Automotive Competence Centre is to pool
and further develop the global expertise of the business units.
Large volumes for the automotive industry are transported
by DB Schenker – nationally, across continents and globally.
The DB Group’s two Rail and Logistics business units
are already among the market leaders in the automotive logistics
segment. By establishing its Automotive Competence Centre, DB
Schenker is creating a new think tank with the goals of pooling
the skills and activities within the Group more intensively than
to date, boosting synergy potential and developing innovative
integrated products for the automotive industry.
“One focus of activity is the intelligent interlinking of all modes
of transport – from rail, via road and sea to air, not forgetting contract
logistics,” says Jennifer Thierbach, who runs the new Automotive
Competence Centre on an operational basis. The
manufacturers’ demands on their logistics specialists are growing,
after all, for example through the increasing outsourcing of logistics
services to external service providers, but also through unpredictable
fluctuations in volume.
OVERHAUL:
Painters (left) and a
smart repair technician
at work in the
Neuss Auto Terminal.
18 | Railways
U
sually DB Schenker Rail Automotive has to
get down to the task at hand when new cars
are being built or new vehicles are transported
from the plant by rail and truck. In the additional
services segment, the company is now getting involved
in the overhaul of used cars. “To date we have operated
two compounds, as they are known, in Neuss and in
the Polish town of Slask,” says Uwe Langen, Head of
Compounds at DB Schenker Rail Automotive. “But
we are planning further European sites at strategically
important points on our network.” Compounds are a
combination of a handling terminal for new and used
cars, a paint shop and a workshop at which manufacturers
and leasing companies, for example, have their
declining leasing fleets overhauled before resale.
For that reason the compounds employ tradesmen
such as auto painters and smart repair technicians, who
INDUSTRY KNOWLEDGE:
Jennifer Thierbach,
Vice President of the DB
Schenker Automotive Competence
Centre, is a 37-year-old
graduate in industrial engineering
who joined DB Schenker
from Daimler.
“The level of complexity is already very high now and is set
to increase further,” notes Jennifer Thierbach. “With the Automotive
Competence Centre we are seeking to develop integrated
solutions with the involvement of all sectors, rail freight transport,
surface transport, air and sea freight and contract logistics/SCM,
and to prepare for long-term trends,” she concludes.
The think tank also relies on the dialogue with key accounts
so as to develop tailored solutions geared to the specific needs of
automotive groups. The Automotive Competence Centre is managed
by Axel Marschall, Head of DB Schenker Rail’s Automotive
business unit. ok
Contact | Jennifer Thierbach
Phone: +49 (0)6107 509 740 |
jennifer.thierbach@dbschenker.eu
Overhaul in
a compound
Compounds offer additional services for
the automotive industry. They are a handling
terminal, paint shop and workshop
all in one.
repair minor bodywork damage manually. At the
Neuss Auto Terminal some 2,000 cars were overhauled
in 2010 – with Langen seeing plenty of scope for
growth: “Leasing companies as well as manufacturers
and dealers are outsourcing this work more and more
frequently to external partners.” DB Schenker Rail
Automotive has therefore identified a niche here for
generating additional business and for ensuring that
existing handling terminals can operate efficiently and
to capacity. In addition to the overhaul, the service
includes the distribution of the reconditioned vehicles
to dealers or auction houses. ok
Contact | Uwe Langen
Phone: +49 (0)6107/509460 |
uwe.langen@dbschenker-atg.com
Photos: PR (2); privat; imago