European Distribution Centre (EDC): Logistics Head Office for 11 Plants
Due to the construction and expansion of a European logistics centre in Bruges (Belgium), Donaldson reduces their delivery times for compressed air purification prod-ucts and process filtration and increase customer satisfaction.
Donaldson started the construction of the EDC in 2006, into which the products of all European business units within Donaldson were successively incorporated. The high-performance filters and filter elements, service kits and spare parts of the Donaldson Ultrafilter brand produced in Haan/Rhineland are now transferred to the EDC and then distributed worldwide from there as a final step.
The spatial and technical conditions for this integration are optimal. Jan Peeters, European Distribution Manager: "We use modern technology such as paperless com-missioning over an area of 22.000 m2". We can therefore react very quickly: Customer orders received by 1 PM will be usually shipped out on the same day." The delivery times are therefore clearly shortened.
In addition, the deliveries can be bundled, since all Donaldson production plants in Europe and the overseas plants deliver to the EDC in Bruges. Jan Peeters: "We are receiving an average of seven to ten containers per week from the USA and up to ten trucks from the European plants." Shipment to the buyers is then made via parcel service, forwarding agency or airfreight according to the customer's request: "The shipment sizes are becoming smaller, since the customers order more short-term and depend on the great availability and quick response times by Donaldson."
In order to further increase this efficiency, Donaldson has currently invested in the commissioning technology and installed a "Voice Picking" system via which personnel receives the orders by headphone. This not only increased the picking speed, but also the accuracy: This is at 99.8 % today.
The EDC is tied to the company-wide Enterprise-Resource Planning-System. Johan Debackere, Production Manager of the Donaldson plant in Haan: "We thereby have created the conditions to very precisely plan the production capacity and a continuous information chain from order through storage to production - this also contributes to higher availability. We know the global orders on hand and the stock and can manufacture accordingly." This is an important factor at Donaldson's large variety of products: 23,000 items are created in the warehouse management system, of which about 50 % have a high turnover rate.
And the EDC can convince also under ecological aspects: One of the largest solar systems in Belgium is installed on the roof of the Distribution Centre, providing power for its own requirements and to consumers via the grid. This shows: Efficiency and environmental awareness is capitalized at Donaldson in all areas.
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