Poland’s largest comprehensive logistics company, ROHLIG SUUS Logistics, will continue to provide logistics services to the Thermal Systems Division of Valeo Autosystemy – one of Europe’s largest automotive parts manufacturer. The new contract represents a continuation of a nearly 10 year-long relationship between the two companies.

The new contract signed by ROHLIG SUUS Logistics and Valeo Autosystemy represents an extension of a business relationship that started in 2009. For almost a decade, ROHLIG SUUS Logistics has been continually adapting the size of its storage space (from 3000 sq. m. in Skawina to 13000 sq. m. nearby Valeo’s manufacturing plant) and the size of its team (from 16 to 42 workmen) to match the growing number of warehousing operations (from 40 000 to 160 000 of inbound-outbound cycles). In addition to this, the company implemented numerous improvements resulting in the growth of quality indices to reference levels on the Client’s European outsourcing map.

– We have chosen to extend our collaboration with ROHLIG SUUS Logistics because they are about professional customer service and partnership advice, both of which go hand-in-hand with a high quality of services. The numbers speak for themselves. The main index, called the service rate, that measures compliance of components issued just-in-time at Valeo’s plant warehouse is regularly 99.0-99.5%. The project that ROHLIG SUUS Logistics works on has become a European-scale reference project for Valeo with their warehouse often being toured by Valeo’s logistics people from other European sites and by people from other car manufacturing companies, who continue to be impressed by the solutions being used here – says Krzysztof Moryś, Region External Flow Manager SSC SC & VPS - Eastern Europe Region from Valeo Autosystemy.

– We’re very happy to see the contract has been extended, because it proves we understand our customers’ needs and provide them with top quality services. No doubt, it’s very rewarding to know we’ve done a good job – says Łukasz Kuliński, the Director of ROHLIG SUUS Logistics Cracow office.

ROHLIG SUUS Logistics manages Valeo Autosystemy’s auto parts warehouse, providing a full range of services, from receipt of inbound inventory from external suppliers, through picking, just-in-time issuing to the plant, running a bonded warehouse, consignment warehouses, handling of semi-manufactured and finished goods. Next, the company receives goods from the plant, provides order picking services and ships them to the final recipients of automotive goods all over the world. Managing the shipping process to one of Valeo’s key customers is based on a BTT (built-to-truck) methodology, meaning that while being picked, an order must be arranged and laid out to exactly match the sequence of truck loading and unloading at the recipient’s manufacturing plant.

– The work we do for Valeo means we need to respond quickly and adapt our services to the diverse needs of recipients. This represents quite a challenge given the huge number of operations we perform. The reaction time to an order for parts is no more than 2 hours, regardless of the time of day or night or day of the week. This is how much time we’ve got to accept, pick and ready an order for shipping. Finished goods handling is subject to hundreds of complex shipping instructions. The scale of our operations is best demonstrated by the fact that, among others, we ship close to 1 million car radiators per month – says Paweł Dudziński, Project Manager.

Under the new contract, ROHLIG SUUS Logistics have implemented the use of automatically guided VNA system forklift trucks in Valeo Autosystemy’s warehouses to handle car parts and semi-manufactured components. The company is in the process of implementing a JDA WMS system which will partly replace and partly work with the Customer’s SAP and Bar-flow systems. A further expansion of storage space by another 3000 sq. m. is also planned.

Valeo Autosystemy is among five automotive industry customers in Poland that ROHLIG SUUS Logistics works for. Continuing growth in the provision of services to this industry is high on the company’s strategic development agenda.