Mercedes-Benz reorganizes global supply chain network to reduce vehicle costs, increase efficiency
Mercedes-Benz is investing hundreds of millions in a global reorganization of its supply chain network that will set the course for growth and efficiency with the goal of reducing supply chain costs by 20 percent per vehicle.
The reorganization includes the expansion of its global production and supplier network closer to customers and markets. The increasingly complex incoming production material flows at Mercedes-Benz plants and the transport of newly manufactured vehicles from production facilities will be centrally managed in an even more efficient and flexible manner.
“Logistics plays a key role for our company’s success. Our objective is to gear our Supply Chain Management organization towards growth and to make it even more efficient and flexible. This approach marks the next logical step in our global production strategy,” says Markus Schäfer, member of the Divisional Board of Mercedes-Benz Cars, Production and Supply Chain Management.
The focus will be on securing the supply of materials in the global production networks, reducing inventories, ensuring on-time deliveries of new vehicles to customers around the world, and incorporating the logistics organization into the continuous advancement of the global production network at an early stage.
The new strategic approach was presented at the grand opening of the new Mercedes-Benz Consolidation Center in Speyer, Germany. Such consolidation centers play an important role in Mercedes-Benz Cars’ logistics strategy in terms of ensuring the supply of materials used at the division’s plants around the world.
The Supply Chain Management organization at Mercedes-Benz Cars directly employs nearly 7,500 men and women, as well as numerous service providers for logistics and transportation.
