BMW Manufacturing officially opened its new logistics center. The new Logistics Center for X models, called LCX, is nearly one million square feet in
BMW Manufacturing officially opened its new logistics center. The new Logistics Center for X models, called LCX, is nearly one million square feet in size. It is located on Freeman Farm Road and was constructed by Becknell Industrial.
Built with an investment of approximately $100 million, the facility aims to offer a more efficient, sustainable, and digital operation. A unique feature of the logistics center is that it is divided in the middle by a fence, separating the new Container Freight Station from BMW’s Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ). Parts and goods, both duty-paid and duty-unpaid, enter the warehouse on one side to be separated. The duty-paid material is cross-docked and travels by truck to BMW’s Consolidated Services operations at the Inland Port in Greer.
Only the duty-unpaid, BMW Manufacturing-owned parts are allowed to enter the Foreign Trade Zone. Those FTZ parts are either stored on racks temporarily in the warehouse or go directly to the BMW plant to be used in production. Yard trucks, called hostlers, carry these parts across two newly constructed, private bridges built by United Infrastructure Group. These bridges cross over Freeman Farm Road and Interstate 85 to give quick access to the BMW plant. The bridge crossing over I-85 is one of the longest free-spanning bridges in the state.
BMW iFACTORY strategy
“This new facility allows us to consolidate two warehouses and their material into one building, making our processes faster, leaner, and more efficient. Beyond this, the new logistics center incorporates elements of the BMW iFACTORY strategy, which defines the future of automotive manufacturing for the BMW Group production network. This building can be expanded, if needed, to accommodate future models. BMW has worked in close partnership with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and appreciates their support in creating this one-of-a-kind warehouse,” said Oliver Bilstein, vice president of Logistics and Production Control,” said Dr. Robert Engelhorn, president and CEO of BMW Manufacturing.
To complement the autonomous hostler, the LCX building is equipped with “smart” dock doors. The truck communicates with the door once it has arrived, and the door opens automatically. Plant Spartanburg already incorporates the use of autonomous logistics in other areas of production. In the body shop, you’ll find Smart Transport Robots, or STRs. These flat, autonomous mobile robots can transport parts weighing as much as one ton to their destination. In assembly, logistics is also testing a driverless route train that delivers parts to areas in the X3/X4 assembly hall.
“Innovation, digitalization, and sustainability are key success factors for the future of logistics,” Autonomous transportation – whether with smart robots, tuggers, or even trucks will make logistics even more flexible and efficient,” said Bilstein.
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