Airbus Defence and Space opens new logistics centre in Bremen



Airbus Defence and Space has opened a new logistics centre in Bremen’s Lloyd Industriepark, close to its base by the airport. The centre, established in cooperation with Kühne + Nagel’s contract logistics division, will meet increasing demand in military and civil fields. The new Materials Management Centre (MMC) was officially opened today following an 18 month build. Initially, it will be used mainly for A400M production and, in future, also for space applications.

“The MMC has a high-quality logistical and storage area of around 10,000 square metres, which caters for the special, aviation-specific requirements of the premises, the warehouse layout, storage area distribution and storage equipment,” said Martin Weichhardt, Head of Procurement and Supply Chain at Airbus Defence and Space. “An investment volume of around 50 million euros has been earmarked for project planning, development and operation until 2024.”

The Lloyd Industriepark in Bremen boasts excellent road, rail and air connections. Thanks to the special foundations, the new warehouse is supported by 8,000 piles. The MMC has a wide range of storage areas covering all required storage structures – from small parts, pallet and cantilever rack storage facilities to large components in floor/block storage areas. Thanks to the optimised storage and transportation routes, the new logistics centre can be operated by around 100 warehouse employees.

The new MMC replaces three old warehouses and will harmonise and streamline processes. The new centre will enable Airbus Defence and Space to meet increasingly complex requirements for punctual and continual delivery to production lines. Given the large amount of materials to be installed in each aircraft and the high degree of flexibility required for production, proximity of the centre to the production halls is key. Furthermore, a new optimised warehouse management system has been introduced.

An important element of the project was the two-month move, which has now been completed, since the consolidation of several warehouses into the new MMC had to take place without affecting the supply of production materials. A further key element of the new centre is the adaptation during the first three years of operation to an optimised supply of production materials, with the aim being to steadily reduce the warehouse and logistics area. This will predominantly occur through the variable area and equipment concept, which enables the premises to be used in a way that optimises space and costs, and allows a significant degree of freedom for future business models.