Exploring How Smart Warehousing is Driving Efficiency in Automotive Manufacturing
The automotive industry’s just-in-time production demands make warehousing and logistics a critical battlefield for competitiveness. As OEMs and suppliers embrace Industry 4.0, intelligent warehousing solutions are becoming the backbone of operational excellence. Let’s examine how leading players are transforming their logistics DNA.
1️⃣Faurecia Clarion Electronics (Fengcheng) Co., Ltd.1️⃣
Faurecia China headquarters is located in Shanghai, where it has established 52 factories and 18 technology and R&D centers, employing over 26,000 staff. Faurecias major clients in China include FAW-Volkswagen, SAIC-Volkswagen, Dongfeng Peugeot-Citroen, Dongfeng Motor (Nissan), Honda Motor, SAIC-GM-Wuling, Changan Ford, Beijing Benz, Chery Jaguar Land Rover, FAW Hongqi, Changan Automobile, Dongfeng Motor, Geely, Volvo, Great Wall, BYD, NIO, Li Auto, ZeroRun, GAC, and JAC Motors, among other international and domestic automakers.
Project highlights:
✔ The combination of raw material box storage and finished product pallet ✔ storage increases the space utilization by more than 4 times
✔The robot performs automated goods storage and retrieval, reducing the error rate of personnel and reducing the labor cost by 60%
✔Customized development of WMS system, real-time tracking and management, to achieve comprehensive monitoring of production process
Project configuration:
☞The raw material box warehouse has a total of 7 aisles and plans to have nearly 50,000 storage positions
☞14 shuttle robots (standard box shuttle robot SLS300 series), 7 shuttle lifts
☞The pallet warehouse has 1884 storage positions, 5 pallet shuttle robots and 2 pallet lifts
2️⃣Joyson Electronics Co., Ltd.2️⃣
Project highlights:
✔ Double deep storage position design, high storage density, space utilization doubled
✔ From whole box to unpacking and picking, it can calmly deal with multi-specification (SKU), small batch and large flow picking tasks, greatly reducing the storage cost
✔ A variety of intelligent equipment such as robot, hoist, automatic pallet removal robot, automatic labeling and so on work in coordination to realize 90% unmanned warehousing
✔ WCS warehouse control system, SCS turnover box storage and retrieval control system and other intelligent logistics systems are configured to create the strongest “intelligent logistics brain”
Project configuration:
☞ 3 aisles, 21 shuttle robots (standard tote-handling shuttle robot SLS300)
☞ 23,800 tote locations, 3 level changing lifts and 3 goods lifts
☞ 2 sets inter-floor lift (The height is 22 meters, acceleration 7m/s²)
3️⃣GAC Toyota3️⃣
Project highlights:
✔ The operation efficiency is increased by 80%, the space utilization rate is increased by 400%, and the throughput of a single roadway is 1,400 boxes/hour
✔Multi-box hybrid storage (maximum 800*600mm, minimum 280*340mm) saves storage space, improves storage density, and enhances process flexibility
✔ Toyota produces one car every 58 seconds, and internally achieves flexible production of multiple models. Shuttle cars can solve a variety of SKUs and complex packaging containers
✔ Dynamic implementation effectively solves the transformation from “one pallet” goods to “one box” goods units, and meets the rapid demand at the end of the production line
Project configuration:
☞The project covers an area of about 300 square meters, with a height of about 6 meters and 1008 storage positions, a total of 14 floors
☞4 shuttle robots (SLS400, variable size tote-handling shuttle robot), 4 goods lifts and 12 pick-up stations
4️⃣Audi FAW NEV4️⃣
Project highlights:
✔ More than 99% of parts receiving, storage and distribution are automated, and logistics efficiency is improved by 80%
✔ Material out of the warehouse is strictly sorted to ensure zero delay in the production line
✔ The efficiency of entering and exiting the warehouse is increased by 70%, and the material turnover is efficient
✔ Multi-size box hybrid storage, size range (300*250*140mm~600*400*300mm), maximize the utilization of space
Project configuration:
☞ The warehouse is 6.95 meters high, with a total of 6 aisles, 61,200 storage positions and 48 shuttle robots (SLS400 variable size tote-handling shuttle robot)
☞ 6 goods lifs and 6 shuttle lifts meet the compound inbound and outbound flow demand of Audi FAW at 2400 boxes/hour
☞ Four levels of 150mm high storage positions and 11 levels of 300mm high storage positions
5️⃣Dongfeng Commercial Vehicle Co., LTD5️⃣
Project highlights:
✔ Variable size hybrid dynamic storage (non-fixed bits, storage locations are allocated according to the size of the box) provides greater storage density while accommodating the uncertainty of incoming box specifications
✔ The upper storage and lower picking mode realizes the “integrated logistics of storage, picking and online” in the body assembly workshop
✔ Work efficiency increased by 70%, labor cost reduced by 65%
✔ The multi-pallet warehouse can meet the assembly, picking and storage tasks of all 8 sections of 4 models
Project configuration:
☞ 10 aisles, storage area with 21378 locations, and 1179 picking ports in the lower picking area
☞ SKU 1489+, box size range (300*250*100mm~800*600*350mm)
☞ 30 four-way variable size shuttle robots – SLS600,12 two-way variable size shuttle robots – SLS400
☞ 2 shuttle lifts, 6 good lifts
Behind every successful smart warehouse is a cross-functional team—operations leaders willing to rethink processes, engineers who speak both manufacturing and IT, and partners who deliver beyond hardware.
If you’re: ❓Facing SKU complexity from EV transition
❓Struggling with labor volatility
❓Prepping for new GigaFactory/plant openings
Let’s discuss how “All In Shuttle” can fast-track your transformation.
