Revealed: world’s largest storage facility!

It’s one of the most fascinating logistics centres on this planet. We are referring to the Germersheim Global Logistics Centre (GLC), the world’s largest storage facility (within the automotive sector). A whopping 325 truckloads leave the GLC each and every day…

As we all know, classic cars are prone to minor ailments from time to time – and the same can be said of today’s trucks. But when it comes to evaluating economic efficiency, a basic component is the proper provision of spare parts – after all, trucks only earn money when they are kept on the move.

This in turn relies on sophisticated logistics: which is where the Global Logistics Centre (GLC) in Germersheim comes in. Located just a few minutes away from Daimler’s Wörth plant, it is responsible for supplying the commercial vehicles and passenger cars of Mercedes-Benz, Maybach, Smart and Mitsubishi Fuso globally. It also supplies Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge parts outside of North America. Boasting a storage area of over one million square metres, the central warehouse is the largest of its kind in the automotive sector in the world.

SUPERIOR PARTS AVAILABILITY
Mercedes-Benz enjoys an excellent, hard-earned reputation when it comes to supplying parts: more than 90% of all required parts from the entire range are available for customers within 24 hours. The central warehouse in Germersheim in the southern Palatinate region forms the logistics powerhouse behind these impressive figures. Situated on the so-called “Insel Grün” (green island) on an old stretch of the river Rhine, it has been in operation for some 20 years. Germersheim supplies the group’s wholesalers located throughout Europe and overseas – from Hannover to Dubai, Warsaw to Singapore – which act as direct contacts for the service operations of the group brands.

The GLC supplies parts and accessories to a total of more than 1 400 customers in some 200 countries. For Mercedes-Benz alone, the GLC is home to some 392 000 parts – all available immediately. No fewer than 146 000 are parts for commercial vehicles.

The continuous storage area in Germersheim totals an impressive 330 000 m2, and is a hive of activity: radio-controlled forklift trucks, automatically guided vehicles and roller conveyors which transport the parts via the quickest route to the desired location – in a continuous flow of goods.

The 2 900 employees working in the GLC dispatch more than 13 000 delivery items for commercial vehicles alone each day. An average of 325 truckloads of parts leave the GLC on a daily basis. The parts are dispatched by road, sea and air. In the case of emergencies, express delivery is used. In addition to the impressive figures, another interesting fact is the diversity of the spare parts – they range from nuts and bolts through to complete raw car bodies. The GLC works with some 3 000 suppliers, and daily goods-in deliveries average around 360 truckloads.

SPARE PARTS STILL AVAILABLE YEARS AFTER SERIES PRODUCTION HAS ENDED
In addition to supplying parts for the current vehicle range, the GLC also caters for the company’s older vehicles: spare parts continue to remain available for many years after a model series has been discontinued – depending on the financial requirements of the market and demand for the particular parts. The GLC is able to supply spare parts for vehicles which, in some cases, are 15 years or older.

If necessary, the provision of spare parts for vehicles can also be guaranteed for significantly longer periods by means of special supply agreements. This is particularly important for vehicles used by authorities. In addition, all discontinued vehicles are governed by a special discontinued vehicle management programme which ensures reliable supply of parts for older commercial vehicles.