A reusable container rarely disappears on the highway. It disappears in the basement of a workshop, in the farthest corner of a hall, or at a cluttered transshipment point. Sometimes it is repurposed and used to store other parts or, in extreme cases, as MAN reported to us, even as a raised bed.
The challenge in daily operations: Managing more than 30,000 spare parts in circulation without oversight
At the Salzgitter logistics center, MAN moves around 30,000 spare parts daily for over a million vehicles worldwide. To ensure delivery, the parts are packed and shipped in reusable containers. They are constantly on the move between central warehouses, distribution centers, and workshops across Europe.
Without digital support, actively managing these complex cycles is extremely labor-intensive. When transparency is lacking, the exact problems arise that complicate everyday logistics: returns happen unreliably, inventories are estimated, and load carriers do not remain in the cycle. This leads to significant shrinkage and unnecessary new acquisitions. Valuable capital is tied up, even though the containers are actually available.
Additionally, dispatchers have to laboriously inquire about the inventory of containers from customers via phone or email. Manually maintained inventory lists are available, but there is a risk that they will no longer be up-to-date tomorrow.
For the missing load carriers, wooden crates are used as a substitute, some of which are only used once. The effort for searching and managing is correspondingly high, for MAN as well as for their customers.
MAN therefore did not want an isolated solution, but a data basis that creates exactly the transparency needed to actively control the cycles.
Efficiently manage spare parts logistics with SmartMakers GPS Asset Tracking
SmartMakers, in collaboration with Bechtle, equips MAN's load carriers with cellular-based Trackers. Around 3,000 units are mounted on the containers. They automatically send their location and movement data to the real-time operations platform, which in turn triggers automated processes from the data. Employees no longer need to manually scan or book.
The special feature of the solution is that it uses different location methods such as GPS, WiFi, triangulation, and cellular zone location to determine a position in any scenario.
In the platform, this creates a picture that can be worked with:
- Container cycles as visualized circuits, not as a list of individual positions
- Proactive alerting in case of suspected theft and exceeding dwell times at certain customers
- Geofencing, which allows workflows to be automated as soon as a container enters or leaves a plant or workshop
- Movement analyses and historical data to evaluate and optimize routes and dwell times
- Real-time transparency over locations, quantities, partner performance, and return logistics
The solution does not require its own infrastructure at the plant. In close collaboration with Bechtle, the devices were provided, and the logistics team in Salzgitter was onboarded and trained.
What has changed specifically
By using SmartMakers GPS Asset Tracking, MAN can now:
- see the location of a container in real-time on a map
- locate containers in halls, basements, and remote areas
- view dwell times and specifically initiate returns
- keep containers in the cycle, prevent shrinkage, and reduce re-procurement
- make the knowledge about the location of the containers available to all authorized persons
- track the distribution of containers at customers
Why the project was successful
The success is also due to the fact that the problem and challenges were clearly described from the beginning. This allowed the appropriate solution to be identified and made part of the process. Therefore, the solution today is not a reporting tool alongside the process but a central part of it.
The expansion continues. A large part of the planned 3,000 load carriers and containers is already equipped with the tracking solution and rolled out. In the coming months, the rollout is to be fully completed.
