SEOUL: BMW Group Korea officially opened its new Regional Distribution Center (RDC) in Anseong, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea - the largest among all of the German carmaker's global national sales companies.

After having invested KRW130bil (RM49bil), the new centre is effectively the company's largest logistics hub and has been operating for the last 14 months after its groundbreaking ceremony in March 2016.

The new BMW RDC covers a total area of about 57,000 square meters on a site totaling 211,500 square meters in Joil-ri, Yangseong-myeon, Anseong-si, Gyeonggi-do.

It is approximately three-times the size of any existing distribution center and 30-times larger than a football field - the largest among all of BMW’s global RDCs with the exception of the headquarters in Munich, Germany.

The new facility comprises of a total of six buildings including a main warehouse, two storage areas for hazardous goods, storage for pallets, a welcome house and a security building, a large parking lot and an artificial marsh together with convenience facilities for the employees, such as a park, cafeteria, a walking trail and a welcome centre.

The RDC is located in the southwestern part of the greater Seoul metropolitan area - being within an hour's drive from Incheon International Airport as well as Pyeongtaek Port, and has quick connections with four major expressways — the Jungbu, Pyeongtaek–Jecheon, Seohaean, and Yeongdong.

In addition, when the Eurasian railway line starts its operation in 2019, the railway route will be added to the existing air and maritime transportation links.

Accordingly, the speed and stability of parts supply is expected to increase.

The BMW RDC has also set up a strategy to strengthen cooperation with a number of countries including China, Japan and Malaysia where BMW Group national sales companies are also located, and thus improve its status as a key logistics hub in the Asia–Pacific region.

Faster parts supply will help lead to reduced repair times for the benefit of customers

The number of parts in storage at the new BMW RDC is approximately 75,000 - more than double the volume in an existing RDC with 35,000.

In addition, compared to the existing distribution center in Icheon, the parts loading rate has been optimized from 75% to 95%, ensuring efficient handling of a large amount of parts.

With the part types in storage further diversified and more efficient logistics system implemented, lead-times to each dealership will be minimized and parts delivery times will be shortened.

 

This is naturally expected to reduce overall repair times for customers and in addition, the emergency and same-day delivery services, which are already provided to each dealership, will be expanded.

“With the opening of the new RDC, we have secured an expanded logistics system to successfully supply two million parts a year to our dealers and customers,” said BMW Group parts logistics management vice president Wolfgang Baumann at the BMW RDC opening ceremony.

In line with its expanded scale, the parts processing capacity of the new BMW Group Korea RDC has been improved by more than three times compared to the previous RDC by 12 docks each for both inbound and outbound operations of the warehouse along with four extension docks.

As for parts storage, approximately 86,000 shelves have been installed to secure a sufficient loading area.

In addition, for the ultimate data protection against unexpected accidents, the IT system has been fortified with redundant wiring and backup power supply for all electric systems throughout the buildings, while the state-of-the-art RF scanner improves the system even further.

Moreover, ergonomic designs have been extensively incorporated to protect the health of employees working at the site with the floors meeting AR1 requirements for surface abrasion resistance (British Standards 8204) and guarantees a lifespan of more than 30 years.

In consideration of the health of workers, dust-free materials were used to create a pleasant working environment.

All lighting in the facilities have been equipped with motion sensors that automatically activate and deactive as people walk by, helping to lower energy consumption by approximately 40%.

At the same time, the dual heating system will minimize temperature differences between the floors and high ceilings to maintain an optimal temperature all year round.

Fire prevention has also been thoroughly prepared with 13,000 ESFR (Early Suppression Fast Response) sprinkler heads installed throughout all warehouses for early suppression of any fire, and all structures were built using non-flammable mineral wool panels.

Furthermore, for all firefighting devices installed throughout the entire RDC including fire shutters and screens, only UL and FM certified products were used, while 900 tons of water has been stored underground for an emergency situation.

In particular, the new RDC boasts an eco-friendly green zone with a rape flower garden, a the garden zone is packed with 21,000 trees including King cherry, birch, Japanese cornel, and dawn redwood.

The new RDC is expected to generate direct and indirect benefits by creating approximately 600 jobs following the completion of the warehouse, a site expansion to a scale of 31,000 square meters in total area is scheduled.

“The new RDC will enable us to provide premium customer service as it supplies parts swiftly and effectively not only in the capital region, but also across the country. It will soon advance to be a new global logistics hub,” said BMW Group Korea CEO Dr. H.J. Kim.

Meanwhile, the company is focusing on infrastructure investment in Korea for the Korean society and consumers, such as building the BMW Driving Center, the only comprehensive automotive cultural complex in the world, the world's fifth R&D Center, and the largest RDC in Asia.



 

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