Improvement of In-House Logistics Processes in the Automotive Industry – the case of Volkswagen Autoeuropa

Bruno Daniel Gil Lisboa Saúde

Key information

Authors:

Bruno Daniel Gil Lisboa Saúde (Bruno Daniel Gil Lisboa Saúde)

Supervisors:

Tânia Rodrigues Pereira Ramos (Tânia Rodrigues Pereira Ramos); Tânia Rute Xavier de Matos Pinto Varela (Tânia Rute Xavier de Matos Pinto Varela)

Published in

November 25, 2022

Abstract

Satisfying the customer´s demand is one of the keystones of companies that wants to endure in time. Following a Make-to-Order production strategy highly increases the pressure on the production side, seeking to attend to the required service level. Consequently, investing in the improvement of the logistics processes helps to reduce operational costs while the quality of the product and the required service level are maintained. Volkswagen Autoeuropa is a Portuguese automotive plant dedicated to producing three car models, with an average daily output of 890 units in total. The company aspires to combine Lean Manufacturing strategies and tools with innovative and technological solutions to directly impact all car models´ operational costs. The current Master´s Thesis is focused on improving the In-House Logistics Processes of the Assembly Area. Followed by the State of Art, a 5-stage Research Methodology is presented considering the As Is processes. Following the Lean Manufacturing approaches, the parametrization of an electronic pull-based system was done and implemented on the shop floor in one of the logistic supermarkets. The results reduced the average delivery time by 52% and the variation coefficient by 61%. The waiting time observed in the assembly hall had an improvement of 419%, with a greater impact on the reduction of traffic jams and better flow management in the Supermarket.