BMW Manufacturing opened its new logistics center on Freeman Farm Road Sept. 29, revealing plans to develop a new fleet of autonomous, self-driving trucks and an overhauled digital operation.
The new logistics center for X models, called LCX, spans nearly one million square feet and cost roughly $100 million.
Built by Becknell Industrial, the center is divided in the middle by a fence that separates the new Container Freight Station from BMW’s Foreign Trade Zone.
“This new facility allows us to consolidate two warehouses and their material into one building, making our processes faster, leaner and more efficient,” said Robert Engelhorn, president and CEO of BMW Manufacturing. “This building can be expanded, if needed, to accommodate future models.”
Self-driving trucks
Among the flashier aspects of the reveal were the new driverless hostler trucks being developed in partnership with ISEE.
ISEE is an autonomous driving technology company, spun out of MIT, whose humanistic, AI-powered, self-driving yard trucks aim to modernize the global supply chain for the world’s leading companies.
At BMW, the new autonomous logistics program will utilize 5G wireless technology to enable real-time connectivity between machinery and equipment. That includes the new self-driving trucks, which will be able to travel across both private bridges and deliver parts to a building on the plant site.
The trucks will reach “smart” dock doors at the new building that speak directly to the truck and ensure automatic openings and reception of parts and equipment.
The autonomous hostlers are being developed as part of a pilot program in a broader initiative developing autonomous logistics systems, according to Oliver Bilstein, BMW’s vice president of logistics and production control. There are Smart Transport Robots already being used in Plant Spartanburg, and testing is underway for a driverless route train to deliver parts in the plant’s assembly area.
“Innovation, digitilization and sustainability are key success factors for the future of logistics,” Bilstein said. “Autonomous transportation, whether with smart robots, tuggers or even trucks, will make logistics even more flexible and efficient.”
