In Corteco’s new European central warehouse in Weinheim, the Diakoniewerkstätten Rhein-Neckar take over manual kitting activities.
They share changing rooms and social areas and sit side by side during breaks. They work together under one roof towards the same goal: to fulfill the wishes and requirements of Corteco customers throughout Europe in the best possible way. Since October, Corteco employees have been working hand in hand with employees from Diakoniewerkstätten Rhein-Neckar in the new European central warehouse in Weinheim. “We are colleagues, we form a team, regardless of which company we come from,” says Jan Mittelstädt, explaining the philosophy behind this partnership. The Director Global Operations Project Management is the overall project manager for the warehouse relocation from Hirschberg to Weinheim and the new start at the new location.
Corteco’s partnership with Diakoniewerkstätten Rhein-Neckar has both a business strategy and a social background. At the previous site in Hirschberg, Corteco had outsourced kitting to external service providers. In the new warehouse, the specialist for the independent aftermarket will in future assemble and pack its goods itself on site, making cartons, boxes, bags and blister packs ready for dispatch in-house. “There are a thousand good reasons for this. In a nutshell, it allows us to be even more flexible, faster and more responsive to customer requirements,” explains Mittelstädt.
Kitting also includes putting together parts kits for car mechanics in independent workshops. This means that they receive all the components required for an oil change or a gearbox overhaul from a single source, for example. In addition to gaskets, these can also include screws. Value Added Service is the technical term for this type of “parts upgrading”.
An efficient partner with expertise
“We handle many different types of packaging and volumes. Complete automation of the kitting process is not possible under these circumstances,” explains David Cable. The Quality Manager Europe is in charge of the corresponding sub-project – internally: workstream kitting – at the new site. Sometimes part numbers or manufacturer emblems have to be neutralized, sometimes parts are too large or too heavy for machine processing. In short, manual packaging activities are regularly required in addition to mechanical ones. “We were looking for an efficient partner with a great deal of expertise with whom we could tackle kitting and develop it further together,” explains Mittelstädt.
The choice fell on Diakoniewerkstätten Rhein-Neckar. These also work together with other Freudenberg business units and also operate a branch office in the Weinheim Industrial Park, which is now also home to Corteco. “The services we need have been part of Diakoniewerkstätten’s day-to-day business for years,” says Mittelstädt.
The Diakonie workshops at Corteco were able to demonstrate their expertise months before the warehouse move to Weinheim. In order to cover the increased demand for parts during the relocation phase, they temporarily took on the role of service provider in the spring and carried out initial packaging work – at that time still in one of the Diakonie workshops. This “test balloon” “flew”. “Diakonie immediately contributed many of its own ideas to our collaboration and implemented our wishes flexibly. We are already working well together,” reports Cable. Learning from each other and benefiting from each other – this forms the basis of this functioning partnership.
Assuming social responsibility
“Freudenberg is a value-oriented technology group that feels responsible towards its customers and society. For Freudenberg, success means being financially successful and taking its responsibility for people and the environment seriously. These goals are inextricably linked and anchored in the company’s guiding principles.” These are the words of the Freudenberg Group’s current Annual Report.
Corteco brings this claim to life and lives up to its social responsibility. “The collaboration with the Diakonie workshops enriches and inspires us. It gives the people who work at Diakonie the opportunity of meaningful and fulfilling employment. With this kind of in-house employment, we are not talking about inclusion, but true integration. Diakonie does not work for us, but with us. It becomes an important link in our internal process chain,” explains Mittelstädt.
Both partners are taking their time to do this and are gradually developing and expanding their collaboration under the same roof. Five packing tables, each for four to six employees of Diakonie, are available at the new warehouse location. The ramp-up to full capacity utilization next spring began in October. “We only start the next process when one is working one hundred percent,” says Cable, describing the approach.
In the summer – shortly before the new warehouse was opened – the employees of Diakonie already had the opportunity to take a look at their future workplaces and choose their lockers, for example. “Even then, I could sense the enormous gratitude, motivation and pride with which people approach their tasks with us. They feel part of our team. And that’s exactly what they are,” confirms Mittelstädt.
