In Focus: Customer, Climate and Comfort

Smart logistics solutions that meet the highest demands, climate change actions that go significantly further than the current standards, and comfortable workplaces that are designed to retain experienced professionals and young talents from all sectors: with the C3 in Bremen, BLG LOGISTICS has developed a lighthouse project that takes logistics services to a whole new level.

In his own words, Matthias Klawitter “grew up in logistics.” Immediately after graduating, he joined BLG in 2000, where he quickly gained experience in management. He was appointed Head of Mobility in 2017 and is currently responsible as project manager for the commissioning of the C3, BLG’s new logistics center located at GVZ Bremen, Germany’s largest freight distribution center. With more than 20 years of professional experience under his belt, Matthias Klawitter is familiar with the challenges facing the logistics sector today. As he drives up to the building, he observes: “The C3 is a forward-pointing concept.”

What he means by this becomes clear as you approach the center. Conventional logistics buildings are first and foremost utilitarian. The C3, by contrast, has many remarkable features. For example, the grounds are characterized by a dune landscape, including a wood cabin modeled on a Finnish grill kota that can be used for special occasions. On entering the building, you will be struck in particular by elements made from larch wood, moss balls hanging from the ceiling and colored wallpaper featuring nature motifs. Moving into the vast warehouse, where 82,500 square meters of space is dedicated to handling logistics processes using state-of-the-art technology, the first thing you notice is that skylights and glazed façades let in much more light than you would normally expect in a logistics hub.

“The C3 is a forward-pointing concept.”
Matthias Klawitter Head of mobility, business area CONTRACT

C3 stands for customer, climate and comfort

As project manager, Matthias Klawitter and his team coordinated the planning and construction of the build, and now he is managing the commissioning of the logistics center. The groundbreaking ceremony took place in the fall of 2021, and BLG’s warehouse logistics specialists were able to move into the facility just one year later. He is proud of what has been achieved: “What we have developed, built and implemented here in just one year sets new benchmarks – in three areas at once.”

This is reflected in the name. C3 stands for customer, climate and comfort. “In the C3, these three core aspects are considered together: the customer’s high demands of us as a logistics service provider, climate protection and sustainability as well as an attractive work environment for our employees,” is how the project manager defines the concept.

“What we have developed, built and implemented here in just one year sets new benchmarks – in three areas at once.”

Customer

The customer is a major German car manufacturer, with which BLG has concluded a long-term contract. “This gives both sides planning security and has enabled us to make investments that go beyond previous standards,” says Matthias Klawitter. Under the contract with the customer, BLG supplies the customer’s foreign assembly plants from the C3 with parts needed for production. This form of logistics has to meet the highest requirements. In Bremen, employees load numerous assembly parts for vehicle production into sea containers, which are then shipped to the customer’s foreign plants. “Ultimately, it comes down to picking and packing the parts,” says Matthias Klawitter, “while at the same time ensuring total reliability, expediency and efficiency.”

Automation where it makes sense

In order to further optimize complex logistics for the benefit of the customer, BLG has implemented a number of technical innovations in the C3. One particularly eye-catching feature is the driverless transport vehicles, which are controlled by a system incorporating a bespoke fleet management system. “Certain parts groups, which we assemble into various kits for the customer, are stored in a narrow-aisle rack,” says the project manager, explaining the innovation. After retrieval from the rack, the autonomous transport system delivers them to the individual packing zones, where the parts are ultimately assembled and packed. “These small robots do not travel in fixed tracks as in many other factories, but totally freely, according to the geography of the building,” says Matthias Klawitter. This development was a real quantum leap, he says: “There was no blueprint for the use of these systems; the implementation took place during ongoing operations. That was a bit of a leap into the dark for us, especially since our customers’ foreign assembly plants couldn’t wait for us, of course, but continued to produce at high capacity.” Sure, it was a challenge, he says. “But one with an incredibly steep learning curve.”

A central aspect in designing the C3 was not to turn all processes upside down as an end in itself just because it may have been technically possible to do so. “The intelligent approach was a modular one. We looked at each process stage individually, always asking ourselves: Where does automation make sense? And are there technical solutions available that deliver what we expect them to?” C3 Bremen is not about digitalization for digitalization’s sake. “Innovations have been introduced where they can be expected to improve efficiency and productivity from the outset.”

A closer look at climate protection shows that the three C’s that gave the new logistics center its name go hand in hand. As a global logistics service provider, BLG assumes its responsibility to operate in a manner that is sustainable and climate-friendly. This in turn benefits the customer, as Matthias Klawitter points out: “Everything we in logistics do to prevent carbon emissions also reduces the CO2 footprint of the customer’s supply chain – an aspect that is particularly important in the automotive industry.”

Climate

Germany’s largest continuous roof-mounted photovoltaic system

To anyone viewing the C3 from the air, it will be obvious how the logistics center covers a large part of its electricity needs: the entire 82,500 square meters of roof area is covered in solar panels, making this currently the largest continuous roof-mounted photovoltaic system in Germany. The system generates ten million kilowatt hours of electricity per year from solar power – equivalent to the annual electricity requirements of around 3,300 single-family homes. But not only does the C3 generate its own electricity; the building also saves energy wherever possible. For example, the façades have additional thermal insulation that goes significantly beyond normal standards and substantially reduces the heating requirement in the warehouse. Smart lighting management inside and outside the building uses motion sensors to control the lighting, which means that the LED lamps only provide brightness where it is needed.

This, too, as Matthias Klawitter points out, is an approach that was previously unheard of in logistics: “There were often only two options for very large warehouse sections: lights out or lights on.” Together with the owner of the facility, BLG is also looking to invest in an air-source heat pump to make it completely independent of fossil fuels.

Comfort

That leaves the third C, which stands for comfort. Matthias Klawitter makes the point that an attractive work environment for employees is no longer a “nice to have”, but is a decisive factor in ensuring a project’s success. As in many other industries, logistics is suffering from a shortage of skilled workers – “in all areas, whether IT specialists or planning engineers as well as forklift operators or staff who record incoming goods.” The C for comfort is thus synonymous with attractive workplaces. “We want our people to feel appreciated and have a sense of wellbeing at the workplace,” says Matthias Klawitter. This starts with ergonomically designed workstations inside the building and extends to the outdoor areas of the logistics center. While the young trees and shrubs still need some time to grow, it won’t be long before the C3 is surrounded by a landscape of fruit orchards and wildflower meadows. The gatehouse and bicycle shelter have greened roofs, and the rainwater retention basin has been landscaped as a pond. The company canteen has direct access to the outside, inviting staff to enjoy freshly prepared meals either indoors or on the outdoor terrace.

How did Matthias Klawitter put it as he drove up to the logistics center? “The C3 is a forward-pointing concept.” Here in Bremen, BLG LOGISTICS is already demonstrating what matters in the logistics of tomorrow: bringing together what belongs together – state-of-the-art technology, effective climate protection, and the wellbeing of the people who work here.

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