TK Elevator opens smart warehouse in North America expanding its digital and sustainable supply chain

Düsseldorf, September 29, 2022 – TK Elevator, one of the global innovation and market leaders in the elevator industry, has taken another step to further improve its service for customers, digitalize its business and become more sustainable. With the opening of a smart warehouse in Olive Branch (Mississippi), U.S., the company optimizes its local spare parts management. The 82,400-square-foot facility centralizes spare parts for TK Elevator’s field technicians in North America, managing work vehicle stock to create inventory efficiency. Using smart data analytics helps to speed up logistics processes, with the potential to save 30% of the time compared to traditional warehouses.

The smart system does not only benefit its operators. Thanks to round-the-clock availability of spare parts, service technicians can save up to 10% of trips per year. Reducing the mileage covered by technicians will help to significantly decrease
TK Elevator’s carbon footprint as the vehicle fleet has the largest impact on the company’s emissions. In combination with a reduced number of shipments, the warehouse will contribute to a more sustainable supply chain. Furthermore, there is the potential to save up to 20% in waiting time for customers until the elevator is put back into service since the technician will have the spare part at their disposal immediately.

Incorporating cutting-edge technology, TK Elevator is committed to meeting the needs of the modern mobility industry where service is most critical. To minimize downtimes of elevators, it takes smart and up-to-date solutions regarding maintenance and delivery of spare parts. The new warehouse, for example, includes a mini load system that retrieves parts at high speed and a warehouse automation system that focuses on order quality, inventory integrity and improved labor efficiency. A special element of the system is the automatic replenishment feature, which eliminates the need for technicians to place orders for stocked parts as the planning system replenishes parts based on the technician’s usage history on their route. In addition, all parts feature a QR code for easy scanning and inventory control.

“The opening of our new spare parts warehouse with its extensive digital capabilities is yet another way we are incorporating smart technology into our service business. This ensures we can provide our customers with the highest level of service and support, while at the same time reducing our supply chain footprint on our way to net-zero emissions by 2050,” said Uday Yadav, CEO of TK Elevator.

The warehouse is the next installment in TK Elevator’s global spare parts business excellence initiative that was kicked off in 2020 with the opening of the company’s first smart data warehouse in Madrid, Spain. TK Elevator’s goal is to digitalize and centralize spare parts management at different key hubs worldwide and to promote a more sustainable supply chain.

To view how TK Elevator is leveraging digitalization at its new spare parts warehouse, click here.

ABOUT US

TK Elevator
With customers in over 100 countries served by more than 50,000 employees, TK Elevator achieved sales of around €8 billion in the fiscal year 2020/2021. Over 1,000 locations around the world provide an extensive network that guarantees closeness to customers. Over the past decades, TK Elevator has established itself as one of the world’s leading elevator companies and became independent since its separation from thyssenkrupp AG in August 2020. The company’s most important business line is the service business represented by over 24,000 service technicians. The product portfolio covers commodity elevators for residential and commercial buildings to cutting-edge, highly customized solutions for state-of-the-art skyscrapers. In addition, it also consists of escalators and moving walks, passenger boarding bridges, stair, and platform lifts. Integrated cloud-based service solutions, such as the MAX platform, are gaining in importance. With these digital offerings, there are no limits to urban mobility anymore. TKE – move beyond.