BMW has partnered with 4flow, a leading global provider of custom, end-to-end supply chain solutions, to reduce costs across its transportation network. The cornerstone of the collaboration is the transportation and material planning software 4flow TORO, which was successfully implemented at eight BMW plants across Europe. Using the software, BMW has been able to significantly reduce transportation costs and increase the average size of individual shipments.
BMW’s highly complex transportation network spans over 140 countries and includes more than 30 production plants and over 2000 suppliers. Approximately 30 million parts move through the network each day.
With the goal of increasing efficiency, BMW chose to collaborate with 4flow and implement 4flow TORO. The software connects seamlessly with BMW’s existing ERP system. It integrates transportation and material planning to enable cross-functional optimization of material orders, automatically taking planning constraints into account. With this software support, BMW can consolidate shipments and significantly reduce transportation costs without affecting material availability or significantly increasing inventory requirements. The system was fully functional at the first plant within just six months.
“4flow TORO supports BMW in transforming its inbound logistics. The expanded optimization functions enable cost reduction and increased transportation efficiency,” explained Felix Prestel, partner at 4flow.
In collaboration with 4flow, BMW has optimized its transportation costs and positioned itself as a leader in efficient automotive logistics. Building on this success, BMW is currently planning further rollouts of 4flow TORO to additional plants. BMW also intends to extend its use of the software to full truckload (FTL) shipments.
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