Over the past 20 years, Duravit has made a name for itself in the international arena, first and foremost through its collaborations with renowned designers such as Philippe Starck, Norman Foster, Sieger Design, EOOS and Phoenix Design. Today, Duravit products are exported to more than 90 countries throughout the world. This has led to strong growth in recent years with Duravit's sales more than doubling in five years.
The highest levels of growth have been attained abroad with foreign markets accounting for almost 78% of total sales in 2008.This foreign expansion has imposed the very highest demands on the company's logistics organization. As a subsidiary of Duravit, “Duralog Logistik GmbH,” which houses a logistics center in Achern, is responsible for ensuring that the company’s deliveries run smoothly throughout the world. An Achern-based workforce of 80 is currently entrusted with this task. Optimum planning by the team in Achern guarantees top Duravit service ratings worldwide, making for a vital competitive edge. On this sound footing, Duravit is keeping its sights set firmly on being number one in logistics. Having expanded its logistics center just three years ago, Duralog has once again undertaken an investment in the double-figure million-euro bracket, installing a new, fully automated high-bay warehouse in Achern, Germany.
Integral, group-wide development of the logistics organization
"Duravit would not have been able to conquer the foreign markets so quickly without an absolutely reliable delivery organization, effective services and the ongoing worldwide availability of all products. As such, the success on the sales front is also a success story for us at the logistics level," explains Thomas Braig, head of Achern’s Group Logistics department and managing director of Duralog Duravit Logistik. Braig’s team was given the responsibility to develop the logistics organization as part of a fully-integrated overall concept. The experts from Duralog then teamed up with a planner to address the challenges, and, following a thorough analysis, Duralog decided in favor of an automatic warehouse with curve-negotiating rack-serving units. It also partnered with LTW Logistics, Züblin and Saar Lagertechnik in the process.
Measuring 345 x 167 feet and 85 feet in height, the new building provides enough space for 20,000 pallets at various storage heights. A 33 foot-high bridge, which runs deep into the existing manual warehouse, incorporates the new building into the overall logistics set-up. On the bridge, a conveyor system of almost 885 feet in length transports the pallets automatically between storage areas. "The original manual warehouse and the new automatic facility run together like clockwork," notes Mr. Braig.
Duravit lives by its design and brand – both inside and outside of the company
"The impact made by a company and its brand is a crucial competitive factor today. With communication habits changing so rapidly, it is more important than ever to make sure that your message is heard above the general noise," Mr. Braig continues. With this in mind, Duravit has pursued a consistent brand policy in recent years: "Worldwide, we are developing an appealing uniform corporate and brand image which exudes clarity and is designed to inspire trust among all our market partners through to the consumer." The appearance of the new building has also been designed to support this corporate image, sporting Duravit's signature blue and gray colors, highlighted in unique lighting. The connecting bridge shines beautifully in blue at night, shimmering through the dark hours together with the glazed warehouse façade. Apart from attending to the worldwide distribution of Duravit's products, the logistics center in Achern also serves as a design object in its own right.
Delivery reliability across the board
The wide variety of products (comprising several thousand) offered and developed by Duravit is destined to become an even greater challenge for the company's logistics organization in the future. One or two new projects (each of which include numerous pieces) are launched every year. The global economic crisis has even prompted Duravit to increase the pace of its development efforts, by launching not only a completely new series but also establishing three new business segments: ceramic kitchen sinks, pools and saunas.
Achern’s Group Logistics department is well-versed in the ongoing optimization of service levels and delivery reliability across all business segments. It organizes the worldwide availability of all products by means of software-assisted calculations in rolling quarterly planning. This has resulted in Duravit attaining a delivery reliability level of over 98.5% for its core products. In recognition of this, German publication Markt Intern awarded Duravit first place in its 2009 performance list of service providers and service reliability in the sanitary ceramic segment. "This top rating makes us all the more eager to stay ahead, particularly now that we have the new automatic warehouse at our disposal," notes Mr. Braig.
Investment in the future
"This new warehouse is important to Duravit as a whole in helping us to remain ahead of the field in the area of customer service," said Duravit management board chairman Franz Kook. "In view of the factories closing around us all over Europe, we are particularly glad to be in a position to undertake such investments." Duravit benefits here from its good equity ratio. Only a minor dividend has been paid out to shareholders for some years now, leaving 90% of annual profits within the company for further investments. This, in turn, enabled the company to complete the construction of a new plant in India and to open new showrooms in Egypt and Tunisia in 2009, for example.
"The plan now is for all of our investments in new 2009 structures to ‘bear fruit’ and yield profits," Mr. Kook explained. In keeping with these plans, the management board has already budgeted a slight increase in sales for 2010. In contrast, 2009 saw an unintended "blip" in the company's growth and its first ever drop in sales. The company nevertheless has no plans to tinker with its personnel structures. "We want to be ready for take-off, as soon as things start picking up again," insists Franz Kook. The company is certainly ready to mobilize all of its strengths on the logistics front.
A brief chronology of Duravit's central warehouse
Duralog Duravit Logistik GmbH has approximately 1,076,391 square feet of space at its disposal in Achern, around a quarter of which is currently in reserve. Construction of the facilities proceeded in various phases:
Work on construction of Duravit's new central warehouse in Achern began on Jannuary 24, 2001. In 2006, Duralog expanded the logistic center's capacity by 50%. This was in response to the increased requirements arising above all from Duravit's success in the Bathtubs + Wellness segment, which was established in 2002. A major portion of the space added in 2006 was thus earmarked for the storage of bathtubs in the most diverse shapes and sizes in special racking. Franz Kook, management board chairman of Duravit AG, intimated at the opening that this would not be the final chapter in the ongoing development of the depot in Achern. 2009 saw Duralog Logistik GmbH undertake a further investment – this time on the other side of the road, where a new, fully automated high-bay warehouse was built and connected via a 33 foot-high bridge to the existing building. The two areas are linked up via a conveyor system covering a total distance of around 885 feet. Measuring 344 x 167 feet and 85 feet in height, the new building will offer space for 20,000 pallets at various storage heights.
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CONTACTS: Alex Bursac, Duravit NYC, alex@us.duravit.com, 212-686-0033; or Shayna McClelland, Susan Grant Lewin Associates, shayna@susangrantlewin.com, 212-947-4557
Duravit Achern Press Release.pdf (125.65 kb)