By 2016, General Motors executives want to reduce the automaker’s North American material and logistics costs by $1 billion, according to a Detroit News report. The project involves creating localized logistics and distribution facilities, moving suppliers closer to assembly plants, adding stamping plants at assembly plants that don’t have them, and extending rail lines directly to plants.
Specifically, The General is currently building a $44.5 million logistics center at its Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant, $121 million at the Detroit-Hamtramck Plant to build a 450,000 square-foot addition to support bundling and sequencing of parts for assembly lines, and spending $3 million to extend a rail line to connect to the Detroit-Hamtramck plant.
The undertaking is part of GM’s push to become more efficient following a series of new product introductions in North America and trans-continentally, as well. The vehicle introductions have generally resulted in greater demand for The General’s vehicles, leaving some plants with room to improve logistics and material handling efficiencies.