Freight Consolidation for a European Automotive Manufacturer
identified annual freight cost savings through consolidation.
suppliers analysed across multiple plants and delivery routes.
manufacturing plants unified into a single freight optimization framework.
Industries & Expertise
Data Fragmentation at Manufacturing Scale
We partnered with a major European automotive manufacturer operating a complex multi-plant manufacturing network across Germany. The logistics planning team lacked the analytical infrastructure to systematically exploit optimization opportunities hidden across fragmented transportation systems. Accurate freight cost modeling revealed a deeper layer of complexity: precise weight and volume calculations were required for each purchase schedule line, depending on detailed load carrier specifications. A small part on a heavy-duty pallet carries radically different transport economics than the same part in a lightweight returnable container — making a material-centric ontology, unifying purchase schedules, demand forecasts, stock positions, and physical packaging specifications, the foundational architectural requirement.
Our Solution
A Transport Optimization Platform
Working with Sibyl as implementation partner, the freight planning team built a comprehensive transport optimization platform consolidating 18 months of historical delivery data across five manufacturing plants and 200+ suppliers — developed as one component of a broader supply chain digitalization initiative. The platform's ontology treated freight optimization not as an isolated problem but as an integrated capability spanning procurement, logistics, and inventory management. Operations research methods iteratively identified the highest-impact consolidation opportunities at supplier level, while an interactive workshop application embedded recommendations directly into procurement planning workflows — revealing approximately €50M in annual optimization opportunities.
Impact
€50 million in annual optimization opportunities extracted
through systematic delivery consolidation and supplier schedule reshuffling.
Transformation of freight optimization
from an occasional analytical exercise into a routine component of procurement planning.
Creation of actionable analytical recommendations
with freight planners able to encode supplier-specific knowledge.
Summary
The client was faced with a challenge that is characteristic in large-scale manufacturing: the inability to systematically exploit optimization opportunities due to lack of analytical infrastructure. The team implemented comprehensive data integration, sophisticated but pragmatic algorithms, and operational interfaces that transform analytical capabilities into routine decision-making tools. Sibyl’s solution shows how freight optimization can be approached not as a one-time analytical exercise, but as a permanent operational capability integrated into procurement planning and supplier management workflows.