Higher, faster, further – io designs new LIEBHERR continental warehouse in the USA

The company made a strategic decision to strengthen its after-sales support for its growing customer base in North and South America with the goal of gradually expanding it over the next few years. The starting point was to strengthen its logistics network by building a state-of-the-art spare parts distribution center in the United States. LIEBHERR intends this as a springboard to ensure a late cut-off time for orders from its North American customers resulting in reliable next-day delivery of critical spare parts thus further reinforcing its image as the go-to partner in the sector. The plan was also to set up a free trade zone so that the distribution center’s inventory would remain the property of the supplying producers.

In summer 2023, LIEBHERR approached io with a project brief. As a full-service provider, io brings extensive experience from numerous successful projects, consistently delivering needs-based planning that meets both time and budget constraints. Leveraging this expertise, io quickly developed the core logistics requirements for LIEBHERR’s planned U.S. distribution center. In addition to practical questions about the requirements and a resulting, overarching warehouse design, the main focus here was on what a suitable location would need to look like. io took a holistic approach and scrutinized the details – such as locally available parcel service providers offering guaranteed pick-up times late in the day – in line with LIEBHERR’s requirements. All legal and local economic and regulatory requirements were taken into account, including the possibility of benefiting from local, state and federal start-up incentives.

The final decision to select a 48-hectare site within the Hive Business Park near Tupelo, Mississippi was driven by a center-of-gravity analysis combined with a comparative regional assessment. These evaluations identified the chosen location as the optimal solution overall.

While the site selection process was still underway in collaboration with LIEBHERR, io was already working behind the scenes to make sure the project could move forward without delay once the location was confirmed. The overall io project was structured into three interdependent modules running concurrently. This approach enabled io to begin developing the design for the highly automated spare parts distribution center – intended to be operated by LIEBHERR – well in advance, allowing implementation to commence immediately after the site was finalized.

“The biggest challenge was probably the time pressure. Many potential locations were analyzed and evaluated at lightning speed. The building layout and planning also had to be done under considerable time pressure,” recalls LIEBHERR Logistics Managing Director Jörg Ströbele in an interview with io “// plus” customer magazine. “However, thanks to the professional and long-standing collaboration with io, the project was successfully completed – and within the specified timeframe.”

io developed an independent project portal as the technical and logistical basis for this challenging project. This was used as a communication hub for the project participants’ data transfer, as a project calendar and for transparent documentation of the project’s progress.

Following completion of the planning phase, the project has already reached an advanced stage on site in Tupelo, a mere two years after the initial contact between LIEBHERR and io. The workplace for around 180 new employees is scheduled for completion and commissioning in 2026. In addition, LIEBHERR has already announced that it will also be investing heavily in the further development of the site by establishing a corporate campus on the new company premises in the future.