Automobile Logistics 4.0: Advances Through Digitalization

In today’s buyer’s markets, logistical service quality is of great importance, particularly for high-priced products. For many buyers, the automobile is the epitome of a high-priced, individually customized product. Hence, customers expect a high delivery service quality. Distribution logistics provides the link between the manufacturer and the customer and is therefore responsible for providing these services. In automobile logistics, the distribution chain involves several stakeholders, such as manufacturers, transport, and technical services providers, as well as dealers. Seamless coordination between them is crucial. Digitalization is an inevitable means for gaining a high level of transparency among the stakeholders. In addition, it provides technologies for developing effective and tailor-made assistance and control systems that support processes along the distribution chain. In recent years, the BIBA—Bremer Institut für Produktion und Logistik GmbH has been active in automobile logistics research and has been involved in developing several assistant and control systems that range from relatively simple track and trace systems to highly complex compound control systems. In this paper, we present an overview of the developed systems and provide a vision, how recent and ongoing research improves automobile logistics and how to further potential can be leveraged.