In the past, European customers mostly relied on seafreight spareparts shipments from home markets. Long lead times often resulted in vehicle downtime and operational losses. In February this year, the BAIC FOTON European Regional Distribution Centre (RDC) was officially put into operation in Unna, Germany. Genuine spare parts are prestocked locally in Europe, enabling a closedloop workflow covering receiving, warehousing, sorting, verification and direct delivery. This shifts aftersales support from “crossborder waiting” to “localised rapid response”. Having operated for half a year, the warehouse has built a wellestablished spareparts inventory and distribution system, serving as a key pillar for BAIC FOTON to deepen its European footprint and advance its global layout.



Forwardlocated Warehouse Network Layout Brings Spare Parts Closer to Customers

Covering an area of approximately 20,000 square metres, the European RDC features palletbased storage bays for largesize components (engines, chassis) as well as storage slots for small parts. Zoned management is adopted to ensure highefficiency turnover of spare parts. Aligned with local vehicle models and maintenance requirements, the team dynamically optimises inventory. The range of stocked parts has expanded from several hundred items at the initial stage to nearly 1,600 SKUs, covering full categories including engines, braking systems, chassis and electrical components.In terms of distribution, with Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands as the core zone, orders can be delivered within 1-4 days. For other European markets, delivery is completed in 5-14 days. A local distribution network covering key European markets is taking shape.

Empowered by the synergy of software and hardware, intelligent hardware is translated into solid servicedelivery capabilities.

Building the warehouse is merely the first step. Delivering each spare part to customers accurately and ontime relies on stable workflows and sustained operations. The RDC is equipped with automated conveying and sorting lines, dense bintype automated racking systems and highbay pallet racks. Supported by robotic picking equipment, it significantly reduces repetitive handling while improving space utilisation and picking efficiency.

Meanwhile, the WMS (Warehouse Management System) assigns a dedicated storage location to every spare part. Upon order placement, the system automatically calculates the optimal picking route. Manmachine collaboration covers picking, checking, packaging and outbound dispatch with full traceability across the whole process. Since the warehouse went operational, the team has kept optimising receiving, putaway, picking and shipping procedures, translating smart hardware capabilities into consistent and reliable service performance.

Operational outcomes are gradually delivered, with service value increasingly demonstrated.

Following months of solid operation, the variety of sparepart inventory had risen significantly by 119% as of July. Order packaging and shipment are efficiently coordinated, with monthly outbound value growing steadily. More importantly, these figures reflect tangible improvements in customer experience. Spare parts that once required longdistance transfers can now be dispatched locally within Europe. Repair workshops and vehicle owners receive genuine OEM parts more quickly, which noticeably cuts vehicle downtime and reduces associated operational losses.

Beyond enhancing the stability and visibility of spareparts supply, the RDC has helped build growing trust among European customers in BAIC FOTON’s aftersales service. This trust lays a more solid foundation for vehicle sales, customer retention and longterm brand development.

Building on stable operations, we continue to deepen and refine our work.

Stable operation is not the end goal. Moving forward, BAIC FOTON will focus on continuous improvements across three key areas. Based on vehicle parc data and maintenance records, the company will enhance the accuracy of spareparts stocking for frequentlyused components and strengthen the supply assurance for largesize and longleadtime parts. It will further boost peakperiod processing capacity through deeper integration between automated equipment and the Warehouse Management System (WMS). In addition, BAIC FOTON will strengthen collaboration with regional logistics partners to shorten delivery leadtimes for remote areas. A closedloop customer feedback mechanism will also be established to feed marketidentified issues into inventory adjustments and process optimization.

BAIC FOTON’s European RDC is steadily evolving from “operational launch” toward “highefficiency and reliable performance”. It delivers timely, accurate and convenient genuine spareparts services for European customers, while exploring replicable approaches for building the overseas aftersales supplychain system for Chinese commercial vehicles. Moving forward, this distribution hub in the heart of Europe will continue to deliver solid support for BAIC FOTON’s global journey.