Ceva Logistics has extended its spare parts service for Fiat Group with a supply chain management contract that will see it handle warehousing and distribution of parts for all Chrysler brands in Spain and Portugal.
The company will handle approximately 30,000 items a year for Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge brands which will be delivered at its existing facility at Alcala de Henares near Madrid. The warehouse will be expanded by 4,000 m² to accommodate the additional volumes, said the company.
Ceva will handle reception, warehousing, picking and final distribution to 92 centres in Spain and eleven in Portugal. It will also manage reverse logistics activities as well as waste management for batteries, damaged products and other materials that will be collected and recycled.
When it took its initial 20% stake in Chrysler last year Fiat announced it was beginning a two-year process aimed at taking over vehicle logistics and parts distribution in Europe for Chrysler as part of a wider sales and service integration between the two carmakers. It is currently providing sales and service operations for the Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge brands across Europe, including Germany, Italy, the UK, France, Spain, and Poland amongst others.
The current 30% stake taken in April, which could rise to 46% once proposed refinancing options for Chrysler are firmed up in June, is likely to further this integration and the latest contract with Ceva appears to indicate that the LSP remains very much a part of developments despite Fiat’s plans to bring the inbound freight forwarding and network management functions that Ceva has been providing under its own remit.
Ceva is currently helping Fiat in the transition of that business inhouse and will continue to play a significant role in servicing Fiat and Chrysler’s supply chain in the future according to the company (read more here).
“It’s an aggressive company with a smart and aggressive leadership but we still have a remarkable position within Fiat in their global supply chain,” Ceva’s chief business development officer, Vittorio Favati told Automotive Logistics News. “We are confident that in the years ahead we will still be heavily anchored as a core supplier for Fiat.”
Fiat Group first outsourced the management of its spare parts warehousing activities and dealer orders dispatch to Ceva in 1995. Last week it announced the set up of a new business division called Supply Chain Solutions, which it said will more effectively respond to the global demands of its customers. It has also announced the latest offering in its SMART Solutions portfolio with the addition of SMART End to End, which the new division will use to enhance inbound and aftermarket parts supply for its automotive customers (read more here).
