Vinturas, a consortium of major automotive logistics service providers in Europe, says it will operate a digital, blockchain-based platform from September. The system will provide end-to-end transparency in the finished vehicles’ supply chain, according to a company statement.
“Today’s automotive logistics infrastructure is characterised by scattered information flows and multiple legacy systems, making it impossible to trace vehicles on their way to the dealer,” the consortium said.
“Mileage fraud is a growing concern in cross-border processes in Europe. Vinturas will digitalise all aspects of the supply chain, from factory to dealer, and will also cover the logistics process for used vehicles in Europe, all designed to lead to more transparency, to greater efficiency, to an improved customer journey and to lower costs.”
Part of the plan
Such visibility can help dealers inform their customers about the location and estimated time of arrival of new vehicles, according to Vinturas, which foresees its platform enabling OEMs and fleet owners to manage their European flows on a near-real time basis. That can improve planning, optimise inventories and networks and save on costs.
The founding members of the consortium are logistics providers Axess Logistics (present across Scandinavia), Koopman Logistics (Netherlands and Germany), National Vehicle Distribution, NVD (Ireland and UK) and the Autolink Group (Baltics, Finland, Russia and the CIS). European sea-carrier EML will contribute to the platform by providing visibility for the sea-bound part of the automotive supply chain. US computer hardware manufacturer IBM will build the platform.
Vinturas’ CEO is Jon Kuiper (pictured), formerly CEO of Koopman. “We do believe the future of our industry is in collaborating and democratic data-sharing. By working together, we can unlock significant value for all players in our industry,” he said.
The first demonstrations of the platform are planned for July with the system expected to go live in September.
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