Gefco has launched a vehicle transport service between car dealerships in Italy that it said would help minimise car stocks while also providing flexibility in meeting increases in demand across regions. The Dealer-to-Dealer (D2D) service started in March and will involve between 1,500-2,000 multi-brand dealerships across the country
“The market is changing,” Giovanni Origone, FVL division manager for Gefco Italy, told Automotive Logistics. “Due to crisis effects, dealerships can’t afford to keep many vehicles ready without being absolutely sure to sell them soon. The D2D service tries to satisfy this kind of need providing a new opportunity to dealerships and, indirectly, to final customers. As we can present ourselves as skilled operators with a recognisable leadership in transporting vehicles, this is a way to complete our offer and spread the business where the market actually requests it.”
Origone explained that Gefco is providing dealerships with a web service that provides them with a simple interface including a form with all the requisite detail.
“Then we process the request considering the dealership demand and offering the quickest transport solution,” said Origone. “We’re always monitoring stocks with the dealerships net and sharing all the useful information with customers, to guarantee a better service for all. Gefco takes care of all the details of the shift between dealerships.”
The company said that it expected to make around 2,000 vehicles dealer swaps per year in Italy.
The swaps are being operated “as and when needed” according to Origone, but the company’s aim is to build “a fidelity relationship” with dealerships to provide an ongoing service.
Asked whether the service will make the most of multimodal to find efficiency gains, Origone said it would call on existing road and rail services as well as additional fleet allocation when necessary.
“The primal goal is optimisation and service integration,” he said. “We try to take advantage of our ordinary shipping, to allocate new D2D service whenever it’s possible and worth it. Otherwise we provide our service for the best, starting a dedicated shipping.”
Extension of rail service in Spain
Meanwhile, in Spain, Gefco has extended the rail service it is offering for vehicle shipments through the country. The service, which was set up in January this year, is now providing 2-3 trains per week and is moving 340-410 Citroën vehicles each week from the carmaker’s plant in Vigo to southern France. The company said it would also be looking at opportunities for other customers in the second phase of developments.
“Gefco’s aim is to provide alternative services to other customers who are noticing a lack of transport capacity in the event of isolated increases in volume,” a spokesperson told Automotive Logistics.
In an official statement, Lourdes Soto, FVL manager at Gefco Spain, said the service showed that Gefco was dedicated to helping its customers achieve their environmental goals by reducing CO2 emissions through the use of multimodal transport.
The company estimates that the service will take around 3,400 trucks off the road, with a reduction of 5,300kg of CO2.
