Cat Logistics expands US distribution with Spokane centre
Caterpillar Logistics Services will begin construction this summer on a new US parts distribution centre in Spokane, Washington, which is expected to be completed next year and will replace the company’s existing 11,600m2 facility.
Caterpillar Logistics Services will begin construction this summer on a new US parts distribution centre in Spokane, Washington, which is expected to be completed next year and will replace the company’s existing 11,600m2 facility.
The new facility is part of the Caterpillar subsidiary’s expansion of its global CAT Parts distribution network in North America and builds on the recent addition of a 93,000m2 parts distribution centre in Clayton, Ohio. It will be the fourth parts facility to utilise Service Parts Management (SPM), a global solution that replaces multiple legacy software systems supporting the Cat Parts network.
"Cat dealers provide industry leading product support services," said Steve Larson, vice president of Caterpillar and chairman and president of Cat Logistics. "We enable that capability with the industry's best parts distribution network. The Spokane Parts Distribution Center makes us even stronger in North America by providing capacity for growth in parts demand while further optimizing the service parts supply chain."
Kerry Logistics builds on China spare parts network
Asian logistics provider, Kerry Logistics, has started construction of a 26,000m2 logistics centre in Wuxi, southern Jiangsu Province, which will provide warehousing, value-added services, distribution and freight services for automotive spare parts alongside other sectors.
The Wuxi Logistics Centre is expected to be complete by the fourth quarter of 2012 will have an annual turnover of some 60,000 tonnes. It is located in the Wuxi New District Wangzhuang Industrial Park and connects directly to National Highway 312 and is opposite the Wuxi Export Processing Zone. The logistics facility is also close to Wuxi Airport as well as Shanghai-Nanjing Expressway.
EU grants Ceva AEO status in UK
Ceva Logistics has been recognised by the European Union as an Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) in the UK, meaning it will benefit from simplified customs procedures and fast-tracking of applications. The recognition adds to the AEO accreditation Ceva secured in Ireland in 2010.
AEO certification measures compliance in ISO, security, HR and finance and constitutes a main element of the Customs Security Programme of the European Union.
The move comes ahead of next year’s new Modernised Customs Code Draft Implementing Provisions (MCCIP) in the UK, which will require a guarantee to be in place if a company holds a customs authorisation for a special procedure such as temporary storage, inward processing or customs warehousing.
“The AEO certification is a very important accreditation for Ceva,” said Michael O’Donoghue, Ceva’s managing director for Freight Management UK, Ireland and Nordics. “It has helped us to raise compliance levels and improve existing internal controls. Customs simplifications would not be granted without being able to meet the AEO criteria and without customs simplifications we would not be able to offer customs solutions or be competitive in the brokerage marketplace.”
Gefco pilots vehicle monitoring solution
Gefco Benelux has recently announced it is piloting a system to monitor logistics processes for vehicle transport in the Netherlands.
The system – “GEFCO Arrival at Destination Portal” – allows Gefco Benelux to visualise the entire logistics plan for vehicle transport and provide distributors with guarantees on quality.
Accessible via mobile phones, the system provides exact information on where the vehicles are and when they will be delivered, enabling Gefco and distributors to provide their own customers with additional services.
