Jorg Mosolf, CEO of German logistics service provider Horst Mosolf (pictured), used last week’s Automotive Logistics conference in India to announce the joint venture activity it is pursuing in the country, an indication of how serious providers are getting about doing business there.
The company has just completed the start up phase of its joint venture with Transport Solutions India – called Mosolf India Logistics – and will provide services for Volkswagen India for the passage of its vehicles from the factory in Pune to freight forwarding companies responsible for wider distribution.
“The management of the vehicles entails the planning and project control of all operative processes in the areas of maintenance and movement of the vehicles, including acceptance of the vehicles, technical services and passing them on to freight forwarding companies,” said Markus Laub, director Mosolf India Logistics.
Mosolf said it is bringing much-needed quality improvements by applying its own quality insurance systems and implementing tailored training of all employees, from management to drivers. It has brought experts from Europe to work in Pune who are sharing their know-how and experience in national and international logistics services according to the company.
Volkswagen is ramping up production at its $860m Chakan plant, which builds the Polo and Skoda Fabia, to compete with Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors, and plans to double the number of workers at its new factory to 2,500 by the end of next year
Mosolf is also targeting India’s truck manufacturers and is currently involved in negotiations with a number of logistics providers in the country supporting the sector. The company expects to make an announcement at the beginning of 2010.
At the conference Jorg Mosolf also went on to acknowledge that the 3PL model is a solution to some of the capacity problems hampering India. Multi-brand yards and transport, combined with a hub-and-spoke delivery system, would bring efficiencies and more capacity into the supply chain, he said.
Capacity was highlighted as a problem in India according to conference attendees, who bemoaned the slow turnaround times at plants and ports, leading to the capacity that does exist being under-utilised. This is made more acute by fluctuations in demand for vehicles from the beginning to the end of the month, as well as from season to season, which has made fleet companies unwilling to invest in assets they may have to idle said delegates.
