BMW has renewed its contract with DHL Freight to handle overland transport services in 17 European countries. It has also added a digital supply chain management service in a number of key markets.
DHL Freight moves inbound parts to BMW factories as well as providing spare parts deliveries for the carmaker’s aftermarket. Altogether DHL Freight is moving more than 90,000 full and less-than-truckload shipments per month.
The renewed contract covers more than 97% of the existing inbound-to-manufacturing business but DHL will now be supplying an additional supply chain management service called Connected Supply Chain (CSC). The system digitally depicts the entire supply chain for BMW. According to DHL, it delivers real-time, end-to-end visibility and management control of all the logistics and transport services DHL provides for BMW.
[mpu_ad]“Aspects such as order and status data are visible via a central portal, and orders receive a single reference number from beginning to end,” said Stefan Brunner, global sector head, automotive at DHL Freight. “This creates a new dimension of transparency and gives us and the customer the ability to mitigate risks of delays or other potential disruptions of the supply chain.”
DHL has also developed a mobile app for truck drivers that is directly linked to the CSC, which eases communication and helps to gain real-time status updates in both directions.
“DHL Freight and BMW have had a trustful and reliable partnership for years,” said Brunner. “We have an extensive expertise in automotive logistics and [have] built up a deep understanding for the needs and expectations of our customers. The Connected Supply Chain solution brings our partnership on a new level.”
