Logistics services provider Kuehne + Nagel (KN) has secured a two-year deal to manage inbound logistics for Volkswagen-FAW Engine’s plants in Dalian and Changchun, China.
According to KN, the new contract will use a sophisticated IT solution to address VW-FAW’s requirements for improved efficiency of its operations.
Deliveries are made to the plant from 149 automotive engine part suppliers nationwide.
The KN service will include the use of dynamic planning to ensure cost optimisation while managing multi-leg journeys, line hauls and reverse movement, said KN in a statement.
To provide more accurate real-time tracking of truck movements, Chinese social media mobile application, WeChat will be utilised by delivery drivers.
Zhiyu Wang, llogistic manager, for Volkswagen-FAW Engine said: “Kuehne + Nagel took a complex set of demands and transformed it into a seemingly simple logistics solution. Kuehne + Nagel’s solution has delivered cost savings, efficiency and achieved full supply chain visibility for [VW FAW Engine]."
The WeChat app will allow a mobile phone to scan a custom QR code to indicate a change in shipment status, automatically triggering an update in the order management system.
“Utilising the WeChat platform avoids the need to install additional apps or set-up additional hardware, allowing sub-contracted truckers to also utilise the same system,” said KN. “This, combined with an overarching operational control tower approach, ensures full transparency of the entire operation.”
The Dalian engine plant was completed and put into production in 2007. Volkswagen and FAW later commissioned the Changchun plant in northeast China during August 2013 with a capacity of 300,000 engines a year, rising to 450,000 a year in a later phase.
