All OEMs articles – Page 49
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FeatureHow best to track the pack?
Recently developed RFID tags are becoming gradually more accessible to the masses, but do the benefits of this technology outweigh its initial expense.Track-and-trace technology enables users to locate and identify items throughout the supply chain. Methods adopted for such purposes on the returnable transit packaging used for moving automotive components ...
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FeatureKeeping up to speed
With production in eastern and central Europe predicted to grow further, investment in logistics operations must be made to cope with the flow of exports.Within the borders (and non-borders) of the European Union and its immediate trading partners, the past two decades have seen a gradual, but undeniable expansion of ...
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FeatureIs there still a place for leaders?
The ‘lead logistics provider’ concept may be undergoing its biggest ever changes. The question is whether or not it is still working for today’s automotive industry. Co-ordinated from a ‘control tower’ based on the customer's site in Solihull, England, an extensive European supply chain feeds the three British vehicle assembly ...
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FeatureFinding ways to improve benchmarking
Despite a multitude of difficulties, many outbound LSPs are working to benchmark performance, but it will take significant co-operation between OEMs to really push the process forwardBenchmarking in finished vehicle logistics can be a fraught practice. The international scale of the automotive industry, myriad business models and varying company objectives ...
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FeatureWhen supply is a close run thing
Carmakers are showing a renewed interest in local supply networks, but do the benefits of supplier proximity balance the costs for both sides, or is there a middle distance to be found for a win-win? The evolution of automotive manufacturing has mostly been a story of dis-integration. Today’s car factories ...
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FeatureGlobal conference: Honda handling the lower tier supply of parts
Honda of America is managing the logistics behind the inbound supply of certain parts from its lower tier suppliers to those on the tier one and two level, and is currently running a pilot project with Transfreight for the delivery of those parts. The reorganisation also affects parts purchasing and ...
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FeatureDressing for a hot market in a cold network
The 15th annual Automotive Logistics Global conference, held at the MGM Grand in downtown Detroit, brought senior OEM, tier supplier and logistics provider executives to discuss ways of coping with the current growth and changes across the North American network. Most anticipated growing complexity, an increasingly important Mexico, and the ...
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FeatureGlobal conference: Ford is buying more boxes ‘off the shelf’
Ford Motor Company is making a global push to reduce the amount of specialised, bespoke racking and packaging that it uses to move components and parts, in favour of more ‘off the shelf’, standard equipment. The carmaker is also looking to take more ownership of containers and racks, rather than ...
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FeatureGlobal conference: velocity versus efficiency in spare parts
Consumers and customers are becoming an increasingly demanding bunch. Long gone are the days of customers waiting weeks for products – including service parts or aftermarket accessories for their vehicles. After all, if consumers can have next day delivery of anything from a pair of socks to a television from ...
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FeatureGlobal conference: lessons from the polar vortex
During the Automotive Logistics Global conference in Detroit, executives in finished vehicle logistics looked back at the impact of the ‘polar vortex’, which hit North America last winter, leading to wide-scale transport disruptions. Some tough lessons were learned, not least by the rail sector, about how to avoid the same ...
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FeatureGlobal conference: pressure is on for outbound innovation
“The enterprise that doesn’t innovate ages and declines. And in a period of rapid change, such as the present, the decline will be fast.” So said the management consultant Peter Drucker, and it should be a warning to the finished vehicle sector, according to Kirk Williams, president of car haulier ...
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FeatureGlobal conference: rising complexity
The global rise of vehicle assembly continues, bringing with it a lot more complexity in supply chain management, global part and vehicle movements, and electronics and technology, according to speakers at this week’s Automotive Logistics Global conference in Detroit. Global vehicle assembly is set to hit 85.7m units in 2014, ...
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FeatureGefco seals outbound deal with Jaguar Land Rover
Jaguar Land Rover has signed a new outbound contract with logistics and transport provider Gefco for the movement of Range Rovers from its UK production plants to ports of exit. According to Gefco the new deal follows a review by Jaguar Land Rover of its domestic carriers.To support the contract ...
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FeatureDB Schenker to develop Shenyang logistics centre with local partner
DB Schenker is planning a new €20m ($26m) automotive logistics centre in Shenyang, China. The German transport and logistics provider is working in a joint venture with an as-yet unnamed local partner on the 45,000 sq.m facility, which will distribute spare parts as well as providing inbound parts supply for ...
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FeaturePenkse boosts CV distribution business with MTU-DDA buyout
Transport provider Penske Automotive Group has signed an agreement to acquire MTU Detroit Diesel Australia (MTU-DDA) from its partners Daimler and MTU Friedrichshafen (an affiliate of Rolls-Royce Power Systems). MTU-DDA distributes diesel and gas engines, and power systems, in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, to a range of industries ...
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FeatureWebber takes over as head of GM Russia
General Motors has announced that Susanna Webber, vice-president of global purchasing and supply chain Europe for the last four years, is being appointed president and managing director of GM Russia with immediate effect. Her appointment is part of a restructuring of GM’s Russian operations that will include reduced production and ...
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FeatureAutomotive Logistics launches first Mexico conference
Automotive Logistics is holding its first conference in Mexico in January next year in association with the US Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG). The three-day event will take place in Mexico City, at the Marquis Reforma hotel, between the 27-29 January.Mexico is seeing a wave of new investment as OEMs ...
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FeatureMexican production booms but tier ones still reliant on imports
As production continues to grow in Mexico, with a recent spate of OEM and tier one suppliers announcing plans for facilities, the tier two and raw material base remains underdeveloped, which means that tier one suppliers are still relying on a high level of imports, according to industry analyst IHS ...
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FeatureExports of German cars to Russia is falling
During the first seven months of 2014, supplies of German-made vehicles and parts to Russia have dropped by more than 24% year-on-year, according to the Association of European Businesses (AEB). Russian experts have said that imports are falling following the overall drop in sales in the Russian car market, especially ...
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FeatureSteady makes a Subaru
Subaru has doubled sales in the US over the past five years, by maintaining a well-planned, stable scheduling and logistics flow. Its top logistics team talks in depth about the carmaker's strategy for current and future growthSubaru has been on a tear for the last seven, tumultuous years in the ...