A few interesting comments from the Automotive Logistics Europe conference in Bonn.
 

"We are working together to find creative solutions to reduce environmental impacts. One of the most important things is to standardise. It’s important for LSPs that each OEM doesn’t have its own solution – there needs to be a common solution for everybody. "
- Andrea Eck, Volkswagen Group
"If you can make us more competitive, we are happy to sign contracts for three, five or even six years, as we have done in the past.” " - Johannes Van Osta, JCB
"If you don’t understand what the ultimate customer of your supply chain needs, you are not a good job in managing your supply chain.

If as a player in the automotive aftermarket supply chain, you don’t remember the rage and frustration of the customer who does not get his part fast enough and his car fast enough, then you are missing the boat. That is what you are working for – to minimise that rage and frustration for the final client.

If you are in the inbound supply chain, and you have not spent time at the assembly line learning the line-back principle and the ergonomics of the point of fit where your part is being assembled and fit, then I don’t think you can do a really good job of doing supply chain to assembly."
 - Dr Michael Kluger, Neovia Logistics

"Local LSPs speak the languages of the local customers; they may be close to the dealer; they can act quickly; they share the dealer's values and thoughts. The local LSP can make the link between the OEM's global or regional requirements and the local individual needs of the dealer: such as early or late deliveries, consolidated deliveries of goods from different consigners, value added services."" - Eric Zuercher, Swiss Post
"We’ve been working with Gefco for more than a year now. The objective was to expand our volume basis by combining our flows with those that Gefco manages. Did we achieve all of our goals within the first year of the operation? No, and we didn’t expect it to. But we have made tremendous progress so far, including on a freight audit and pay system across our carrier base in Europe."
- Andreas Ginkel, Opel/Vauxhall
"We should use the change of destination option. We found in one case that around $1m could be saved in inland cost by having a good process for allocating unsold vehicles already in transport" - Christian Fuss, WWL
"If the same type of spare part keeps getting damaged, or the damage keeps happening in the same place, then we need to take corrective action on how to mitigate that. Is it something in the handling, or the packaging process? We have to find the starting point. Damage is always a difficult thing, and unless you identify the source of it it's impossible to eradicate"
- Suzanne McGee, TNT Express
"I know in several cases that I have confronted OEMs and asked them why they don’t accept the innovations they are asking for. The answer given is that ‘it would require us to change and we can’t do that’. It’s not because they don’t recognise the value of it but it often goes in the ‘too hard box’ because of the lack of political harmony within OEM organisations" - Bruce Arlinghaus, consultant
"[One provider] could take Seats from Martorell to central Europe and then get loads from Kia for south Europe on the back leg. But we OEMs are not looking at each other because we are competitors and don’t look for the best way to arrange a profitable way for the providers." - Carlos Lahoz, Kia Motors Europe


 

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