All africa articles – Page 30
-
FeaturePutting plan B into action
When the best-laid schemes of supply chain management go askew, premium freight is the last and best resort to avoid the worst. Marcia MacLeod looks at the contingency thinking and critical strategies that save the day."What if" thinkingPersonal servicesSupply chain preassuresIn an ideal world the automotive supply chain would run ...
-
FeatureIndian exports seek the perfect port
The Big Two versus home-grown talentAny port in a boom?Mumbai PortMundra PortChennai PortEnnore PortThe futureForeign carmakers have been quick to seize the opportunity of using India as an export base for small cars. Since 1998, policies in India have supported wholly-owned vehicle manufacturing facilities allowing foreign carmakers to set up ...
-
FeatureIs sharing a box worth it?
Container pooling tackles some important hidden costs in the inbound supply chain. But are the opportunities offered by the approach being ignored as OEMs and suppliers struggle with larger problems?Pool playersA pool, not a puddleImpact of the crisisCurrent challenges but future opportunityTracking the boxesPackaging in the inbound automotive supply chain ...
-
FeatureHow to cope without a crystal ball
General Motor’s head of logistics Susanna Webber talks to Christopher Ludwig about improving supplier relations and how a total enterprise cost approach could help the company understand how to react to future risk and changes in the global supply chainLooking back and learning from the painThe recession's silver liningBuilding a ...
-
FeatureIn Profile: Joe Hinrichs
Joe Hinrichs' rise at Ford has been as quick as it has been impressive. Having worked a decade for General Motors, and several years at a manufacturing investment firm, he first came to the attention of Automotive Logistics in 2002, when he took over as Ford’s executive director for material ...
-
FeatureCeva builds contract with BMW in Italy
Ceva Logistics has signed a three-year agreement with BMW to operate a new dealer metro distribution centre (DMDC) for supply of spare parts to dealers in Lombardy and Piedmont. Ceva will handle BMW and MINI parts in the new 3,100m2 centre owned by BMW at Albairate in the west of ...
-
FeatureExport promise sways OEMs in Asia Pacific
Ford has said that Thailand's top class automotive, logistics and export infrastructure was a factor in its decision to build a new $450m passenger vehicle plant in Rayong. The plant will have an annual production capacity of 150,000 vehicles and will begin assembling the next-generation Ford Focus from 2012 according ...
-
FeatureAnalysis China: rising currency & wages to benefit global LSPs?
Factories in China continued to see disruptions this week to the flow of material to assembly lines following another set of strikes by parts suppliers over low wages. This time the walkouts were in Guangdon province at Denso (Guangzhou Nansha), a subsidiary of Japanese tier supplier Denso–the largest global supplier ...
-
FeatureVW opens $30m distribution centre in South Africa
Volkswagen South Africa has opened a R230m ($30.4m) parts distribution centre in Centurian, near Pretoria. At the opening ceremony VW’s management board chairman Martin Winterkorn said the centre would be fully operational before the end of 2010. The new 26,000m2 centre is product of the company’s Strategy 2018 project, which ...
-
FeaturePirates release Asian Glory car carrier
The car carrier VC Asian Glory, which was hijacked at the beginning of January by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean, has now been released and escorted to Oman by the British military. The release follows the payment of a ransom of unspecified amount though reports indicate that the pirates ...
-
FeaturePort access important for PSA Vigo model
Logistics considerations are behind PSA Peugeot-Citroën’s decision to build a new mid-range vehicle for emerging markets at its Vigo plant in north-western Spain. The plant is located near the port of Vigo and will ease shipments to developing markets according to the company. The move is part of its strategy ...
-
Feature
GM Executives on the move
General Motor’s Johnny Saldhana (pictured) has been promoted to vice president, Global Purchasing & Supply Chain – GM International Operations (GMIO), from his position as vice president Global Purchasing & Supply Chain, for Latin America, Africa & Middle East region (LAAM). Saldhana will move to Shanghai, China in his ...
-
FeatureIndia's infrastructure push will aid carmakers
The Indian government has announced it is setting up an INR 500 billion ($11 billion) debt fund to address the country’s poor transport infrastructure, including the building of ports, roads and bridges. The news will be welcome to carmakers and their logistics providers in the country, where poor infrastructure contributes ...
-
FeatureTransnet strike threatens South African carmakers
As the strike action affecting Transnet’s South African logistics network heads toward the end of its second week with no resolution in sight, there are increasing concerns amongst the country’s carmakers that production and logistics will be badly affected. The South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) and the ...
-
FeatureRenault to double parts sourcing from India
Renault is planning to more than double shipments of parts from India to its overseas factories, including those in Romania, Turkey and South Africa, with purchasing from the country expected to reach up to €250m ($320m) by 2013, compared with €75m this year. The plans were announced in the Indian ...
-
FeatureExecutives on the move
Toyota Motor Sales USA has appointed Randy Pflughaupt, formerly group vice president for Toyota marketing, as group vice president, sales administration in a role that will involve Toyota Logistics Services. He will succeed Bill Fay who has moved from sales administration to a new position as group vice president. Nancy ...
-
FeatureEurope flight chaos hits auto sector
Even as airspace is reopened and flights gradually resume following new European guidelines on the levels of volcanic ash safe for aircraft, the fallout from Europe’s worst ever airspace disruption continues to cause transport capacity shortages and thus supply constraints in European automotive factories, particularly at the tier supplier levels, ...
-
FeatureDaimler wants a total supply chain view
Dr Holger Scherr, head of Worldwide Transport Logistics, wants to bring a change to logistics at Daimler, helping the OEM to better understand logistics across all of its business unitsLogistics is the proof for production strategiesTransport beyond supply-and-demand economicsA step toward cooperationPotential incentive schemes for inbound carriersIn 2009, as Daimler ...
-
FeatureGefco moves PSA parts to Russia
Gefco has launched an exclusive rail freight service for Peugeot Citroën between the carmaker’s Vesoul plant in France and the new production facility the French carmaker is setting up with Mitsubishi in Kaluga, Russia. Production at the €470m ($630m) plant is reported to be starting at the end of April. ...
-
FeatureLSPs recognised in GMSA's supplier awards
Three logistics carriers feature among 20 companies recognised in General Motors South Africa’s 2009 Supplier of the Year awards announced this week at an event held at the new Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth. Identified in the logistics category for superior performance over the last year are UTi, ...