All features articles – Page 16

  • Feature

    Standing up to risk

    2019-02-06T16:00:00Z

    Given that it has recently welcomed a new government, is preparing for the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and is tackling a worsening domestic security situation, it is safe to say that the Mexican automotive industry faces significant risks as it seeks to improve on its position as the world’s ...

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    Q&A: Olivier Thouard, customs and tax director, Gefco

    2019-02-06T09:08:12Z

    Automotive companies and their logistics providers have largely been kept in the dark over the terms of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU and how they will continue to trade vehicles and parts with the continent. The UK exports more than 80% of the vehicles it makes but more than ...

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    Feature

    VW sets up new components division to drive efficiency

    2019-01-28T15:23:04Z

    Volkswagen has established a new division – Volkswagen Group Components – tasked with reducing costs by €2 billion ($2.27 billion) while improving efficiency and taking on board the increasing importance of electric vehicles. Thomas Schmall (right), chairman of VW’s new Group Components division, with Stefan Sommer, VW Group board member ...

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    Feature

    The long way home

    2019-01-22T12:24:00Z

    For inbound automotive supply chains, returnable packaging just makes sense. No carmaker wants to spend money on wood, paper and cardboard again and again, only to have to fork out straight away for costly waste disposal.

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    Feature

    Stocker takes on strategic role at DHL Supply Chain

    2019-01-22T11:16:44Z

    John Stocker (pictured) has moved to DHL Supply Chain as director of strategic development. He was previously commercial director at Gefco’s UK division and had been with the company for more than six years. DHL Supply Chain provides contract logistics services for a range of sectors, including automotive.“John has joined ...

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    Feature

    Hanging in the balance

    2019-01-21T16:55:00Z

    Lower production output, slower growth in export markets and several regulatory and operational issues are threatening to unbalance Poland’s finished vehicle market

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    Feature

    Stepping up the quality

    2019-01-21T12:13:00Z

    There are several advantages of shipping vehicles in kits rather than as completely built units, including lower costs for transport, better customs import conditions and the support of local government in exchange for providing employment to the workforce. A major disadvantage, however, is that defective, damaged or lost goods may ...

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    Feature

    The quest for greater unity

    2019-01-18T12:37:00Z

    One of the main priorities for inbound supply chain managers from a packaging perspective is the proper management of returnable containers and packages so they are delivered as quickly, efficiently and economically as possible. To achieve this, many North American OEMs have up to now insisted on their own forms ...

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    Feature

    Q&A: Iain Lindsay

    2019-01-17T16:37:00Z

    What do you say to potential investors who are concerned about what Brexit may mean for trade, particularly with the flow of goods and material being so essential to the automotive industry?Brexit is an issue that is at the heart of business concerns: what will it mean in terms of ...

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    Feature

    Tracking made easy

    2019-01-17T11:47:00Z

    Just over 18 months after Slough, UK-based Movolytics was formed, the vehicle tracking company announced an ambitious expansion. Following its initial foray into providing fleet management services in the UK, the company decided to branch out into Europe’s second largest fleet market – Spain. “Spain has the second largest commercial ...

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    Feature

    Packing a punch

    2019-01-16T11:13:00Z

    Electric cars could revolutionise transport by providing a cheaper, safer and more environmentally friendly way to travel. The International Energy Agency forecasts that there will be 13m electric vehicles (EVs) on the road globally by 2020, while PwC Autofacts predicts that 55% of all new vehicle sales will be fully ...

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    Innovation and smart tech: Why BMW is driving both

    2019-01-11T16:52:00Z

    Handling 31m parts and producing almost 10,000 vehicles each day, BMW is increasingly looking to digitalisation and Industry 4.0 innovations to help it organise its logistics more flexibly…

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    Feature

    Q&A: Florian Huettl

    2019-01-07T12:08:00Z

    Can you outline your role in Renault’s approach to sales and operations planning (S&OP)?I’m the vice-president of sales forecast and distribution. I work in sales and I run the S&OP together with my colleagues from supply chain. That already tells you something about Renault’s approach to S&OP; we manage ...

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    Feature

    Progress for all to CEE

    2019-01-07T11:35:00Z

    In past decades, international investment has flowed into the automotive industry in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) primarily due to it being a low-cost production centre. However, these days the region has much more to attract such investment, including a well-trained workforce, a wide-ranging supplier base and improving logistics infrastructure, ...

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    Feature

    Q&A: Neuton Karassawa

    2019-01-04T15:12:00Z

    Can you give an overview of GM’s logistics activities in Brazil, and your own responsibilities?The scope of my function in the region is to handle the inbound pieces and materials, such as local inbound flows from overseas to South America. I [also] manage outbound flows from the factories to customers ...

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    Feature

    Stepping up the pace

    2019-01-02T17:30:02Z

    When Groupe PSA bought Opel/Vauxhall from GM in 2017 for €2.2 billion ($2.33 billion), Gefco was already providing logistics services for it. Then, when Opel/Vauxhall renewed its contract for fourth-party logistics (4PL) services with Gefco in October 2018 for a further four years, Gefco was tasked with finding further cost ...

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    Feature

    A look back down the road

    2019-01-02T14:31:00Z

    This time last year, the trucking industry and its customers were just settling into compliance with a mandate from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) that required electronic logging devices (ELDs) on commercial vehicles with a gross weight of over 10,000 pounds (4,500kg). In the months preceding the initial ...

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    Feature

    BMW ups the pace on industry 4.0 technology

    2018-12-11T17:49:00Z

    BMW Group is to expand its use of industry 4.0 innovations in its production logistics, it has revealed. In 2015, BMW Group joined forces with the Fraunhofer Institute IML to develop the first self-driving Smart Transport Robots (STR). Three years later, the carmaker is increasingly relying on innovations from industry ...

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    Feature

    Brazil needs investment and talent to flip the recession

    2018-12-04T09:00:00Z

    While the automotive sector in Brazil waits for political reform under its new president-elect Jair Bolsonaro, including investment in transport and infrastructure, logistics providers need to be creative in overcoming the existing poor state of the roads and ports. That is if the country is to exploit returning growth, including ...

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    Feature

    GM to close seven plants next year

    2018-11-28T10:51:00Z

    GM has announced it will close three of its North American assembly plants next year along with two transmission plants, resulting in the loss of over 14,000 jobs. It also has plans to shut two additional plants outside North America by the end of 2019, following this year’s closure of ...