All features articles – Page 40
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FeatureMaintaining traction through efficiency in Brazil
Vehicle sales in Brazil have tumbled and industry players need to slash costs, even as carmakers continue to invest heavily. OEMs and LSPs are redrawing their supply chains, while staying optimisticAfter the boom, Brazil’s economy is stuttering. Real GDP growth is expected to drop 1% for 2015 and inflation is ...
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FeatureBrazil: FCA goes the distance
Fiat Chrysler has increased investment in Brazil, opening a plant in the north-east even as the market declines. Industrial director Mauro Pino talks about logistics strategies for managing both near and long distance supply chainsFiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), which has a market share of around 20% in Latin America, has ...
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FeatureClouding the future
The past few years have seen a boom in the take-up of software as a service among a range of industries, but carmakers are still reluctant to take what they perceive as a chance on data securityThe last time Automotive Logistics took a specific look at the automotive industry’s use ...
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FeatureCutting out the paper trail
Digital information is faster, more accurate and more useful, so why is there still so much paper in the automotive supply chain?Almost all companies now have some kind of digital infrastructure underpinning their processes, but can any automotive logistics operations be said to be truly paperless?Perhaps the most notable recent ...
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FeatureRussia conference: learning to grin and bear it
The Russian market has fallen to its lowest level since the global economic crisis, and manufacturers and logistics providers may face a long road to recovery. However, more than 150 delegates at the Automotive Logistics Russia conference made it clear that they remain committed to the market. Christopher Ludwig and ...
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FeatureFord: Always returning to the drawing board
Anthony Coia looks at how consolidation and frequent reviews are helping Ford improve efficiency and keep costs low while dealing with the unpredictable challenges of global spare parts movementWith continued growing demand and competition for service parts around the world, improving export processes has become vital to the image and ...
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FeatureClosing the gap in Africa
South Africa’s vehicle exports to the rest of the African continent, particularly on the west coast, continue to grow, presenting an opportunity for a variety of carriers who service the country’s main export hubs. However, despite the relative proximity of these markets to South African manufacturers, the logistics gap is ...
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FeatureVolvo: Extending a 'second home' advantage
After building a logistics management team from scratch in Europe, Volvo Car Group will do the same for its growing operations in China. Christopher Ludwig talks to Magnus Ödling, who will lead the transformation, including a tender later this yearIt could well be that 2014 will be looked on as ...
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FeatureFVL conference: discussing the economics of collaboration
Gerald Lee, vice president, vehicle planning and logistics, Subaru of America, and Glenn Clift, president and chief executive officer at Glovis America, joined editor Christopher Ludwig and publisher Louis Yiakoumi, together audience members from United Road, Fiat Chrysler, Jack Cooper, Tesla and others in discussing some of the big themes ...
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FeatureEC launches infringement proceedings against Germany over wage legislation
The European Commission (EC) has launched an infringement procedure against Germany in response to its extension of minimum wage legislation to international transport operators entering German territory. “[T]he application of German measures to transit and certain international transport operations can in the Commission's view not be justified, as it ...
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FeatureFord rings the changes at Valencia
Ford’s plant in Valencia, Spain has been transformed into one of its busiest and most complex supply chains globally, with five models across two assembly lines, and a global export distribution. Marcus Williams considers why Ford chose itThe consolidation of production at Almussafes, just outside Valencia on Spain’s Mediterranean coast, ...
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FeatureSpeed and complexity is the name of the game for Gefco UK
Economic growth in the UK and the success of the automotive sector over the last few years has brought some welcome challenges to the logistics providers operating there, few more so than Gefco UK. According to its managing director, Tristan Balayn (pictured), the country’s fast and sustained growth has required ...
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FeaturePacking a punch in Mexico
Mexico’s rise is bringing growth in packaging supply and solutions, but a lack of standards could put supply chain efficiency at risk.Mexico is one of the hottest countries for automotive production growth right now, and the staggering increase of automotive production in the country has touched every aspect of the ...
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FeatureToyota’s fuel cell future rolls on
In launching its new, hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, the Mirai (left), Toyota had to work carefully with a number of chemical organisations, right through to the United Nations, to make sure the vehicles could be shipped in the most efficient way possible.In the push for alterative fuel vehicles, whether plug-in ...
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FeaturePanel discussion: China needs innovation in logistics
Reaching the end of the Automotive Logistics conference in Shanghai, a senior executive panel joined editor Christopher Ludwig and publisher Louis Yiakoumi in a lively debate about some of the recurring themes from the event. Topics discussed included the impact the ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative would have on the ...
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FeatureChina conference: the big come to get stronger
Speakers at the 12th annual Automotive Logistics China conference pointed to efforts at both the government and industry level to improve services, become more efficient, market orientated, and international, particularly with growth slowing down. Christopher Ludwig and Rachael Hogg report from ShanghaiThere is no getting around just how big the ...
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FeatureFord launches fleet telematics system in UK with Telogis
Ford is launching a real-time fleet telematics system in the UK with its technology provider Telogis for the carmaker’s commercial customers. Ford Telematics uses real-time information from Ford vehicles to give businesses insight into vehicle location, driver behaviour and fuel consumption, amongst more comprehensive data.Announcing the technology at this week’s ...
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FeatureToyota part 5: take me to the water
In the conclusion to this five part series on Toyota's North American service parts distribution, the company reveals how applying the Japanese principle of Genchi Genbutsu helped the carmaker to manage through recent labour disputes at the port of Long BeachAn example of how TPS principles characterise business decisions as ...
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FeaturePart 5: More than just words
The implementation of the Toyota Production System at NAPO means terms such as ‘lean’, heijunka and kaizen are applied to every aspect of logistics, warehousing, order and corporate strategyThat the Toyota Production System (TPS) is adhered to at the OEM’s own North American Parts Operations may not be a surprising ...
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FeatureToyota part 4: Looking for the ‘holy grail’ of predictability
Toyota’s visibility across its parts and distribution centres works to the great benefit of dealers, but the carmaker’s challenge is ultimately to try and distinguish real demand from stock replenishment requestsToyota’s North American Parts Operations (NAPO)has built inventory visibility across its part centres and distribution centres, thanks partly to an ...