Inbound Logistics
A special case
Russia is attempting to boost tier supplier capacity via contracts with OEMs and logistics subsidies for parts makers, but it is unclear how successful this will be
Delivering a smarter factory
Magna Steyr’s vehicle assembly plant in the Austrian city of Graz is not a typical automotive factory; the site, which in 2018 brought its cumulative total production tally to 3.5m vehicles, produces vehicles under contract for OEMs such as Daimler, BMW and Jaguar Land Rover. Efficiency is important in any ...
Ford Europe packaging: Heading to the pool
Ford’s Kuly Malka has overseen a transformation in the carmaker’s European packaging and container management
Opel tasks Gefco with further cost reduction
Opel/Vauxhall has renewed its fourth-party logistics (4PL) contract with Gefco for a further four years, starting in January, tasking it with finding further cost reduction measures and intensifying its optimisation and network engineering activities.
A race against time for the UK car sector
It is still very uncertain what the UK’s exit from the European Union is going to look like at the end of March 2019 but it is going to have a big impact on the automotive industry whatever it looks like. At this year’s Automotive Logistics UK summit, major carmakers ...
CAR says clock is ticking but no need for alarm
Nafta re-negotiations and the ongoing trade disputes between the US and China are creating considerable uncertainty in the automotive industry, but that does not change the need to keep the supply chain international; if anything, cross-border logistics services have become even more important.
Digital lineside technology key to BMW’s 8 Series model
This week BMW began producing the luxury 8 Series coupé at its Dingolfing plant in Germany and the digitalisation of production and lineside logistics is playing a central role in the manufacturing of the new model, according to the carmaker. That includes in the delivery of parts to the factory ...
Twinning talent with technology
The rate at which emerging digital technologies are transforming the automotive logistics supply chain is hard to keep up with. As both an enabler of everything from platform design to procurement, finance and planning, and a disruptor of traditional supply chain operations, digital technology associated with industry 4.0 is driving ...
Ford to make second model in Craiova
Ford is investing up to €200m ($235m) to manufacture a second vehicle at its Craiova assembly plant in Romania, saying the planned expenditure is a sign of the company’s trust in government promises to deliver key upgrades infrastructure and logistics improvements.
Settling into steady growth
China has the biggest car market in the world and is expected to make 25.3m vehicles this year. The city of Chengdu has 4.5m of them driving around it, making it the second largest in China for vehicle numbers behind Beijing – and it was to Chengdu that delegates headed ...
Gefco reports gains in automotive beyond core PSA contracts
Gefco has reported annual revenue gains of 5.1% in its full-year results for 2017, earning €4.4 billion ($5.4 billion). Sales were supported by a 8.1% growth in global automotive accounts outside of its traditional activity for former parent company Groupe PSA (which now includes GM's Opel/Vauxhall divisions).
PSA to move engine production closer to assembly plants
French carmaker PSA Group is to reorganise operations across Europe to boost regional competitiveness by improving the performance of its powertrain plants. Some production will be transferred from Asia in line with company plans to make components as close as possible to its car plants, thus cutting supply times and ...
Gefco opens sequencing warehouse in Liverpool with a view to the future
Transport and logistics provider Gefco has opened a £10m ($13.2m) warehouse and sequencing centre in Speke near Liverpool, in the UK which is currently supplying components to Jaguar Land Rover’s plant in nearby Halewood. At an event held to mark the opening last week Gefco executives talked about the latest ...
Conference report: Attracting a talent for disruption
What was clear from this year's conference in Detroit, however, was that the industry desperately needed a new generation of talented people to handle the disruption ahead and the developments in logistics. Tech savvy engineers looking for jobs at the Silicon Valley giants needed to be encouraged to see the ...
Volkswagen Amarok production starts in Ecuador
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles says FISUM, its local contract partner in Ecuador, has started production of the new Amarok pick-up truck model at a facility in Quito.
Surgere completes ROBi inventory pilot at Mahle Behr facility in Dayton
Automotive parts maker Mahle Behr has recently completed a pilot project into inventory management with digital supply chain and packaging expert Surgere. The success of the pilot could see the full deployment of a robotised RFID system at Mahle Behr’s facility in Dayton, Ohio.
Kuehne + Nagel wins inbound contract for VW-FAW engine plant in China
Logistics services provider Kuehne + Nagel (KN) has secured a two-year deal to manage inbound logistics for Volkswagen-FAW Engine’s plants in Dalian and Changchun, China.
Caterpillar puts Snodgrass at head of newly created division
As part of a number of top executive changes at equipment maker Caterpillar, Chris Snodgrass is moving to a newly created position as vice-president of the Product Support and Logistics Division. He takes up the role on July 1st.
