In Depth – Page 51
-
FeatureBMW Group: Thinking big about outbound
Alongside pictures of her family, Anita Pieper’s office is full of visual charts and signposts: value-stream maps, PDA circles for scheduling and a 3PS board outlining various projects and targets her teams are working on, from quality statistics to network studies or a plant launch years ahead.In the middle of ...
-
FeatureVolvo Cars China: A system built for growth
[sta_anchor id="1"]Few carmakers have been moving as quickly as Volvo Cars to develop and expand their industrial footprint in China. In less than five years, the carmaker has launched two assembly plants and an engine factory, while ramping up production and more than doubling sales in the country. It has ...
-
FeatureVolkswagen OTC: Sea king of the Kassel
[sta_anchor id="1"]In many ways, the heart of Volkswagen Group After Sales – the OEM’s service parts and aftermarket division – is its massive Original Teile (Parts) Centre (OTC) in Baunatal, near Kassel, central Germany. This impressive storage and shipping centre serves destinations across the world, including European dealerships as well ...
-
FeatureVolkswagen Group Logistics: Come together, right now
All carmakers are [sta_anchor id=”1”]grappling with how to plan and respond to the technological, social and economic changes that are expected to affect their products and businesses. Manufacturers must simultaneously manage rising demand for both traditional and alternative fuels, while exploring new models for mobility that might, in future, change ...
-
FeatureRussia: Ready for a recovery?
Vehicle sales in Russia have shown modest rises in recent months, raising hopes that this year will finally return to growth and kick off a longer-term recovery. Following several months of increases, sales of new light vehicles in the first five months of the year had risen by 5.1% compared ...
-
FeatureAir charter services for the automotive sector are flying high
The use of airfreight to move automotive parts over expanding global supply networks is on the increase. A recent analysis of shipments across IAG Cargo’s global network shows that over the past year it has seen a 22% increase in shipments of automotive parts by air. Consignments made up one ...
-
FeatureMomentum builds for post-Brexit transition period to avoid ‘cliff-edge’
A prominent UK government minister and the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) were among those that this week called for interim arrangements to be put in place after the two-year Brexit negotiation deadline, as the chances of a new trade deal being in place by then seemed unlikely ...
-
FeatureKeeping the heat on
The summer of renegotiation is upon us. Officials and policy wonks in the UK and US have invited their counterparts out of the sun and into shaded rooms, red pens in hand, trade and multi-lateral agreements spread on the table. For their sake, we hope the rooms are all air-conditioned.Officials ...
-
FeatureUK cars now more British but local content still lags behind Europe
The percentage of local content in UK manufactured passenger cars continued to increase in 2016, but ‘anecdotal reports’ suggest the country has a way to go to reach levels achieved by other major European carmaking countries.The latest Local Vehicle Content Analysis report from the Automotive Council, a joint UK government ...
-
FeatureEurope conference: No easy way to the digital supply chain
The 2017 Automotive Logistics Europe conference reminded delegates that, despite a better economy, the industry is under pressure. However, new technology looks set to offer the supply chain as much opportunity as disruption, if companies are able to keep up. Marcus Williams, Christopher Ludwig and Gareth Tredway report from Bonn, ...
-
FeatureEurope conference: Data sharing could ease port constraints for finished vehicles
Strong growth in vehicle numbers moving into and out of Europe over the past few years has created capacity constraints and bottlenecks at the continent’s ports. While the scope to significantly expand physical space might be limited, executives from carmakers and logistics providers have suggested better visibility and sharing of ...
-
FeatureEurope conference: Using logistics to compete across a digitalised aftermarket
Consolidation among parts retailers and changing consumer habits are transforming Europe’s aftermarket, with logistics services both at risk and able to provide a competitive edge, writes Marcus WilliamsThe European automotive aftermarket and service parts business is in the midst of tremendous change, prompted by consolidation among major suppliers and distributors, ...
-
FeatureAnalysis: Hung parliament casts doubt and hope over Brexit
This article is being updated regularly.The UK general election on June 8th, in which the governing Conservative party lost its parliamentary majority, has cast uncertainty over investment and policy in terms of the country’s automotive industry and supply chain – most notably over pending negotiations to leave the European Union.There ...
-
FeatureHow to make the most of the quiet times
Stefano Pollotti is the managing director of Gefco Middle EastThere is not much doubt that after five years of relatively solid growth in the Middle East, the automotive market has suffered over the past 18 months. This inevitably affects all aspects of the industry including traditional logistics, ultimately the ...
-
FeatureBMW Brilliance puts technology first in China plant expansion
New technology is at the centre of a €1 billion ($1.1 billion) expansion of BMW’s joint venture plant with Brilliance Automotive in Dadong, China. The expansion includes a networked production system based on industry 4.0 applications, as well as mobile smart devices and supporting ‘exoskeletons’ for workers.BMW Brilliance Automotive opened ...
-
FeaturePlant yards & systems: Allowing space to grow
The effective management of plant yards is an important component of finished vehicle supply chains because of the constant flow and high volume of products such manufacturing plants typically handle. As a number of OEMs re-examine the balance between in-house labour and outsourced providers, many have begun to devote more ...
-
FeatureCongestion costs rising for US trucking industry
The US trucking industry faced an extra $63.4 billion in operational costs in 2015 due to traffic congestion on the national highway system, new research out this week has suggested.The latest report by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) used a variety of data sources, including its GPS database, to ...
-
FeatureSupply Chain Conference: The future is already here
A drone demonstration by Venture highlighted the potential of new technology for inventory management at plants and warehousesThat the automotive industry will see [sta_anchor id="1"]exponential change is something that many, if not all, experts and executives predict – even if they disagree about the pace and scale of change. ...
-
FeatureRussian imports: Forecasting a fragile recovery
[in_this_story align="right" border="yes"]In August last year, imports of finished vehicles in Russia rose 5.3% year-on-year, bringing an end to a decline that had lasted for 35 consecutive months. Meanwhile, during the course of 2016, several carmakers, including SsangYong and Honda, unveiled plans to start importing finished vehicles into the country ...
-
FeatureSupply Chain Conference: Service parts logistics try to keep up with e-commerce
The service parts sector is among the first distribution channels in the automotive market to feel disruption from the digital economy, as consumers increasingly buy goods and services online.Indeed, within the wider aftermarket, including the large share of the market held by independent distributors, consumers already make significant use of ...