All Inventory management articles – Page 20
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MBUSI: In a state of contentment
Why has Alabama become such a mecca for automotive manufacturing?I think there are a number of reasons. You have seen the automotive industry continue to push further south into areas where there is a good workforce available. You have infrastructure that is available. The supplier network has continued to migrate ...
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Lobby group clashes with VW over ‘car mountain’
A national consumer group in the US has urged Donald Trump not to allow Volkswagen (VW) to “dump its mountainous inventory” of bought-back vehicles on to local market, three years on from a diesel emissions’ testing scandal.“Flooding our streets with heavily discounted or below-cost vehicles could lead to a tremendous ...
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Bringing the IoT to the automotive supply chain
Since Toyota first pioneered its innovative Lean production system in the 1930s, the automotive industry has been a trailblazer in developing data-driven strategies to optimise manufacturing processes
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Being Pragmatic about tracking
Assigning materials and components an individual identity that can be tracked easily and reliably from the goods-inward stage through production to delivery to the customer, and even throughout their lifespan, is a fundamental element of effective logistics. In a high-volume environment such as mainstream automotive manufacturing, this will mean that ...
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Waking up to a new dawn
Brazilian vehicle manufacturers are increasingly optimistic that the country can claw its way out of a deep recession. The country is experiencing a period of low inflation, low interest rates, light GDP growth and a tentative recovery in employment, reflected in improving purchasing power and consumer confidence. Moreover, consumers with ...
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Trusting the market will stay afloat
European vehicle-handling ports saw growth in vehicle vehicle volumes in 2017, however geo-political worries – not least Brexit – is causing concerns. Ports continue to invest but there are worries over future volumes and capacity levels.
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JCB adopts Apex system for better inventory control
Construction equipment manufacturer JCB has adopted new software to better manage inventory at its main plant in Uttoxeter, UK.The system allows managers, via point-of-use devices, to control access to stock and know who uses what, when and where, according to its supplier, Apex Supply Chain Technologies of the US. Workers ...
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Mercedes-Benz: Taking an end-to-end approach
It may have taken Mercedes-Benz around 120 years to reach 1m cars per year, breaching the mark around the turn of the 21stcentury. However, the recent surge in growth of the brand has seen it rise by around 1m units in sales and production in just five years, with passenger ...
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Volvo Cars: Leaning towards greater stability
Since Geely Holdings acquired it from Ford Motor Company in 2010, Volvo Cars has been reinventing itself, from product development through to its industrial base and supply chain. Today, with a refreshed model line-up and amidst several new launches, sales have grown to record levels, with further expansion still to ...
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GM to close flagging Gunsan plant
GM’s division in South Korea has said it will close its under-utilised Gunsan plant at the end of May, following three years in which it has been running at just 20% of its capacity.Gunsan has an installed annual production capacity of 260,000 vehicles but produced only around 34,000 last year, ...
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Ford invests to meet surging demand for SUVs
Ford has invested a further $25m to increase line speed at its plant in Louisville, Kentucky to meet a 25% increase in output of the Lincoln Navigator and Ford Expedition SUV models as retail sales surge in the US.Its investment there includes 400 new robots and a data analytics hub ...
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Mexico conference: Uncertainty well-balanced with optimism
While a degree of uncertainty over the future of free trade between Mexico and its Nafta neighbours to the north once again hung over discussions at this year’s Automotive Logistics Mexico conference, it was more than matched by confidence in the future of the automotive sector. That confidence is being ...
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Toyota opts for digital planning
Toyota Motor Corporation is to switch to a cloud-based supply chain management system from a manual set-up, to manage its automotive demand and supply chain processes.The system, called RapidResponse, will unify the company’s global demand and supply planning between its sales and production divisions and help better manage vehicle and ...
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Outbound TMS: The search for a system that can't be beat
In recent years, growing computer power, advanced software and algorithms for logistics planning have led to a rise in the use of the transport management system (TMS), which enables companies, among other things, to receive, plan, monitor and report on collections and deliveries. Some manufacturers and logistics providers have implemented ...
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Logistics IT: Is there an app for that?
At US finished vehicle logistics specialist Jack Cooper Logistics, recounts president Andrea Amico, as part of a contract for carrying out the collection and inspection of ex-fleet vehicles on behalf of a US carmaker, the need to supply seven images of each inspected vehicle was suddenly upped to a requirement ...
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Emergency response: Weathering the storms
A volatile 2017 hurricane season saw successive storms hit the US south-east and the Caribbean, counting at least 500,000 vehicles in the US alone among its many damages and leading to emergency planning once again gaining a greater level of prominence within the finished vehicle supply chain. While matching the ...
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Disaster recovery: Prepared for the worst?
As the scale of the destruction wrought by the earthquake and subsequent tsunami that devastated Japan’s north-eastern coastline in March 2011 became apparent, managers within BMW’s purchasing function were asked if it would affect the company. Their answer? No – because BMW had no suppliers in Japan.But that wasn’t quite ...
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Rising inventory: Stock lots
In any retail business, inventory management is a delicate balancing act. Hold too little and frustrated customers will be forced to shop elsewhere; but piling stock on your shelves puts a strain on working capital and if what you bought isn’t what customers want, you have little choice but to ...
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Road transport in Mexico: no time for reflection
About three years ago, trucking capacity for the movement of finished vehicles in Mexico was a big concern. Trucks are used for the delivery of all finished vehicles for the domestic market there, as well as supporting rail in moving vehicles to and from ports, and there were simply not ...
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Twists and turns in the road ahead
The European new vehicle market has showed strength in recent years, following a long decline after the global financial and subsequent Eurozone crises; sales have mostly recovered to pre-crisis levels and continued to rise in most major EU markets throughout 2017, with the exception of the UK.The outlook for the ...