Valeo has chosen Kuehne + Nagel to handle inbound aftermarket shipments by road from suppliers to its national distribution platforms in eight European countries. It follows a decision by Valeo Service, the aftermarket branch of the automotive systems and modules supplier, to fully redesign its logistics scheme for the management of its inbound transport flows.
 
Valeo Service has platforms in France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain, Turkey and the UK. Kuehne + Nagel will now manage 43 milk runs, collecting components from more than 105 suppliers on a variable weekly or bi-weekly frequency for multi-stop consolidation before being dispatched to those platforms. In total, the network represents 283 point-to-point relations.
 
“Kuehne + Nagel has been fully involved in this re-engineering approach hence this solution is specifically tailored to the needs of Valeo Service,” said Kuehne + Nagel spokesperson Mireille Dutruge.
 
The solution is centrally monitored from a Kuehne + Nagel control tower based in Orleans, France and is underpinned by Logistar Transport, a Kuehne + Nagel-developed IT system. It is also supported by an e-booking web application allowing all suppliers to enter their transportation orders directly into the system.
 
“Suppliers directly enter their transportation orders in the system via the specifically designed e-booking web application,” Dutruge told Automotive Logistics. “The Kuehne + Nagel control tower acts as an interface with the operations, having a role in terms of regulation, for instance, in case of any mistake in data capture by the supplier, and flows optimisation. Hence its proactive follow-up role.”