Kia and Nissan share how collaborative partnerships can be "pivotal" to success in finished vehicle logistics
In all areas of finished vehicle logistics, close collaboration with partners and suppliers can provide a strategic advantage for OEMs, offering numerous benefits for all parties involved. From procurement all the way through to delivery, collaboration is key.
At the Finished Vehicle Logistics North America 2026 conference in California, industry leaders highlighted the value of choosing the right partners and fostering collaborative relationships with partners over long-term contracts.
Selecting the most suitable logistics partner requires OEMs to have a stringent procurement process that effectively evaluates how well each proposal aligns with its needs.
During a panel discussion on smart logistics procurement, Todd Myers, Nissan's director of finished vehicle logistics and logistics purchasing for North America, said that when it comes to choosing a logistics partner, a "sustainable partnership" is ultimately what Nissan is looking for.
"Of course we're always going to be focused on cost," acknowledged Myers. "But you really have to consider a range of factors like driver shortages, cost reductions, market rates, damage to vehicles... You evaluate what those impacts are and then you need to be able to have an honest, open dialogue with partners to understand their perspective, the challenges their dealing with and how we could partner to deliver the most optimised process for both parties."
From the perspective of a logistics provider, Darren Acker, director of finished vehicle logistics operations at Glovis America, also shared that he would like to see procurement focused more on performance rather than cost alone. "That's what moves the needle," he said. "Obviously cost matters, but performance – and that partnership and stability – is what creates the sustainable volume movement that we need to have in the industry."
The unanimous consensus amongst the panel was that, while cost is undeniably important, a truly valuable procurement process considers factors beyond this, as Royce Neubauer, founder and CEO of vehicle transportation platform Auto Hauler Exchange, also alluded to. "We look at logistics not as the price that you're paying to get the truck from point A to point B," he explained. "There's a total cost of that transaction that I think procurement really should start analysing holistically from the top down."
Jason Gerencser, president of Nationwide Auto Services, which provides long-term staffing solutions and crisis management services, highlighted how proactive engagement with partners not benefits both service providers and OEMs. It's in neither parties interest to have to be dealing with emergencies on a regular basis, so he emphasised how early collaboration with suppliers to develop playbooks and contingency plans can save cost for the OEM and lead to a better overall solution.
Another aspect of partnership that can be incredibly important is data visibility. If each party does not have access to real-time data and a willingness to share any issues with partners immediately, fixing these issues becomes a lot more difficult. "Bad news doesn't get better with time," said Acker. "I want the technology to point that out for me and tell me why."
In today's technology-led and data-driven world, ensuring that a partner is capable of building the technologies and visibility required to grow and scale with at the same speed is crucial and part of aligning with partners involves OEMs recognising economies of scale in the industry and how the sector can come together to support one another to reap the mutual rewards.
"I think where we're probably failing a little bit is that, as OEMs, we have enormous resource and we forget sometimes that all of our providers don't have that," Myers said. "We've got to do more to support the industry because we will all survive and fail jointly."
And with so much disruption and uncertainty in the logistics industry, flexibility is one of the most important attributes a logistics partner can offer, but for a truly sustainable partnership both parties need to be willing to be flexible. "When you're locking into a year contract and fuel rates surge, that contract pricing is no longer viable," said Neubauer. "There has to be a flexible conversation between both partners."
How Kia turned risk into opportunity with the right partnerships
Another example of the benefits of collaborative partnerships shared at the event was a case study by Kia and Vehicle Protection Structures (VPS). After a hailstorm in 2023 damaged more than 13,000 vehicles at Kia’s West Point manufacturing facility in Georgia, the automaker knew it had to do something to ensure that its high-value vehicle inventory was protected was protected from the increasingly volatile weather conditions in the state.
Seeking a solution that could both mitigate future risk and create long-term value, Kia partnered with VPS, a supplier of hail, heat and UV protection for the automotive industry. Working closely with Kia to understand the needs of the company and the opportunities that could be seized with this project, VPS delivered a turnkey system that provides continuous vehicle protection while transforming previously unused space into a productive energy asset.
As James Bell, head of corporate communications at Kia America, and Wade White, executive vice president of VPS, shared their case study with the audience at FVL NA 2026, VPS announced the completion of its hail protection and solar canopy project with Kia. The 3.2 million sq. ft vehicle protection structure has 10 MW of on-site solar generation capacity allowing Kia to generate power to use at the facility.
"It was kind of a no-brainer to not only want to make sure that the vehicles are protected going forward, but then add that solar component into it," said Bell.
But the Kia-VPS partnership was not the only example of the benefits of collaboration highlighted in this project. Bell explained how Kia's 17-year relationship with energy provider Georgia Power was "pivotal" to the project's success. He noted how without that relationship and the decision to engage with Georgia Power from the beginning, getting infrastructural support and state approval would be a lot more difficult.
Bell also acknowledged how the close working relationship between Kia and Georgia Power benefitted both parties, with Georgia Power able to see the value of the project early on. With energy infrastructure in Georgia, like much of the US, struggling with growing demand for energy and difficulty supplying it, a project harnessing more solar energy was seen as a win-win from the start.
"Georgia Power have a long relationship, established relationship with the team at Kia and they were able to build a bridge for us, making sure that we built those same relationships too – so that was just a great partnership," added White.
"Collaborative projects like this show what’s possible when you think about energy more strategically and bring the right partners to the table," said Cheryl Davis, vice president of customer solutions at Georgia Power in a statement following the completion of the project. "At Georgia Power, our teams work every day with customers to identify and implement creative projects that help them meet renewable energy or sustainability goals and, in the case of this project, simultaneously solve a unique business need."
The pair also touched on the logistics partnerships that were so crucial to the project's success. "We've gotten very good at working and having sympathy with the operations team, trying to disrupt the operations as little as possible, and we've had great partners all the way across, particularly with the Glovis team," White noted.
"It's always easier to be disruptive when everybody knows what's ultimately at stake," added Bell, highlighting the understanding and flexibility – both within different departments and with external partners – that can only be achieved through close collaboration and everyone working together towards the same shared goals.
