Auto industry demand for emergency logistics expertise spikes in face of extended Calais port disruption
New logistics strategy provides OEMs with bespoke resolution to help maintain supply chain integrity
Delays caused by industrial action in Calais are inspiring increased demand for emergency logistics expertise, as vehicle manufacturers seek effective supply chain contingency in the wake of another spell of disruption around the French port. The impact and extent of the ongoing disturbances has led emergency logistics specialist Evolution Time Critical to devise a new, bespoke solution that enables sustained vehicle production while scheduled component deliveries experience setbacks.
“The protracted period of disruptions now seems to be peaking, as industrial action combined with what has been described by service operators as ‘increased migrant activity’: it’s a perfect storm of disruptive influences that could be OEMs’ worst logistical nightmare,” says Evolution Time Critical managing director, Brad Brennan. “As the issues associated with the port delays have evolved over the last month, Evolution Time Critical has worked with a number of major vehicle manufacturers to devise a new logistics strategy that is able to provide a robust solution as a response to extended delays.
“In the first instance, we analysed our OEM customer’s supplier network, positioned a private chartered aircraft into a central location in Europe, liaised with several of its suppliers across the continent, and collected the necessary parts for direct road transfer to our aircraft, which was then flown in to the OEM production location to enable ongoing assembly,” he explains. “The success of this delivery has already inspired similar, repeat operations. Other resolutions have included cross-border airfreight movements, where we have trucked components across Europe in order to connect with suitable onward flights with sufficient capacity to bypass port-based troubles and delays.”
Air charter enquiries to Evolution Time Critical spiked early on in the prolonged disruption, as vehicle manufacturers investigated the possible extent of delays before working to implement the most effective resolution. As Brennan explains: “OEMs prefer to know the extent of potential delays before committing to a contingency plan: the benefit of working hard to plug a supply chain gap is quickly undermined when that gap later emerges as being just one of many. You can put up an umbrella in a rainstorm, but in a flood you will still get wet feet.”
As contingency action has continued to evolve in the last month, supply chain visibility of vehicle manufacturers has proven crucial for the development of the most effective resolution.
“The ability to understand the knock-on effects throughout a supply chain of delivery delays is a vital part of enabling ongoing production,” explains Brennan. “OEMs and their suppliers can work with Evolution Time Critical to establish which parts are caught where, which are fine to remain on their original journey and which need to be prioritised for interception or replacement by ultra-time sensitive deliveries. In some instances, production focus can be altered temporarily to allow time for a manufacturer to pull parts from buffer stocks or fly in from alternative sources.”
www.evolution-timecritical.com
About Evolution Time Critical
Evolution Time Critical is the world’s leading specialist in emergency logistics for the automotive industry. Analysts are available 24 hours a day, ready to develop and implement solutions in any part of the world within a 15-minute response window, calling on a vast range of techniques, skills and contacts to ensure that goods reach their destination on time.
The skills of Evolution’s team are also available for consulting projects, helping clients to achieve additional savings in their supply chains while also strengthening and improving manufacturing efficiency. Increasingly, Evolution has found that emergency logistics is playing an integral role in lean strategies as the automotive industry returns to higher production volumes, allowing further inventory reductions while maintaining the reliability of deliveries to manufacturing plants.
The expertise and techniques developed by Evolution for the automotive sector are also benefitting the aerospace and marine industries, where the company helps clients to release capital trapped in spare parts by facilitating urgent parts deliveries, and return aircraft and ships to service more quickly.
Press Contact
Gareth Charlton at Market Engineering
+44 (0)1295 277 050
gareth.charlton@m-eng.com
Sales and Marketing Contact
Brad Brennan at Evolution Time Critical
+ 44 (0)1332 814 914
bbrennan@evolution-timecritical.com
Images
High-resolution images are available at www.autopresspoint.com or from megan.davies@m-eng.com
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