LCL consolidation is complex by nature due to countless touchpoints and service providers. An intricate automotive supply chain often designs a bill of material across 250-450 Tier global suppliers, all manufacturing up to 30,000 different parts for a single vehicle. Changes in schedules, variations in service levels, and shifts in strategy often bear a toll on automotive companies with delayed shipments and service disruptions, causing planning imbalance and inefficient production output.
For manufacturers in the automotive sector, the production planning necessitates a continued adjustment of the supply chain that requires close attention to the shift in manufacturing demand. It is not simply moving parts between ocean ports. Manufacturers need 100% control of the inbound flows from part suppliers to the final production plant. The ability to manage the supply chain through visibility and real-time decision making is paramount to a streamlined manufacturing process.
Critical Factors:
Ease of use, enabled by integrating data and parts from suppliers in multiple origin locations allows the effective consolidation of LCL cargo. Information contained in the Advanced Shipping Notice (ASN) is the valuable link for accurate production planning.
Without this integration, the supply chain is missing a link, which could result in a shipment delay, causing disruption and an increased non-budgeted cost.
Managing an integrated supply chain using real-time
part level data avoids pitfalls faced by
automotive companies by providing:
Our work with automotive manufacturers identifies significant savings enabled by secure planning, end-to-end management of inbound flows, and inventory control complemented with real-time part visibility. The quantifiable benefit is shown to potentially deliver significant cost savings equivalent to ~$250,000 in inventory reduction.
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