Streamlining new vehicle launches with real-time visibility

The announcement of new models by OEMs triggers a period of both excitement and trepidation throughout dealer networks. For OEMs, these launches involve all actors, from the assembly line to marketing, to collaborate harmoniously to ensure enough stock can be secured within the market. And this is not a standardized undertaking - every launch presents a different journey.

Assembly plants must produce within allocated time frames. Quality and technical teams must find the right rhythm between batch validations, reworks and post- production operations. These are quite often done by ‘passing the baton’ over to the outbound logistics teams at the very last minute. The outbound team’s challenge is to monitor handovers between stages and to book the mean capacity at the right time in order to avoid demurrage costs or other surcharges related to exceeding transport capacity.

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On top of these production and distribution challenges, National Sales Companies (NSC) and importers add pressure to distribute more units towards their local distribution compounds, to maximize sales opportunities, resulting in time-consuming calls and emails asking what stock is available and when it will arrive. This demonstrates how gaining meaningful levels of visibility across launch activities often consumes significant resources for reporting, internal alignment and cross checks to enable logistics executives to focus on risk-handling and to avoid having to manage a crisis.

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From nice-to-have to must-have: the value of real-time visibility

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These days, the visibility of goods in transit is no longer considered a ‘nice-to-have’ but rather a ‘must-have’ capability. Consumer behavior is changing, partly accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic. For instance, at-home food deliveries are increasingly commonplace, and the delivery experience gives customers up-to-date information on the whereabouts of their order.

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Although this experience may not be necessary when a customer purchases a new car online, within a B2B context, there are short-term, long-term, direct and indirect benefits for dealers within the OEM’s ecosystem. These benefits include better cash flow, improved customer experience, productivity and efficiency gains and an enhanced control tower view of operations. Plus real-time transportation visibility doesn’t just add value for shippers. It also generates a lot of value for carriers too, streamlining processes and helping to differentiate services with real-time and predictive data on deliveries.

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To learn more about the value real-time visibility brings to this significant part of automotive supply chains, download a complimentary copy of our white paper 'Streamlining new vehicle launches with real-time visibility' today, or get in touch with our team of experts.