Ensuring availability of adequate spares,making provisions for contingencies and having a minimum threshold maintained at all times.Inventory and logistics management of spares to ensure that no vehicle is left on the workshop bay for the want of parts

1. Effective Logistics Management in the Automobile Industry
The Indian automobile industry is spread far and wide across the country with operations
running the length and breadth of the nation. Customers are also spread across the nation,
and manufacturers/dealers have to take into account the different expectation levels while
drawing up effective logistical plans. In the last few decades, expectations of the automobile
customers have increased greatly. Customers now demand a greater level of performance
and services from the dealers and manufacturers alike.
In this highly demanding and competitive environment, it is essential that automotive
companies have an effective and efficient logistical management plan. Some of the key
features or elements of an effective logistical management plan include:
1. Checks to eliminate slow moving shipments: Slow moving shipments delay the overall
assembly/service line and thereby becomes a hurdle in meeting customer
expectations. Various parts ought to be put together for the delivery of a vehicle and
availability each part is a must for ensuring timely delivery. Thus, the logistical
managers must maintain a perfect sync to ensure in order to ensure that the final
product rolls off the assembly line on schedule, meeting customer expectations and
keeping them happy.
2. Eradicate lost shipments in transit: Improved tracking of shipments and advanced
methods of transit are the two methods to eradicate shipment losses. Tracking
mechanisms ensure that the shipments are not lost or misplaced while improved
methods of transit ensure that they are not damaged in transit and thus left useless
by the time they reach the destination.
3. Consistency of Delivery: Workshops or assembly lines require specific parts to be fit
into the automobile. When the orders are taken there must be a mechanism to exactly
record the requirements such that there is consistency of what is ordered and what is
delivered. This reduces time and money lost in going back and forth.
4. Optimize Delivery: Optimizing the delivery change for greater efficiency reduces costs
and increases the operating margin. This means that with effective logistics the dealer
and/or manufacturer can improve overall profitability.
5. Improved Tracking Mechanism: Tracking mechanisms must be improved steadily to
ensure that transit loses are minimised and customer is better informed on the status
of progress. This helps improve overall customer satisfaction levels.
Effective logistical management involves not just improvements to the movement of parts
from one place to another it must also consider the methods of storage and retrieval. There
is a cost involved in keeping excessive stock of a product that does not move fast while running
out of parts that are fast moving is also detrimental to the business. There needs to be a
perfect coordination or order placement, transit and storage to make logistics more efficient
and operations more profitable.