Introduction
The automotive supply chain is becoming increasingly global and complex with custom clearance and cross border transfers compounding the complexity.
Vehicle inspection, incoming receipt and storage, labor management, full inventory operations, outbound allocation, and pre-delivery inspection are all areas where automotive 3PLs and brand owners must have complete control of in their operations.
A comprehensive Automotive Warehouse Management System can help automotive 3PLs navigate these difficulties, by managing automotive components, and lead times, and exceeding customer satisfaction by ensuring high efficiency in production, supply chain effectiveness, and customer satisfaction.
Common challenges of automotive logistics
Inventory management in automotive parts departments may appear simple and comparable to other sectors on the surface, but as an automotive logistics practitioner, you know that this is not always the case.
An automotive warehouse, distribution center or even a manufacturer will need to navigate the lead times to ensure that parts and products get to the right location at the right time to prevent a situation such as stock shortages as it will create a negative effect on your production and customer satisfaction.
At the same time, you also need to ensure that overstocking is avoided as it ties up the capital that either can be used for other parts of the business or increases your risk of storing excess inventory of the product.
Here are the common challenges face by Automotive 3PL:
- Lack of Visibility on Stock and Routing of Parts
- Stock Shortage
- Challenges faced during the stock counts of parts
- Not optimise on storage space and put away strategy
- Challenges faced managing parts and serial number capturing
How can your Warehouse Management System overcome these challenges?
- Accurate inventory control of raw materials, parts, and finished vehicles
- Capturing the appropriate Batch/Lot/Serial which serves as an enabler for a tracking mechanism for inventory and movement.
- Manage the inventory age accurately such as expiration dates tracking and management
- Uploads of Certifications to Receipts
- First Expiry First Out and user-definable consignee shelf life
- Management of Non-Standard (small or large goods) and different unit of measurement pack size
- Capturing of supplier and country of origin
- Pick phase functionality for fast picking of fast-moving products in your warehouse
- Integration with your parts department’s POS system to achieve total inventory accuracy and visibility.
Conclusion
Automotive 3PLs and brand owners can overcome the challenges faced in the automotive supply chain with a comprehensive automotive WMS and exceeding customer satisfaction by ensuring high efficiency in production, supply chain effectiveness, and customer satisfaction.
Find out more about Symphony Cloud-based WMS here and Connect with us on our Facebook Page
