Thursday 23 August 2012

Future of Logistics Companies

Gartner, Inc. the world's leading information technology research and advisory company, published predictions that would affect logistics companies around the world over the next four years. Logisticss and supply chain management is vital for all businesses as it helps products and services reach the end customers.
This article enumerates the factors that Gartner indicates will affect the logistics companies.
Sustainable logistics

C. Dwight Klappich, Vice President of Research at Gartner, believes that governments will frame laws based on environment that will have a considerable impact on logistics companies. More than 50% of the global 1,000 logistics companies will have to record emission levels, and substantiate it with proof. They will have to also report the effect of their business activities on the environment, and will have to record environmental data and greenhouse gas emissions information. Thus, in future, the focus will be on sustainable logistics.
Compliance and risk management

Supply Chain Management (SCM) is getting complex and risky day by day. The reason for this is many companies are not concentrating on areas such as compliance, risk management and security. This is taking place depsite the fact that they are the most important and integral part of SCM. In fact, less than 16% of logistics companies will have a chief logistics and risk management officer. Government laws are increasingly making an impact on the logistics business. But, the authority of understanding as well as managing these legal issues is spread over a business, and no single authority is assigned this responsibility at an executive level.

Application convergence
Logistics service providing companies will have to opt for application convergence, as there will be a need to synchronise processes. In fact, 35% companies surveyed by Gartner showed the inability to do so. Processes are not synchronised because organisations buy standalone applications for only a part of the process. The applications are not integrated with the rest of the process. This is where supply chain execution convergence plays an important part, where the SCM organisations incorporate a platform that will help integrate and synchronise the logistics processes.

Optimising international flow:
Global trade as a percentage of global GDP is decreasing. In this scenario, the focus of international flow will shift from proliferation (spread of trade) to optimisation. Shippers will compare the different global sourcing options and manage the risk involved in them.

According to Gartner, 60% of current multinational manufacturers will organise their logistics in such a manner that they will benefit from economies of scale. They will be able to manage risk associated with fluctuations in currency exchange rates, taxes and profit marigns. Logistics and supply chains Management services will be managed globally, while sea and airfreights contracts will be managed centrally.
Logistics companies need to delve into these issues and proactively work on the recommendations for their business growth.

Monday 20 August 2012

The Right Source

Global sourcing is all about sourcing your product inventory from countries around the world where materials can be produced at the lowest and most efficient price. In India, one industry is that is using global sourcing to its advantage is the automotive industry. To meet targets and manufacture automotive vehicles that will meet Indian and international standards, many Indian companies are sourcing their inventories from domestic and international companies.
Tata AutoComp Systems LTD. (TACOSCM) supplies components and assemblies of a number of product groups to customers around the world. We specialize in automotive and engineering products, providing global sourcing solutions to customers within these industries in USA, Europe, and South East Asia. Our aim is to become the preferred supplier for sourcing auto components and systems to countries in the above regions.
From the beginning, our emphasis has always been on exceeding customer expectations in terms of delivery, product quality, and cost effectiveness. By using materials from the best sources, our aim is to provide a variety of product offerings that will create value in our clients' businesses.
We offer the following services as part of TACOSCM's Supply Chain Management:
•    Component Sourcing
•    Sourcing Services
•    Supplier Quality Services
•    Logistics Services
•    Packaging Services

We are well-known in the industry for our component sourcing services. While our sourcing base is India; we also supply components from other low cost countries. We mainly supply to automotive OEMS, Tier 1 and Tier 2 customers.

To provide global sourcing solutions, you need suppliers who will find the right sources for providing the various components at a cost effective price and of durable quality. We have a team of experienced professionals, who specialize in supplier evaluation. We work on continuously improving the quality of our supply service by conducting supply quality audits, systems upgradation, and training among others.

We source a variety of quality products including:
•    Aluminium Machined Castings
•    Investment Casting
•    Sheet Metal Stampings and Assemblies
•    Proprietary products
•    Ferrous Machined Castings
•    Machined Forgings
•    Bar Turned and Machined Parts

TACOSCM oversees the entire supply chain process from the product development process, quality control and inspection, logistics, export and packaging. The products are delivered directly to our clients' manufacturing facility. We can also create a designated warehouse facility from which the products can be delivered as per the clients' requirements.

Supply chain management services and global sourcing are keys to the success of various industries around the world. When you are looking for the best name in global sourcing, you know just who to turn to.

Friday 17 August 2012

Supply for Success

The right sources are the keys to a successful production process and completion of a project.
Ford Motors recently set up a new Van Dyke transmission manufacturing plant in Michigan, USA. What makes this plant different from the other plants around the country is that the plant has an advanced flexible assembly line, which will be producing the only front wheel-drive hybrid transmission in the United States.
The company, which has invested $220 million into the project, will be producing five different hybrid automobiles: the Ford C-Max Hybrid, C-Max Energi Plug-In Hybrid, Ford Fusion Hybrid, Fusion Energi, and the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid.
Not only is this a project of a grand scale, but to complete it will require the best sourcing and procurement services that the company can find. Fortunately, there is one company that Ford can turn to.
Tata AutoComp Systems LTD. (TACOSCM) is a single window supplier for automotive components and assemblies under various product groups. We cater to a number of clients in the automotive industry in USA, Europe, and South East Asia. We are not only well-known for our international procurement services, but also for our sourcing, supplier quality, packaging and logistics services.
Our team comprises knowledgeable professionals who have years of experience working with Global Original Equipment manufacturers and Tier 1 Companies. Some of the components that we supply to our Tier 1 Clients include:
•    Pump Bracket Assembly
•    Isolator Bracket Assembly
•    Bearing Spacer
•    Journal Bearing
•    Solenoid Case and Shield
•    Aluminium Fittings
•    Other Machined Products

We also have housing for the following products:
•    Turbines
•    Impellers
•    Turbo Actuators
•    Aluminium PDCs


To make sure that we provide our customers components of the best quality, we work with a variety of suppliers, who are industry quality professionals. Our suppliers regularly undergo rigorous evaluations in terms of supplier quality audits, supplier quality systems, and adherence to APQP procedures.

Our sourcing and procurement team consists of commodity experts in casted, forged, machined, and stamped products. We can not only provide you with data, products, and services to complete your current project, but we can also provide you with data that can be used for future projects; thus making it easier for you to create a better sourcing strategy.
Our sourcing management plans include:
•    Expenditure Analysis
•    Sourcing Strategy
•    Supplier Identification
•    Supplier Evaluation and Improvement
•    Negotiation and Contract Finalization
•    Supplier Integration
•    Order Fulfilment
•    Regular Monitoring Of The Sourcing Strategy

We are here to meet your sourcing and procurement needs. After all, we gain satisfaction from the completion and success of your project.

Wednesday 15 August 2012

Green Developments

Green procurement is becoming an integral part of private procurement policies.
Consumers Goods Company Proctor & Gamble (P&G) is working along with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to create tools to optimize its supply chain and manufacturing process.
Speaking on the collaboration, Stefano Zenezini, a VP of product supply at P&G, said that the aim of the collaboration is to develop modelling tools that will assess future product design, material sourcing and manufacturing options. "This is a tremendous opportunity for us to be at the leading edge of developing tools to support the entire company’s effort to improve the sustainability of our products and our operations," she added. The collaboration will not only help the supply chain, but also the company's procurement services.
This collaboration is the result of the growing trend of green procurement. The trend involves a company optimizing their procurement policies to source good and services that will be environmentally friendly.
Also known as Green or Environmental Purchasing, green procurement is derived from pollution prevention principles. Green procurement programmes can comprise renewable energy, recycled office products, or even setting the environmental friendly policies that suppliers are required to follow.
With more companies going green, green procurement services are becoming an essential part of a company's supply chain process. There are many benefits and advantages that a company can receive from green procurement programme:
•    Programmes can complement business goals. Institutions with sustainability plans can receive a number of benefits in terms of cost reduction and liability expenditure.
•    Green products are considered to be less expensive and can lead to more savings.
•    Delivering large orders of green products can result in reduction of carbon footprints and inventory costs.
•    Recycled packaging material can also lead to a decrease in manufacturing and disposal costs. Using recycled material can also lead to less landfill usage and disposal fees.
•    Use of the internet has also become a factor in procurement services. Electronic automation of the spending process can reduce time, costs, and paperwork.

Green Purchasing can not only benefit companies, it can also benefit countries. There is a growing realization that international procurement services can significantly impact national sustainability plans. This has lead to many countries creating their own procurement policies. One example is Britain. The Greater London Authority published a sustainable procurement policy in 2008. The policy was a promise of providing advantages to companies that demonstrated a commitment to sustainable procurement concerns.

As one can see, going green can lead to innumerable benefits.