Automotive & Machinery

Concurrent streamlining of procurement logistics and financing using a logistics and purchasing agent operation

By concurrently improving procurement logistics efficiency and introducing the "Logistics Finance Service" for procurement parts transport to overseas factories, Nippon express is now able to enhance the customer's overall financial standing - condensing inventory, improving cash flow, reducing loans, and lowering financing costs.

Customer Issues & Objectives

Parts inventory at overseas manufacturing plants occasionally diverged from actual requirements due to changes in demand, placing a greater management burden on the factory's procurement staff. Sudden jumps in requirements increased the supplier's production load, and fear of shortage by the factory lead to surplus inventory. Increases in inventory and an excessive rise in the price of parts resulted in additional borrowing to finance factory operations, and the burden of costs due to interest.

Reduce the burden of inventory control on overseas factories by switching parts procurement from the current PULL type management used in the overseas factories to the PUSH type management run by Japan headquarters.
Balance sheet will improve as inventory reaches proper levels.
Cash flow will improve as borrowed amount decreases.
Supplier production load will lighten as procurement quantities level out.

Solutions

We have achieved streamlined procurement logistics and financing through the fusion of "Logistics Efficiency Service" and "Procurement Representative Function," in which the NX Group acts as a trading house, holding procured parts on behalf of the local factories.

Solution: Key Points

• Create visibility in global inventories, including inventory in-transit, centralize procurement management on the Japan-side.
• Introduce Logistics Finance Service to level out customer-side inventories.
• Reduce borrowing and lower interest costs by achieving proper inventory levels.
• Lower the burden on suppliers and level out procurement costs by establishing level quantities of procured parts and shortened payment agreements.

Effects & Merits

• Greatly lighten the burden on procurement managers in overseas factories, establish ability to offer centralized resources of essential monozukuri (manufacturing).
• Customers hold safe inventory levels, ensuring suitable inventory at factories.
• Reduce procurement funds and lower financing costs by purchasing only required quantities and holding safe levels of inventory.
• Smaller fluctuations in procurement quantities means stable production for suppliers, added to the financial support of shorter payment schedule

Solution Features

• Logistics improvements as well as enhancements to the supply chain from the management perspective.
• With NX Capital, a financial subsidiary of the Group, Nippon Express provides integrated logistics and purchasing agency services.
• Nippon Express operates on established logistics and IT infrastructures that provide comprehensive visualization of not only domestic inventory, but in-transit and overseas inventory as well.

Introducing the Nippon Express "Logistics Finance Service" enabled us to establish a pseudo VMI scheme without a huge initial cost to the customer. This improved the financial standing of overseas factories (and by extension the entire group) while reducing administrative duties, allowing more opportunity to concentrate on actual operations. As the solution lessened the burden on supplier manufacturing and cash management, assembly manufacturers and suppliers build a Win-Win situation, further strengthening partnerships.

Services

• Logistics Finance

  This is a new high value-added service, combining commercial distribution and financing services to the main axis of the NX Group business - logistics services.
  The NX Group serves as middleman between suppliers and buyers, purchasing products and parts and storing inventory to reduce the customer's materials and parts inventory while improving their cash flow.

• Integrated Internet Site (SHUTTLE)

  SHUTTLE is an integrated portal site providing centralized access to all pertinent information - information covering globally dispersed inventory (including in-transit stock), receipt, shipping and transport.
  SHUTTLE displays not only the status of accessed information, but delivery instructions, data download, and auto e-mail send functions, with links to cargo tracking sites of all domestic and overseas transport companies.

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