Case Study – Industrial Manufacturing logistics

Global leader in automobile and agricultural machinery

International Supply Chain solutions reduce costs, improve inventory control and increase visibility for multinational’s U.S. and Mexican operations.

The challenge

Our customer is a leading multinational manufacturer of automobiles and agricultural machinery. The company entered the U.S. market in 2000; since 2002, Noatum Logistics has handled the company’s customs brokerage at Noatum Logistics’ Houston branch.

After rapid growth in the U.S., the company sought to improve visibility and control of its supply chain. Low visibility in the U.S. to inbound ocean containers from India, Japan and Korea led to huge costs to expedite shipments to meet sales orders. While the company’s U.S. operations enjoyed a steep growth curve, company executives grew concerned about cost overruns and speed-to-market results.

The strategy

Following a thorough review that surfaced improvement opportunities, the company aligned itself with Noatum Logistics to support and grow its supply chain. Noatum Logistics worked to develop a long-term, scalable solution to reduce freight costs, improve inventory controls and increase supply chain visibility as the company’s U.S. growth continued to ramp upwards.

The solution

Noatum Logistics provided the company with a full suite of International Supply Chain services. Two Noatum Logistics employees in India and three in the U.S. were dedicated to track all U.S. inbound loads’ must-arrive-by dates and monitor carrier transit times, provide inbound distribution center reports, verify importer security filing accuracy, and offer other related services. Noatum Logistics later expanded services and resources to include shipments from Korea and Japan to USA. Noatum Logistics also provided 20,000 square feet of space to store slower moving inventory at Noatum Logistics’ Houston yard.

The result

Our International Supply Chain solution has given the customer visibility of all inbound ocean loads to the U.S. which results in improved inventory control and reduced operational costs. Every year the client and Noatum Logistics develop their strategic initiatives to improve customs KPI’s, reduce transit time and continue to streamline the clients operations. In 2017, the client opened operations in Mexico and Noatum Logistics Mexico was there at the beginning to help build the client’s supply chain from the ground up.