11 April 2022

Vehicle manufacturing brands shorten delivery times

Vehicle manufacturing companies have often had to create complex shipping routes to cut their costs surrounding import charges. As companies have suffered ongoing challenges regarding the semiconductor shortage and parts availability issues, many are now looking for a way to reduce delivery time wherever possible.

As an initial step towards this, many manufacturers are now using new EU laws allowing companies to reduce lead times and make distribution simpler. It is seen that this could make fleet management less labour intensive as administration delays are hoped to become more manageable as a result.

One of the first to change its delivery routes for added speed is Mazda, the UK division has now invested in a new delivery process that sees vehicles shipped directly from Japan to the Port of Bristol. This in turn has shortened lead times to as little as ten days.

The new shipping plan will remove the delays in the UK caused by shipping difficulties in Europe, cutting the lead times caused by challenges related to the Channel Tunnel, ferry, and staffing issues.

These changes will give manufactures more flexibility to supply a larger range of vehicles, in larger quantities, with far shorter lead times.