Delays caused by industrial action in Calais are creating increased demand for emergency logistics expertise as vehicle manufacturers seek effective supply chain contingency in the wake of another spell of disruption.

The impact and extent of the ongoing disturbances has led emergency logistics specialist Evolution Time Critical to devise a new, bespoke solution that enables sustained vehicle production while scheduled component deliveries experience setbacks.

“It’s a perfect storm of disruptive influences that could be OEMs’ worst logistical nightmare,” says Evolution Time Critical managing director, Brad Brennan (pictured).

As the issues associated with the port delays have evolved over the last month, Evolution Time Critical has worked with a number of major vehicle manufacturers to devise a new logistics strategy that is able to provide a robust solution as a response to extended delays.

Brennan continued: “In the first instance, we analysed our OEM customer’s supplier network, positioned a private chartered aircraft into a central location in Europe, liaised with several of its suppliers across the continent, and collected the necessary parts for direct road transfer to our aircraft, which was then flown in to the OEM production location to enable ongoing assembly.

“The success of this delivery has already inspired similar, repeat operations.

“Other resolutions have included cross-border airfreight movements, where we have trucked components across Europe in order to connect with suitable onward flights with sufficient capacity to bypass port-based troubles and delays.”

Air charter enquiries to Evolution Time Critical spiked early on in the prolonged disruption, as vehicle manufacturers investigated the possible extent of delays before working to implement the most effective resolution.

As Brennan explains: “OEMs prefer to know the extent of potential delays before committing to a contingency plan: the benefit of working hard to plug a supply chain gap is quickly undermined when that gap later emerges as being just one of many.

“You can put up an umbrella in a rainstorm, but in a flood you will still get wet feet.”

As contingency action has continued to evolve in the last month, supply chain visibility of vehicle manufacturers has proven crucial for the development of the most effective resolution.

“The ability to understand the knock-on effects throughout a supply chain of delivery delays is a vital part of enabling ongoing production,” said Brennan.

“OEMs and their suppliers can work with Evolution Time Critical to establish which parts are caught where, which are fine to remain on their original journey and which need to be prioritised for interception or replacement by ultra-time sensitive deliveries.

“In some instances, production focus can be altered temporarily to allow time for a manufacturer to pull parts from buffer stocks or fly in from alternative sources.” 

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