trailer world issue Three 2009

Issue Three 2009 17 gistics in The French company Gefco has developed from the logistics subsidiary of the car manufacturer PSA into a global logistics ﬁrm. But new car logis- tics remains one of the core activities of the com- pany and is organised on a multi-model footing. Transporting vehicles is a niche in the road transport market where you mostly find only small and medium-sized compa- nies. One of the few large firms operating here is the French Gefco Group, a subsidiary of the PSA car manufacturer. On the one hand, Gefco delivers the material and components needed for the pro- duction process to the Citroen and Peugeot factories; on the other hand, the company is also responsible for bringing the finished cars to the dealerships. „Meanwhile we have diversified so that the PSA Group now only accounts for 55% of Gefco‘s activities“, explains Antoine Redier, Director of Car Transportation and Logistics. „But when it comes to car transportation, we still work more than 80% for PSA, i.e. with Citroen and Peugeot vehicles.“ In 2008 the com- pany transported 2.2 million cars for PSA, including 800,000 for the French market and 200,000 for Germany, together with more than 400,000 cars for other manufacturers. These include makes such as Ford, Mercedes, General Motors, Volkswagen, Seat, Nissan, Renault, Dacia, Honda, Jaguar or Landrover. „Our aim is to continue increasing this third-party share“. As a result, the company can optimise its own capacities of rail wagons and trucks. There is frequently a great fluctuation when it comes to the number of cars being transported and the required directions. „In contrast to car production, it is not possible to plan transportation of the finished cars in the long-term, but it still has to be profitable and above all, keep to certain deadlines. After all, the dealer wants to be able to tell his customer exactly on which day he can collect his new car“, emphasises Director Redier. „And so the transports we have to organise differ greatly, and no one journey is like the next one“. The journey begins with the „approach transport“ from the factory to the regional distribution centres at home and abroad, by truck, rail or ship. The last part of the journey out to the dealer is reserved for trucks. But the journey can also involve various different means of transport. For example, cars destined for the United Kingdom are brought by rail from Sochaux to Calais, »We want to be more independent as a subsidiary.« All-rounder Photos:Gefco ope

trailer world issue Three 2009

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