Several recent disruptions to the automotive industry have left significant impacts on many auto players and the overall supply chain. These events have certainly impacted OEMs, shippers, FMCs, car buyers, carriers and those operating in the car-haul space, creating more operational challenges and even pushing up driver costs.
We’ve outlined a breakdown of these macro-economic pressures and how they’re affecting the industry during this time.
1 – Vehicle Parts Shortage
Even after many plants re-opened their doors after shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a global shortage of critical vehicle parts like semiconductor chips, tire rubber and foam, forced some automakers to stall vehicle production or have delays in their auto supply chain.
2 – Lack of New Inventory
Without these crucial parts, new vehicles can’t be properly manufactured and sent to market in the usual manner, which has led to the extension of a new-vehicle shortage that originally began during the height of the pandemic.
With this lack of new-vehicle inventory coming in, and consumer demand for vehicles at an all-time high, retailers have been forced to find new and innovative ways to source vehicles for their customers.
3 – Unique Inventory Sourcing
Due to the lack of new vehicles coming to market, and the small number of new cars available for retailers to acquire and sell, retailers have gotten creative in their pursuits to source high-quality, used-car inventory. Turning to auction houses and other dealerships to acquire used vehicles, retailers are also going to customers themselves to obtain the inventory they need, often employing reverse logistics to pick up cars at customers’ homes and deliver them wherever needed.
4 – Carrier Capacity Constraints
Such logistics usually require carriers to pick up vehicles and transport them to their end destinations, working around any challenges that arise. And because retailers are having to source inventory from many different locations at much greater distances than in the pre-COVID environment — oftentimes only collecting one or two vehicles at each site — this requires carriers to stop at that many more locations along the way. Add to this the rising costs of fuel and ongoing driver shortage, and the result is the strain of exceedingly tight capacities and increased expenses.
All of this has led to retailers, carriers and consumers feeling the impacts of these constraints and working to navigate the challenges to get what they need. In response to this, ACERTUS is taking a number of steps to address these concerns, mitigate any risks and differentiate itself from competitors in the auto industry.
What ACERTUS is Doing to Help Its Partners
ACERTUS’ plan to help its partners in the industry involve three key factors: technology-driven platforms, secure dispatch infrastructure with wide availability and service teams committed to speed and flexibility.
Long before the COVID-19 pandemic or the current challenges facing the industry today, ACERTUS made investments in setting up itself as a logistics as a service platform. The ACERTUS marketplace supports auto-industry players in navigating the inventory shortages, capacity constraints and high consumer demand. This technology also allows for simplified order requests, more detailed business insights and additional security for all the vehicles being transported or serviced. As a result of this technology, customers receive fast and efficient reporting and updates, as well as better visibility into the status of orders at any given moment.
The second component of this three-pronged strategy includes infrastructure and a full suite of vehicle services — including title and registration, compliance services, care and maintenance and more. ACERTUS logistics professionals, expertise and resources make all of this work possible, creating efficiencies for customers and ensuring those customers can leverage ACERTUS as a single source for all their various auto-logistics needs, regardless of where they’re located or where vehicles are headed.
Finally, ACERTUS’ service teams consistently work to excel in delivering effective and flexible service to its wide variety of partners, both in easy times and difficult ones. These teams work tirelessly to insulate customers as much as possible from any supply chain disruptions or capacity stressors, while still providing transparency on the process and keeping partners informed of any order updates and changes as they occur. ACERTUS team members prioritize efficiency, risk mitigation and, ultimately, helping auto partners develop the best-possible strategies for their business needs.
Learn more about ACERTUS’ car haul services, as well as its full range of vehicle-transport and logistics solutions, at https://acertusdelivers.com. To connect with one of our team members or receive a quote, contact us here or call us at this phone number: 855-ACERTUS (855-223-7887).
