Evolution Time Critical (ETC) specialises in providing emergency logistics services to the automotive industry. The firm’s capabilities are keenly sought when breakdowns to the finely tuned automotive supply chain threaten to create costly line stoppages. ETC Managing Director Brad Brennan tells Dave Leggett more about this niche activity and how it works.
There can’t be too many dull days at Evolution Time Critical (ETC). The nature of the business means that they have to be prepared for just about anything that their demanding automotive industry clients may need. And in these times of lean, just-in-time production, disruption to supply can be very costly for finely tuned manufacturing operations; the financial fallout from a halted production line can pile up very quickly.
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ETC’s staff are geared to finding solutions to the knottiest of problems. There are plenty of colourful no-names case studies. Here’s a typical example. After the delivery of faulty parts, a combination of road, air charter and on-board courier was used to transport twenty boxes of seatbelt retractors weighing 221kg from Poland to Turkey. The ETC brokered multi-modal solution saved the OEM customer around EUR2m by keeping the production line going and avoiding a two-day stoppage.
If there’s a supply disruption issue, an emergency logistics provider like ETC can lever its experience and contacts to suggest solutions tailored to needs.
ETC does not, however, do conventional logistics, though there is a crossover with what might be termed ‘premium logistics’. The focus is on a high level of service and leaving conventional logistics services alone. “We are there to provide a final level of support necessary for automotive companies to manufacture using their lean manufacturing and supply chain techniques,” Brennan points out.
“And we have to act very quickly; it’s a very different mindset to providing conventional logistics services.”
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By GlobalDataSo, when supply chains fall over or threaten to, manufacturing plant managers call ETC. It could be a fire or strike at a distant component plant, faulty parts or a stroppy volcano that has grounded air freight. But Brennan says that’s not the whole story and that while the emergency call in times of crisis is an important part of their business, ETC’s services are also increasingly built into firms’ supply chain management.
“Now that cars are being built to order, carmakers have had to integrate premium freight into their supply chain strategies. Small quantity and high value components are scheduled to move by premium freight – it could be high value electronics or a high value option available on a car at relatively low volume. And companies may opt for and plan premium freight solutions on these items from the beginning.
“We are being asked more frequently these days to be part of the supply chain from its inception. OEMs may say to suppliers that they must have contingency plans documented – what happens if something goes wrong with a particular plant or component production? – and we are therefore involved early on in planning rather than simply in solving problems after a breakdown.”
ETC’s business is mainly Europe-based but is becoming more global. Brennan says there is more work for his company involving operations in the BRIC countries. “The fact that we have offices in the UK and Germany doesn’t mean that we are not dealing with the globe,” he maintains. “A call that eventually involves the emergency movement of components from China to Mexico will come into our UK or German office. Where the call actually comes in is a little irrelevant. We are international point-to-point and people in the industry know how to contact us. Our control centres are are manned with multi-lingual staff twenty four hours a day.”
The ETC customer base comprises mainly OEMs and Tier 1s. Brennan says that there is some cyclical pattern to the workload in emergency logistics. “The model year changeovers are especially significant, when models are ramping up or when there is tooling that needs to be in position at a critical time. And it can be at any point in the supply chain where pressures have brought a disruption or one sort or another. Those are the times when more alarm bells may be ringing and the industry needs more of the sort of support we can provide.”
What are the typical sorts of products that ETC finds itself shipping? It’s a wide range. “We recently handled a number of charters of bonnets,” says Brennan. “It can be anything from a bag of widgets to complete front-end-modules, wheels or tyres. The small bag of widgets, of course, may be of no intrinsic value, but it may be desperately needed on a production line.”
ETC works with a network of specialist freight transport subcontractors and couriers to make it all happen. It acts as the facilitator, bringing together the elements in the solution.
“We are completely asset free,” Brennan says. “We deliver our services by a variety of means – air charter, helicopter charter, scheduled air freight, express air freight, on-board couriers and dedicated road. You can’t own all those facilities all over the world. To take dedicated road, for example, we have access to thousands of trucks throughout Europe and they are all regionally based. We have to have the ability to react with our extended network quickly and locally to the needs of our clients. That’s all been built up with our transport partners over many years.”
As ETC expands its geographical scope of operations, like the auto industry it serves, the logistics challenges presented by the BRIC markets are coming into focus.
“They bring their own set of challenges. For example, infrastructure is generally an issue, though these things are gradually being addressed with more investment. In India, we might get commissioned because of the poor infrastructure and how that is impacting critical shipments supply. Another ‘challenging’ area is customs and procedures…and, again, that’s why our local partners are hugely important to us.”
April’s volcanic ash disruption in Europe brought business to ETC. Tier 2 components suppliers often situated in distant locations required emergency logistics to get to their customers. ETC reported a surge in requests for time critical deliveries during the closure of European air space.
“The majority of problems experienced by our OE customers related to delayed parts deliveries from Tier 2 to Tier 1 suppliers, with electrical components among the most badly hit,” said Brennan.
“Many of the electrical components from Tier 2 suppliers to Tier 1s are scheduled by air because of the high value to weight ratio and physical distance between the two companies. First tier supply within Europe did not suffer as much as little airfreight is scheduled from these suppliers. Any shipments due to be transported by air were handled by fast van with relative ease.”
ETC used a combination of on-board courier, dedicated road transport and airfreight to facilitate urgent deliveries during and post-ash crisis, selecting routes via airports in southern Europe. In one instance, the company rescued a shipment of electrical components from China that was delayed in Hong Kong as the shipper had been unable to make an airfreight booking. ETC’s team secured one of the last seats on a flight and booked an on-board courier to carry the shipment as excess baggage. The parts were flown to London’s Heathrow airport, where a driver was in place and ready to transport the goods to a waiting helicopter. The parts were delivered with 15 minutes to spare before it would have been necessary to stop the manufacturer’s assembly line.
Phew, tight margins like that sound stressful. Is it? “In a sense, obviously, but there is the enormous satisfaction that flows from meeting client needs. Line stoppage is a hugely stressful thing for OEMs and suppliers and we feel their stress in times of crisis; we’re a part of the solution.
“There’s a lot of satisfaction and a bit of a buzz in performing with our extended network to save situations that could be otherwise be very bad for our customers. It’s a stressful job that we do, but it’s so enjoyable as well and always we are managing to save the day and you can’t beat that feeling.”
Is there ever an emergency logistics request that is impossible?
“Yes, and you have to be able to say no. Some things just won’t work and if someone else wants to try it and fail, fine – we’ll leave that work alone. We are respected in the industry because we tell it as it is. Sometimes a carmaker may need a component by 03:00hrs, say. We may have to say: can’t be done. They may not like it, but they appreciate that honesty far more than somebody saying they’ll do it and then calling through in transit to cite delays on ‘headwinds’ for the aircraft, so it’ll be a ‘bit late’.
“And we’re then left to pick up the pieces…
“Understanding what the automotive customer needs and delivering supply chain solutions for multiple scenarios backed up by deep knowledge of transport markets, reliable partners able to work to our quality standards, as well as long experience in this sector and a very solid track record is absolutely key.”
Dave Leggett
See also: September logistics briefing
