How Renault Group Got More Control Over Their Container Shipping Operations

Company overview

Renault Group is in the top automotive manufacturers in the world. They have over 40 production sites and 10 logistics sites in 16 different countries.

• Cargo: Automotive
• Turnover: €46 Billion
• Employees: +111,000
• Shipping Activity: Import / Export 
• Shipping destinations: 200+ Containers lanes
• BuyCo Scope: 100% container flows

The Challenge

Due to their international presence and the high stakes of a “just in time” automotive supply chain, Renault Group needed to standardize and digitalize their maritime operations. Elements like booking activity, documentation, tracking, and KPIs all needed to be monitored more closely and shared with everyone involved including shippers, consignees (plants), supervision teams, as well as purchasing, accounting, and customs teams. Relying on searching through carriers’ websites and sending so many internal emails did not provide an efficient solution.

Goals

Specifically, Renault Group was searching for a solution to achieve the following goals:
■ Standardize booking activity
■ Provide visibility on 100% maritime activity worldwide
■ Improve document sharing for their customers
■ Integrate all bookings in their end-to-end visibility tool (or digital control tower)

The Solution

With BuyCo, Renault Group now uses a unique tool to monitor all shipments. On the platform, shippers easily schedule and book with their shipping line, and their team now has the status tracking of their shipments coming directly from the carrier. All members can see, request, and track the most-up-to-date versions of shipment documents, which has eliminated the documentation problems they were experiencing before. Just as they hoped, BuyCo was deployed on full scope in three months.

Results

Global visibility for maritime activity within the Renault Group

Now, all members of the supply chain can instantly access information on any shipment. Clear visibility enables their operational teams to take the right actions at the right time. Live KPIs of shipping lines helps them monitor and improve performance.

Standardization and efficiency of operational process

The BuyCo platform is now a foundation on which Renault Group can build their maritime ecosystem.

Improvement of customer service

Through document sharing, Renault Group’s customers quickly receive their documents. With real-time tracking, their customers know the exact arrival time of their cargo and can have inland transport ready.

“With BuyCo, we have global visibility over all our shipments, documentation, demurrage, detention, and everything else linked to our shipments.”

Frédéric Depaepe Overseas Transport Referent