GM Studies Amazon to Improve Factory-to-Dealership Vehicle Deliveries - Ward's Auto
“Amazon has the best logistics in the world,” Dale Sullivan, who heads Chevrolet’s Western region, tells a dealer gathering here. “That’s where we need to go. where we can precisely tell you where a vehicle is and when you will get it. ”. Amazon’s product distribution system doesn’t tackle anything the size of a fullsize Silverado pickup truck weighing 5,433 lbs. “We’ve had people visit Amazon,” Sullivan says at the Idaho Auto Dealers Assn. Delivering cars cross-country to, say, IADA President David Taylor’s Cadillac store near Idaho Falls gets more complicated. GM contracts with trucking companies and railroads to transport vehicles from 18 assembly plants in the U. S. , Canada and Mexico to about 3,500 American dealers. Backups can occur during times like now when auto sales are on pace to reach nearly 17 million units a year, Sullivan says. “We have the rail cars and trucks but not enough of them, and (transportation) suppliers are nervous about adding capacity,” he says. “It will slowly get better but not totally better. The automaker has no plans to increase its dealer count. “There are 11 Chevy dealers in Denver, and we probably need eight or nine. Nor is it intended to undermine dealers. Source: wardsauto.com
