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Without trucks on the road, many businesses would be on a path to failure. Unfortunately, when the market is as uncertain as it is now, planning medium- and heavy-duty truck and equipment purchases, ensuring that trucks and equipment meet all federal and state regulations, and having them delivered when and where the business anticipates basically requires a crystal ball and a rabbit's foot. NAFA addresses this tricky situation in "Truck Supply Chain Management" on Monday, April 26 during the Association's annual Institute & Expo at the Cobo Center in Detroit.
The session will detail steps that companies should be taking to ensure road-ready vehicles are where they need to be when their fleet needs them to be there.
"There was plenty of news coverage associated with the disruptions to the auto industry supply chain in 2009 as the economic turmoil affected every automotive-related business," explained Ed Pierce, Vice President of Marketing for Automotive Resources International, who will moderate the session. "These problems made companies whose operations are wholly-dependent on the fleet aware of the need to scrutinize every link of their truck supply chain. Given the complexity of the truck supply chain, including chassis and equipment manufacturers, body companies, upfitters, it's no easy task. Yet, every link is critical to the overall strength of the supply chain and must be monitored, stress-tested, and strengthened to prevent a problem.
"This year's ‘Truck Supply Chain Management' session at NAFA's I&E brings together experts who can address every link in the supply chain. They include an expert from the National Truck and Equipment Association (NTEA), an upfitting company, and a fleet management company whose managed vehicle inventory is predominantly trucks. This session will help truck fleet decision-makers identify the steps that must be taken to ensure the right road-ready vehicles are ready when needed."
Attendees will learn about the biggest obstacles that interfere with vehicle and upfitting production and delivery, how to set realistic time frames, how to stay in the know about production status and delays, and options for filling the gaps when vehicle delivery doesn't happen as planned.
Faculty for the session includes Rob Hoysgaard, Business Development Manager, Utility Market, Automotive Resources International, Mount Laurel, NJ; Bob Johnson, Director of Fleet Relations, National Truck Equipment Association (NTEA), Farmington, MI; and Marc Marutani, General Manager, Fleet Body Equipment, Kansas City, MO.
"Truck Supply Chain Management" is just one of more than 40 different educational sessions – adding up to over 60 hours of fleet training, education, and workshops -- at this year's Institute & Expo. The I&E marks NAFA's return to Detroit for the first time since the 1980s and features Keynote Speeches from high-ranking executives of the Detroit 3 including Robert A. Lutz, Vice Chairman of General Motors; Mark Fields, Executive Vice President of Ford Motor Company; and Peter Grady, Vice President – Network Development & Fleet of Chrysler Group LLC. The Keynote Presentations will take place on consecutive days starting Sunday, April 25.
About NAFA's Institute & Expo
Official media sponsors of the 2010 I&E include: Fleet Owner, International Fleet World, Automotive Fleet, Automotive Digest, Government Fleet, Fleet Financials, Canadian Automotive Fleet, CamAuto, Fleet Digest, Fleets & Fuels, Fleet Maintenance, Naylor, Fleet Focus, and FLEETSolutions.
About NAFA Fleet Management Association
NAFA is the world's premier non-profit association for professionals who manage fleets of sedans, public safety vehicles, trucks, and buses of all types and sizes, and a wide range of military and off-road equipment for organizations across the globe. NAFA is the association for the diverse vehicle fleet management profession regardless of organizational type, geographic location or fleet composition. NAFA's Full and Associate Members are responsible for the specification, acquisition, maintenance and repair, fueling, risk management, and remarketing of more than 3.5 million vehicles including in excess of 1.1 million trucks of which 350 thousand are medium- and heavy-duty trucks.
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