Annual Report 2010 (PDF, 5.2MB) - Panalpina Annual Report 2012

Customer Groups
Customer case Cooper Standard
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The customer
The challenge
Cooper Standard, headquartered in Novi, Michigan, is
a leading global supplier of systems and components for
the automotive industry. Products include body sealing
systems, fluid handling systems and anti-vibration systems.
Cooper Standard employs approximately 19,000 people
globally and operates in 17 countries around the world.
The recession that began in 2008 significantly impacted
many industries, but hit the automotive sector particularly
hard. Like many suppliers in the sector, Cooper Standard
was impacted by the recession, but took swift action to
offset the downturn and position the company for long-term
success. The company first streamlined operating costs
and then went through a successful financial restructuring
in less than 12 months during 2009 – 2010 to reduce debt.
These actions combined with improving vehicle sales and
production volumes positioned the company for further
growth and expansion.
Starting in 2004, Cooper Standard began growing through
strategic acquisitions and now has a global presence in
all major automotive markets including the USA, Canada,
Brazil, Mexico, Germany, China, and India. The company
is consistently listed in the top 100 largest global automotive
suppliers.
Cooper Standard’s global growth has also created challenges.
When a company becomes global quickly through
acquisitions, it must become highly adept at integrating
multiple IT platforms, consolidating plants, locations and
equipment. To accomplish all of this, Cooper Standard
needed an ideal logistics partner who understood the company,
industry dynamics and was able keep pace with
rapid expansion to meet customer needs.
The solution
It was clearly evident that Panalpina understood that specific
industry knowledge within a vertical structure was
essential and launched the Automotive Industry vertical
segmentation in mid 2007. Cooper Standard became
a partner with Panalpina for the first time in August of 2007.
Panalpina’s unique ability to handle oversized freight,
assembly line moves and intercontinental FLASH support
on Cooper Standard’s dominant trade lanes has turned
Panalpina into Cooper Standard’s primary forwarding solution
provider in just three years time. With over 60 regular
and sporadic lane pairs, Panalpina provides the entire palette
of services to Cooper Standard including buyer consolidations,
air freight, ocean freight and supply chain design.
“To have a partner that truly understands our products and needs may not be that rare.
To find a partner who is always available and executes its service with passion is rare,
and that is why we use Panalpina.”
Mike Silvio, Director, Supply Chain Management, Cooper Standard
Panalpina Annual Report 2010