AMSTERDAM

BREAKBULK
TAKING
NOTHING FOR
GRANTED
Nissan’s European distribution centre has been
a distinctive feature of Amsterdam’s Westpoort
district since as far back as 1970. Together with
Waterland Terminal and Koopman Car Terminal, this
well-oiled organisation is set up for the receipt
and continental distribution of Nissan cars. Despite
the efficiency, however, nothing in the automotive
industry can be taken for granted.
TEXT: ROB SCHOEMAKER PHOTO: ED SEEDER
Playing five games of chess simultaneously. That’s
what Michel Kool does in his role as director of Nissan
Carrier Europe (NCE) as he oversees the maritime
side of Nissan’s European logistics from his Amsterdam base.
The first chess board concerns NCE as a local shipping agent,
directing 176 calls by car carriers (62 deep sea and 80 short
sea) in 2015, transporting a total of 176,000 cars. On the
second board NCE acts as general agent in Europe for mother
company Nissan Motor Car Carrier (NMCC), maintaining an
overview and directing shipping routes and schedules within
Europe.
The situation whereby all cars and spare parts came from
Japan has long been consigned to the past; Nissans now come
from all over the world. European manufacturing plants are
located in Sunderland (UK) and Barcelona, for example. In
2015 NCE co-ordinated 238 European port calls and 47 deepsea
car carrier ships from places such as Japan, India and
Mexico. Kool: “It’s all down to planning, communication and
finding solutions to operational problems. Japan being eight
hours ahead of Europe is one such difficulty. So we handle it.”
On the third chess board, NCE is commercially responsible
for the Nissan European Short Sea Contract – the office’s most
important function – which oversees the planning of shipping
from Newcastle and Barcelona to European destinations
from the Baltic States to the eastern Mediterranean Sea, with
Amsterdam functioning as a distribution hub for continental
Europe. NCE is also involved in the many Nissan projects
aimed at continuously optimising its logistics. In addition,
a close partnership has existed since 1999 between Nissan
and Renault, which involves shared production locations
and the necessary logistical cross-flows.
Kool points out that the operational responsibility for
shipments lays with sister company Euro Marine Logistics
(EML), based in Belgium. “Our teams work together closely
to reinforce the Renault-Nissan alliance. NCE and EML sit
down together with Nissan and Renault’s logistics staff on
a weekly basis to ensure that the right cars are in the right
place at the right time throughout Europe. The frequency of
sailings, lead time from manufacturing plant to destination
and the reliability of the schedule are our guiding principles.
The EML-operated fleet of 14 shortsea ships (with capacities
from 700 to 3,000 units per ship) offers a strong foundation,
while the addition of deep-sea ships within the short-sea
network provides extra flexibility. The fact that we are able
to co-ordinate the combination of short-sea and deep-sea
shipping is one of our strengths.” Furthermore, seven of
the 14 short-sea ships are owned by EML. On the fourth
chess board, therefore, NCE is responsible for the technical
management of the ships and the financial/administrative
side of the business. Finally, board five sees NCE responsible
for shipments from Europe to non-European destinations,
which do not always involve its own line services.
Extremely competitive
To paint a picture of the complexity and competitiveness
of the automotive industry in general, Kool explains that
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