KTM hires logistics provider

KTM North America, Inc. has hired an outside vendor to serve as its exclusive U.S. logistics provider, in charge of receiving and distributing KTM product upon arrival from Austria.
Officials at Con-Way Logistics, a unit of Con-Way Transportation Services, Inc., say they were hired by KTM to create “an optimized logistics solution that balances manufacturing and customer requirements with cost efficient distribution” — which basically means receiving crated motorcycles delivered by ocean vessels and then warehousing and shipping them to KTM’s 420 dealers in the U.S. and Canada.
As a part of the new deal, KTM will convert its motorcycle distribution center in Amherst, Ohio, to a dealer technical training center and distribute all motorcycles from Con-Way Logistics’ facilities in Aurora, Ill. and Mira Loma, Calif.
KTM unit sales in North America have grown from 1,000 in 1992 to just under 20,000 in 2004.
“We’re on a significant growth curve and needed a logistics provider with the technology, capacity and infrastructure to meet our needs today and in the future,” said John Zolikoff, director of new business development for KTM North America. “With our costs and overhead reduced, we can be more nimble and efficient in our logistics and that allows us to focus on building stronger relationships with our dealers.”
Con-Way Logistics, a contract supply chain service provider, is an operating company of Con-Way Transportation Services, Inc., a $2.2 billion transportation and services company that provides freight delivery services and logistics for commercial and industrial businesses. It is a subsidiary of Palo Alto, California-based CNF Inc., a $5.1 billion management company of global supply chain services with businesses in regional trucking, air freight, ocean freight, customs brokerage, global logistics management and trailer manufacturing.
“KTM came to us with several challenging issues,” said Michael S. Bare, vice president and general manager of Con-Way Logistics. “Our first step was to employ our suite of modeling and optimizing technologies to reduce their supply chain costs while making sure KTM continued to meet manufacturing goals and customer satisfaction objectives.
“We also worked with their packaging engineers and designers to ensure that the number of shipping crates not only optimizes the ocean container’s space but will be built in such a way that warehousing and final dealer delivery costs fit the cost reduction model. This will include protecting the motorcycle from damage in a trip of over 4,000 miles from the manufacturing plant in Austria.”
KTM Sportmotorcycle AG is based in Mattighofen, Austria, and annually sells approximately 70,000 motorcycles worldwide. psb