Finished Vehicle Logistics
Digitalising Vehicle distribution. A cooperation between Odette and ECG


About
Finished vehicle logistics concerns the activities involved in the movement of a vehicle from the time it leaves the OEM production line until it reaches the dealer or final customer. Besides the actual transport of the vehicle, which can be made by road, rail, sea and even air, other important activities include storage, post-production modification, maintenance, repair and pre-delivery inspection.
This is a highly specialised sector of the transportation industry with very specific requirements but while the digitalisation of supply chain processes upstream from the vehicle manufacturers has been underway for many years, the downstream processes have been somewhat overlooked in the drive towards standardisation. Each major player developed their own proprietary solution which posed a serious challenge for logistics service providers and limited the flexibility of OEMs to improve their distribution processes.
In 2019 Odette and ECG, the Association of European Vehicle Logistics, formed an alliance to share experience and develop standards that meet the business requirements of both the OEMs and their service providers in outbound logistics.
The first result of this alliance was a set of UN/EDIFACT and XML messages covering the complete FVL communication process. Published in 2020, this message set is now being implemented by several vehicle manufacturers, compound operators and vehicle forwarders and has seen further enhancements arising from the implementation experience. Following this initial success, ECG and Odette have worked together to produce a set of KPIs for FVL and a standardised VIN label to make vehicle processing more efficient and to include the latest information requirements such as Fuel Type.
News
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news
Odette2023 Conference: programme announced
03 Oct 2023
At the Odette Conference, there is much less blah-blah and much more real solutions than anywhere else to help you overcome the supply chain challenges you face today. The event also offers supply chain professionals and IT experts unique networking opportunities at the international level.
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Meet the Odette Team at ECG Conference
25 Sept 2023
The Odette Team will be present at the upcoming ECG Conference taking place on 12 & 13 October in Copenhagen. We look forward to meeting our industry colleagues, OEMs and LSPs, with whom we have worked over the past 3 years to develop the FVL digital toolbox
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news
Odette2023 Conference: Preparations are underway
04 Jul 2023
Under the banner "Still Building Solutions for Sustainable Supply Chains", preparations for Odette2023 are now underway so make sure you block 20/21 November for this must-attend event in Berlin. Early Adopter Fee saving €200 available to the first 200 registrants
Initiatives
Resources

RFID in Vehicle Distribution Processes
This Odette recommendation describes the processes and methods of tracking and tracing vehicles in the distribution processes from factory to dealer using RFID technology and a smart label. It has been developed to move towards achieving widespread standardisation of RFID component usage, tag data storage and RFID technology implementation across vehicle distribution chains.

VIN Labels in the Vehicle Distribution Process
Developed by Odette and ECG, this recommendation has the following objectives:
- Define a standard location and fixing method for the vehicle identification label
- Recommend a size and layout for the vehicle identification label
- Define a minimum content for the vehicle identification label
- Recommend a bar-coding standard
- Provide recommendations for the quality of the vehicle identification label

Digitalisation of Finished Vehicle Logistics
This Recommendation covers typical logistics and service processes undertaken in the distribution of finished vehicles between vehicle manufacturers and their dealerships or other end customers. It specifies standard electronic messages for automated data exchange between vehicle manufacturers (or other shippers) and providers of logistic services. These logistics services can include transport, storage, maintenance, repair and any other actions that may be required during the movement of vehicles from the manufacturer to the dealership.
A set of messages associated with this Recommendation has been developed to cover all communication processes currently defined as being required between partners (vehicle shippers and logistics service providers) in the Finished Vehicle distribution chain.
The Transport Capacity Reservation process was added in Version 1.2

FVL EDIFACT Messages
EDI Implementation Guidelines
A suite of 12 EDIFACT messages have been developed jointly by ECG, Odette and VDA to cover the entire outbound logistics processes as described in the Finished Vehicle Logistics Process Description (FV00). The publication also includes example use cases and sample messages for each logistics process.

FVL Vehicle Damage Report Message
XML Implementation Guideline
Sent to communicate damage information from the LSP to the OEM.

Key Performance Indicators for Finished Vehicle Logistics
Provides a consolidation of existing and new KPIs for use between OEMs and logistics service providers involved in the transport of the finished vehicles and their interim storage during the transport process.
Includes a definition of 9 indicators (objectives, scope, how to measure) and a description of application and communication conditions.