Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Proton Adds CLASS to Its Supply Chain Management


Proton has been struggling with its supply chain management for the longest time. This is one of the main reasons why it is unable to compete in a free market in Malaysia and struggles to compete in the free markets overseas.

Fortunately, after more than 25 years of existence, Proton has finally put in place something that could bring it closer to the point where it can exist without Government protection – CLASS or Centre for Logistics, Allocation, Storage and Services. Two of them to be exact, that is one in Sijangkang and the other in Tanjung Malim.

“With this, we have the competitive advantage of a fast delivery system and centralised supply chain centre. We can proudly say that the centralised hubs give us the cost savings benefits in terms of operations and service charges compared to previously,” said Dato’ Sri Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh, Chairman of Proton Holdings.
Well hooray for Proton. But what does it mean for Malaysians?

According to Proton’s Group Managing Director Dato’ Sri Syed Zainal Abidin, Proton would be able to maximise its logistics efficiency by reducing delivery time, thereby helping increase customer satisfaction domestically. “Previously, pre-delivery inspection was handled by local and international dealers at the respective service outlets prior to handing the cars to customers. That is no longer the case, as the process is now done at the hubs,” he explained.

Furthermore, the hubs will help Proton standardise the pre-delivery inspection of all vehicles, thus enabling it to reduce a host of problems including multiple handling by 40%, unnecessary waiting time to a maximum of three days and secondary defects, he added.

Reading between the lines, I’d say this simply means Proton would be able to meet customer demand without rushing its products to market, thus upping the quality of its cars.

Well, anything that gets Proton on its feet without the help of “crutches” (or Government protection) is good for its shareholders and Malaysian consumers. And with better quality Proton cars, let’s hope “multiple defects and faults being part of the Proton package” would really become a thing of the past.

Non Proton car owner: “Hey dude, what’s that hissing sound?”

Proton Perdana owner: “Dude, don’t you know? That hissing sound is part of the Proton package!”

Both non Proton car owner and Proton Perdana owner: “HAAA! HA! HA! HA!”

3 comments:

  1. Yep, hiss, as opposed to hersss :P

    Actually, the hissing sound is just an example of the kind of defects Proton owners had to tolerate - my old Waja had that sound for the longest time, because of defective rubber seals that let some of the slipstream into the passenger compartment.

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  2. good to know that proton is making efforts in enhancing its supply chain management so as to maintain timely deliveries in local as well as overseas market. This will surely help them in the long run.

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