Increasing LG’s speed to market

Collaboration across A.P. Moller - Maersk delivers results for LG Electronics and grows the partnership.

By Toni McKee

A lot can be accomplished when teaming up. That has been the case for some time for APM Terminals’ Inland Services and Sealand working for LG Electronics (LG) to move its goods between Mexico and Peru. Through integrated services, the partnership can save up to two days of LG’s delivery times and help the company adapt quickly to the dynamics in the market.

“For LG, speed to market is essential. If the goods are not available, their customers will simply buy from other brands,” says Alonso Garaycochea, Deputy Country Head of APM Terminals Inland Services Peru.

Sealand ships LG’s goods from Mexico to Peru. Once the goods arrive in Peru, the vessel is handled at APM Terminals Callao and next APM Terminals Inland Services takes care of all of LG’s landside logistics.

“Through our integrated services, the teams provide agile coordination of all activities, which adds much-needed flexibility to LG’s operations,” says Silvia Cordova D’Olmos, Commercial Manager at Sealand.

Increased speed, decreased idle time

One of the team’s core solutions for LG is a container depot managed by APM Terminals Inland Services next to LG’s distribution centre – and just 1 km away from many of their customers’ warehouses. This mitigates the bottlenecks from Lima’s heavily congested streets as the containers can be dropped in the depot, and truckers can immediately return to port with empty containers from the previous day.

“This model allows us to integrate the logistics of entry and exit in a single flow by having better visibility of the inventory before entering the warehouse. It optimises the timing and costs of operation,” says Miguel Sarria, SCM Manager at LG in Peru.

This is crucial during LG’s busiest times – Mother’s Day, Independence Day and Christmas – when shipments are made at high volumes and need to arrive on time. Now, LG can sell up to 65 containers of goods per day with virtually no waiting time, also saving distribution costs.

“The teams have shown a tremendous willingness to make a difference to LG’s business – and they work together proactively to drive results. The biggest confirmation of success for us is that LG wants to grow our partnership,” says Dries Van Dongen, Global Head of Landside Customers and Inland Services at APM Terminals.