Vishay and cargo-partner: Two Decades of Successful Collaboration

Global trade never sleeps, and this is especially true in the highly dynamic sector of electronics. As the key person in charge of worldwide logistics at Vishay, a leading global manufacturer of discrete semiconductors and passive electronic components, Karl Haussteiner is well aware of this: “Due to our company’s global presence and my logistics responsibility, I could theoretically work 24 hours a day, and even on Sundays, if we look to Israel,” the latter being an important part of Vishay’s production network. He adds: “In reality, of course, this is not the case, since we’ve set up excellent and experienced logistics teams in all regions – Asia, Europe, the USA, and Israel – who are permanently connected and who master the daily challenges of our very dynamic business environment.”

Supply Chain Visibility and Collaborative Growth

Due to the highly dynamic nature and dense interconnectivity of global business, visibility throughout the supply chain has become a basic requirement for efficient logistics. This was one of the main factors which influenced Vishay’s choice of cargo-partner as logistics provider. Karl Haussteiner explains: “The requirement was quite simple: visibility and shipment tracking for our global, multi-modal transports.” With the SPOT Platform, cargo-partner was easily able to meet this demand. The further growth of the partnership saw the electronic manufacturer’s demands gradually expand to more sophisticated requirements, which the SPOT platform grew to accommodate. “Today, I see SPOT as a global, multi-functional logistics service platform with a modern IT infrastructure which can comprehensively serve a wide variety of customer demands,” Haussteiner concludes.

Airfreight, Customs Clearance and Distribution

Supply chain visibility was only one part of the service package which marked the beginning of the cooperation between the two companies. In addition to offering simple tracking and visibility, the logistics provider also created a comprehensive solution for Vishay’s air transports from Europe to the USA, including centralized import customs clearance and timely distribution. Karl Haussteiner recalls: “I see cargo-partner’s significant competitive advantage in its high degree of flexibility, reliability and customer orientation. This is the reason we started working with cargo-partner in Europe nearly 20 years ago.” Since then, the cooperation has expanded to include transports from China and Hong Kong to Europe, India and the USA as well as airfreight shipments within the Asia-Pacific region.

Tailor-Made Warehousing in Shanghai and Hong Kong

In 2016, Vishay required storage space in China and decided to make use of cargo-partner’s proven warehousing expertise. In October 2016, cargo-partner opened a 3,700 square meter bonded customs warehouse in Shanghai exclusively for Vishay, providing the optimal conditions for the storage of electronic components. The warehouse contains 600 pallet spaces as well as a small parts store for over 17,000 small parts containers. Very diligent planning was necessary to ensure the smooth transfer of more than 5,000 different stock keeping units into the new warehouse. After the success of this first warehousing project in Asia, the cooperation was extended to Hong Kong, where the two companies opened a warehouse in October 2018. The new warehouse in Tuen Mun provides over 3,200 m² of storage space with 3,550 pallet slots in 246 racks as well as workstations for more than 40 employees.

Vishay’s VP Logistics is very satisfied with the efficient collaboration on these two logistics projects: “Running a warehouse in places like Shanghai and Hong Kong is a big challenge due to the high costs of rent as a consequence of the fast population growth and resulting lack of space. Thanks to excellent project work on both sides, we managed to achieve the planned efficiency in process costs. In addition, we gained some important experiences from the project in Shanghai which we were able to apply to the Hong Kong project in almost every aspect.”

A Partnership Built for the Future

After nearly two decades of collaboration, the two companies have built a solid foundation of mutual trust and well-oiled processes to face the challenges of the future. When asked about a recent example of these changes, Karl Haussteiner briefly mentions the import regulations imposed by US President Trump: “The tariffs imposed by the USA for goods imported from China and the corresponding countermeasures taken by China strongly affect companies and consumers, in fact, global economy as a whole.” Thanks to its long-standing international experience, the innovative electronics manufacturer can meet such challenges with aplomb, and needless to say, “Vishay has already implemented its own measures to minimize these effects.” Another development Vishay is keeping a close watch on is the expansion of the New Silk Road by China: “An integration of these efforts with Austria would be highly beneficial for our economic area. We’re keeping these developments on our radar and following them with great interest.”

Based on the highly effective collaboration and continuous improvement of processes between Vishay and cargo-partner, we are confident that there is still a lot of potential on the horizon for this global, innovative and synergetic partnership, and we look forward to the next 20 years of growth and shared success.