CARY, N.C. -

Earlier this month, Manheim Logistics and DHL Supply Chain announced an exclusive partnership to help build “a more holistic transportation management system” with the goal of continuing to boost efficiency and transparency.

Manheim Logistics, which facilitates about 10 million vehicle shipments annually through its Central Dispatch and Ready Logistics platforms, is turning to DHL Supply Chain for its logistics engineering expertise and technology “to create unmatched capabilities and further establish Manheim Logistics as the transportation partner of choice for dealers, commercial clients and carriers,” Manheim said in a news release.

So, what does this collaboration really entail for the companies? Executives with Manheim Logistics and DHL explained in a joint phone interview.

Looking at solving some of the puzzle pieces in the remarketing space, Manheim Logistics vice president Joe Kichler said that as the wholesale space gets more digitalized, digital buyers are “looking for more real-time visibility, real-time tracking on where their cars are.”

Furthermore, carriers are looking to become more efficient when it comes to load factor, so optimization and “creating dynamic flows” are key here, as the company looks to dispatch multiple cars at a time, he said.

Teaming with DHL helps Manheim Logistics to become “much more of that proactive supply chain counterpart to our clients, as well as providing a deep technology capability and base,” Kichler said.

He later added: “The Ready/Manheim Logistics side will still be responsible for the end-to-end shipper experience and results. But we’ll leverage DHL’s advanced technology — their transportation management systems, their order management capabilities, some of their procurement systems, kind of the middle part of our business — to help us dispatch cars, help us optimize loads, optimize routes and a  bring technology to the space that hasn’t been there before;” and it is technology that DHL employs in other sectors, Kichler said.

DHL has had a presence in automotive throughout the world, but in terms of finished logistics in the U.S., this is a largely a new arena for the company, says Jim Monkmeyer, who is president of transportation for DHL Supply Chain North America and joined the call with Kichler.

“We have primarily been working with OEMs, with Tier 1s, doing inbound auto parts, service parts. Some very specific areas that we’re heavy in is in the tire arena,” Monkmeyer said.

DHL has been in the finished vehicle arena primarily in Europe and elsewhere internationally, “but (they) haven’t really gotten into that in a big way here,” he said.

“And so that's exciting to us because we have some of the knowledge and capability globally, but we also have the automotive relationships. And I think the wholesale space was not something we were looking at, at the time that Manheim reached out to us, but we quickly got excited about it and seeing the leadership position that Manheim had, the vision that they had for digitalization and change, the importance that they put on their customer relationships as well as their carrier relationships, I think is really important.”

Manheim Logistics’ primary focus has been on the wholesale side of the business, in working with dealers, automakers, banks and others in the space. However, Kichler said, collaborating with DHL also provides some opportunity on the retail side.

“We’re also partnership with DHL for the other side of our business in Cox Automotive, where we’re spending a lot of time and effort on digital retailing,” Kichler said. “And (looking at) how do we get to the point to be able to deliver that end car, supporting dealers, to end consumers and picking up trade-ins from consumers.”

The partnership focuses on where Manheim operates today, but also looking forward, it will examine vehicle delivery on the retail side of Cox Automotive. It also looks at how the DHL relationships on the new-car side can be put to use. It provides an opportunity to potentially expand beyond the traditional wholesale space.