Bridging the Supply Chain Gap for Honeywell in China

DKSH supported Honeywell, the American multinational technology conglomerate, in overcoming multiple logistics challenges they faced in China during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the pandemic, logistics and distribution services had to deal with several restrictions across the globe. DKSH Business Unit Performance Materials’ capillary distribution network and logistics supply chain teams worked tirelessly to ensure a continued and uninterrupted supply of Honeywell products to its customers.

Challenge

The pandemic resulted in many challenges across almost all industries. Among the most affected sectors were the supply chain and logistics services. This, in turn, affected the global economy, trade, and operating capacity for international logistics.

During this time, Honeywell faced challenges in delivering shipments from their factory in the USA to China. With large amounts of products stuck in transit, customers in China faced huge losses and suspension of production due to the shortage. The impact had a higher effect on customers in the automotive industry, who have an even stricter timeline for delivering their products to avoid losing clients to global competition.

Our client’s stance was clear: if their products were not able to reach customers, customers would surely seek alternative suppliers to avoid losses and production shutdowns.

Approach

The first step was for us to develop a strategic plan to bridge the gap between Honeywell and our customers in the market.

Our wide distribution network allowed us to identify logistics partners with whom we could collaborate to develop a comprehensive plan based on transportation capacity, service level, and cost.

Result

We ensured that Honeywell’s products were distributed at reasonable freight charges even during the pandemic period.

We supported our client with our global distribution network and logistics supply chain to ensure on-time pick-up and freight forwarding between the USA and China.

Our outstanding distribution and logistics performance exceeded Honeywell’s expectations and ensured that all parties were able to keep operations going during the very difficult period.

With the effective distribution and logistics capability from DKSH, we have been able to support our client to overcome multiple logistics challenges during the pandemic. This ensured a continued supply of Honeywell products to the customers. We look forward to many success stories with Honeywell as we continue to grow our partnership.

Carole Lin, General Manager, Performance Materials, DKSH Greater China