CEVA Logistics, a supply chain management company, is consolidating its partnership with Mercedes-Benz in Brazil by renewing its existing business partnership and the awarding of additional contracts.

CEVA’s services to Mercedes-Benz are concentrated in the southeast region of Brazil. Under the renewed contract, in-house logistics services at the customer’s plant in the city of Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, will be maintained and renewed for an additional three years. This operation encompasses materials handling, line feeding and external warehousing. In addition, two new agreements have been reached with Mercedes Benz which will extend elements of the contract for three and five years respectively.

CEVA will now be responsible for providing interplant transportation at the Juiz de Fora plant and also packaging services at the customer’s spare parts Distribution Center at Campinas, São Paulo.

To meet the new and extended contract CEVA will employ an additional team of more than 280 people.

CEVA’s experience over recent years of the existing operation at the Juiz de Fora’s plant, combined with its successful partnerships for other automotive customers alongside a robust engineering process focused on resources optimization and cost reduction were decisive factors in increasing the scope of the partnership with Mercedes-Benz.

“Mercedes-Benz is a market leader in the truck and bus segment in Brazil,” said Fábio Mendunekas, CEVA’s Vice-President for Business Development in South America. “For CEVA it is a great honor to continue and expand the partnership with such a strategic customer. The outcome of these negotiations is a consequence of our commitment to consistently deliver operational excellence and continuous improvement for our customers, and it also reinforces our expertise in managing supply chains related to the automotive sector.”

Mendunekas believes that key factors in both the renewal and new business win were competitive costs, operational excellence, and innovative processes, all of which add up to a strong, long-term commercial relationship.