Giga Maritime Group Expands to Hone Competitive Edge

Automotive shipping and logistics provider Giga Maritime Group (GMG) has announced plans to invest in new IT infrastructure, the expansion and replacement of fleets, assets and vehicles as well as developing new car terminals, in an effort to hone the group's competitive edge and meet the demands of Malaysia's growing automotive industry.

Datuk Kumar Prabakaran, the managing director of GMG companies Giga Shipping Sdn Bhd and Nexus Mega Carriers Sdn Bhd, said these investments are vital in order for the group to meet growth demands following the National Automotive Policy (NAP) announcement earlier this year. Malaysia aims to increase its total production of 1.25 million vehicles and boost annual exports to 250,000 units by the year 2020.

"The automotive shipping and logistics sector is a growing and competitive market for us. These investments are absolutely vital for us to optimize the management of the supply chain and hone our value-added services for our customers. Giga Maritime Group provides end-to-end solutions, including land transportation, ocean going vessels, freight forwarding services, car terminal services, from the factory floor to the dealership door," said Datuk Kumar.

As part of the group's expansion plans, GFG Logistics Sdn Bhd will launch the MV Grand Vision, a Roll-on Roll-off Pure Car Truck Carrier (RoRo PCTC) vessel with a capacity of 5,040 Car Equivalent Units (CEU). The vessel will operate in the Malaysian domestic route as well as intra-Asian countries such as Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore. With the arrival of the MV Grand Vision in mid-September, GMG will see a 30percent growth in capacity when compared to 2013. Additionally, the group will replace 66 trucks and prime movers in their fleet of 224 car and motorcycle motor vehicle carriers.

Further to that, the group will replace 66 trucks and prime movers in their fleet of 224 car and motorcycle carriers. Last year, Nexus lifted a total of 45,600 loads nationwide, compared with 43,998 in 2012. The company is expected to lift some 48,000 loads by year-end.

To further streamline the group's supply chain and provide more value-added services to customers, the group will invest in a web-based IT infrastructure that will allow customers to place bookings, request and view quotations and invoices, submit documents and track shipments online. The system, which will be running in the first quarter of 2015, will also allow for senior management to monitor the supply chain in real time.

"Our new IT system is expected to minimize employee workload, reduce usage of paper by 80percent and streamline the flow of task from one business unit to the next," Datuk Kumar added.

In a bid to meet the demand for car sales in East Malaysia, GMG acquired land in East Malaysia - 14 acres in Kota Kinabalu and is operated by Kota Kinabalu Car Terminal Sdn Bhd and 10 acres in Kuching is operated by Kuching Car Terminal Sdn Bhd, for storage and maintenance, import, export and transhipment of vehicles.

Source: Giga Maritime Group