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MEXICO CITY - Oakland-based APL Logistics (APLL) has opened the doors at a new logistics center in Mexico City.

The 127,000 square-foot facility provides freight consolidation and deconsolidation, purchase-order management, shipment repackaging (cross-dock work), warehousing and other value-added logistics services, said Manny Fernandez, head of Latin America activities for APLL and its sister container transportation company, APL.

Its customers are Mexican and foreign companies distributing within the Mexican marketplace.

"Our aim is to offer on-the-ground operating presence and expertise in the global sourcing and distribution markets where our customers need us," said Fernandez, "and to provide a wide range of supply-chain management solutions that can be used individually, or in any combination."

Companies using APLL's Mexico facility and services include manufacturers of chemical products, automotive products and parts, electronics, and health-care products, among others, said Fernandez.

"These customers use our services as a means of reducing costs and improving their inventory accuracy, delivery performance, and customer service," he added.

The new facility - located in the Parque Industrial Nor-T, about nine miles north of Mexico City and les than a mile from the principal route to the country's northeast border with the US - is under long-term lease, and the company has made modifications to suit the specific business requirement of clients.

"This world-class, multi-client facility replaces older, less efficient facilities, and has increased the number of loading doors to 18 from seven," said Paulino Montero, the new facility's operations manager. "Operations are managed with a highly efficient electronic warehouse-management system, and the facility offers excellent security and controlled, 24-hour access."

APLL has 100 employees in Mexico, and operates facilities in Mexico City, Guadalajara, Saltillo, Silao, San Luis Potosi, and Ciudad Juarez.

The company - the supply-chain management arm of Singapore-based NOL Group - has logistics and warehouse facilities in Mexico that exceed 293,000 square feet of warehouse space.

APLL, which operates in more than 50 countries, was one of the first US-based third-party logistics (3PL) providers to enter the Mexico market, in 1982.

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