Safe Pedestrian Access to Rear Truck and Container Doors

Safe access pedestrian to the rear doors of trucks and container carrying vehicles in inspection and unloading areas has been a perennial unresolved risk in the absence of a loading dock. The increasing level of inspection arising from current levels of fugitive trafficking and the expectation of enhanced examination of shipments following Brexit will only increase exposure to this risk. Ladders and stepladders are not justifiable in view of the need to reduce risk of falls from height. To support and encourage rapid risk reduction, Alto Access Products have brought out a mobile and convenient product with stair access and full deployable guardrails.

Uniquely, the Alto Angel Stairs offer gated and guard-railed access to vehicle rear doors with spring loaded secure locking mechanisms, braked industrial quality castors and compliant handrailed stairs. The guardrails fold away for convenient storage.

Design Director John Moreby commented: “As with all Alto equipment, safety is our primary concern. Wide, slip resistant treads and permanently fitted swing out compliant handrails give peace of mind to responsible management in vehicle examination and unloading facilities.”

Falls from height stubbornly remain the most common cause of death and serious injury in the workplace. Vehicle access remains one of the most problematical areas due to the variety of types of site, vehicle and task/payload involved. These units make it economical and practical to provide safe convenient access to the rear of all vehicles and containers

Safe Pedestrian Access to Rear Truck and Container Doors

Safe access pedestrian to the rear doors of trucks and container carrying vehicles in inspection and unloading areas has been a perennial unresolved risk in the absence of a loading dock. The increasing level of inspection arising from current levels of fugitive trafficking and the expectation of enhanced examination of shipments following Brexit will only increase exposure to this risk. Ladders and stepladders are not justifiable in view of the need to reduce risk of falls from height. To support and encourage rapid risk reduction, Alto Access Products have brought out a mobile and convenient product with stair access and full deployable guardrails.

Uniquely, the Alto Angel Stairs offer gated and guard-railed access to vehicle rear doors with spring loaded secure locking mechanisms, braked industrial quality castors and compliant handrailed stairs. The guardrails fold away for convenient storage.

Design Director John Moreby commented: “As with all Alto equipment, safety is our primary concern. Wide, slip resistant treads and permanently fitted swing out compliant handrails give peace of mind to responsible management in vehicle examination and unloading facilities.”

Falls from height stubbornly remain the most common cause of death and serious injury in the workplace. Vehicle access remains one of the most problematical areas due to the variety of types of site, vehicle and task/payload involved. These units make it economical and practical to provide safe convenient access to the rear of all vehicles and containers

Geek+ Smart Warehouses Break 11/11 Singles Day Record

Robotics innovator Geek+ has reported that it successfully deployed and completed large-scale scheduling of more than 4,000 robots in its smart warehouses during this year’s 11.11 Singles Day shopping festival. China’s largest smart warehouse network processed a record 8 million orders in 72 hours.

The company said: “The successful deployment is a fantastic validation of the strength of the Robot-as-a-Service business model and the flexibility and efficiency of smart warehouses during periods of peak orders, including the ultimate challenge of the world’s largest shopping festival.”

In under 72 hours, Geek+ smart warehouses completed all 11.11 orders and shipped a total of 8.11 million orders, up 62% year on year, with a 48h delivery rate of 86%, nearly double that of manual 3PL warehouses. The 4000 robots had a total mileage of more than 1.5 million kilometres.

Geek+ cloud brain, the company’s proprietary software system was a key component to the success, the company claimed. The peak capacity of the entire system for order taking, processing, single-point feedback, pre-processing and interface feedback processing reached 200,000 single orders/per minute. “The system operated smoothly, with zero interruption and zero accidents. It successfully seized the biggest order flood peak so far,” it said.

Yong Zheng, founder and CEO of Geek + said: “We are extremely proud that our solution can help hundreds of brands successfully navigate peak order seasons. With RaaS, we make smart warehousing accessible to businesses of all sizes.”

Singles Day is a shopping festival in China in which young people celebrate being single and is seen as the world’s largest 24-hour shopping event, eclipsing the US-originated Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This year it was staged on November 11.

 

Geek+ Smart Warehouses Break 11/11 Singles Day Record

Robotics innovator Geek+ has reported that it successfully deployed and completed large-scale scheduling of more than 4,000 robots in its smart warehouses during this year’s 11.11 Singles Day shopping festival. China’s largest smart warehouse network processed a record 8 million orders in 72 hours.

The company said: “The successful deployment is a fantastic validation of the strength of the Robot-as-a-Service business model and the flexibility and efficiency of smart warehouses during periods of peak orders, including the ultimate challenge of the world’s largest shopping festival.”

In under 72 hours, Geek+ smart warehouses completed all 11.11 orders and shipped a total of 8.11 million orders, up 62% year on year, with a 48h delivery rate of 86%, nearly double that of manual 3PL warehouses. The 4000 robots had a total mileage of more than 1.5 million kilometres.

Geek+ cloud brain, the company’s proprietary software system was a key component to the success, the company claimed. The peak capacity of the entire system for order taking, processing, single-point feedback, pre-processing and interface feedback processing reached 200,000 single orders/per minute. “The system operated smoothly, with zero interruption and zero accidents. It successfully seized the biggest order flood peak so far,” it said.

Yong Zheng, founder and CEO of Geek + said: “We are extremely proud that our solution can help hundreds of brands successfully navigate peak order seasons. With RaaS, we make smart warehousing accessible to businesses of all sizes.”

Singles Day is a shopping festival in China in which young people celebrate being single and is seen as the world’s largest 24-hour shopping event, eclipsing the US-originated Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This year it was staged on November 11.

 

Supply Chain Consulting Group Racks Up the Numbers

UK-based industry consultant Supply Chain Consulting Group is celebrating two special milestones as 2019 draws to a close.

Proving itself to be a busy year, 2019 brought its experienced group of professional Logistics Consultants and Supply Chain specialists a total of 52 new projects from the period between January and November 2019. Meanwhile, SCCG announced separately that it has now successfully won a total of over 500 projects.

Specialist consultants have enjoyed working with new clients including Aldi, Iceland, Foodbuy, Robins and Day, and Oakwood Fuels.

This in addition to repeat business with existing clients including Co-Op, Bestway, Avara Foods, Bettys & Taylors of Harrogate, Diageo, Bunzl, PPG, British Gypsum and many more.

Having a new business achievement, the SCCG team will continue their hard work, eager to commence work on more, new and exciting projects, soon entering into 2020, and beyond, a spokesperson promised.

Supply Chain Consulting Group Racks Up the Numbers

UK-based industry consultant Supply Chain Consulting Group is celebrating two special milestones as 2019 draws to a close.

Proving itself to be a busy year, 2019 brought its experienced group of professional Logistics Consultants and Supply Chain specialists a total of 52 new projects from the period between January and November 2019. Meanwhile, SCCG announced separately that it has now successfully won a total of over 500 projects.

Specialist consultants have enjoyed working with new clients including Aldi, Iceland, Foodbuy, Robins and Day, and Oakwood Fuels.

This in addition to repeat business with existing clients including Co-Op, Bestway, Avara Foods, Bettys & Taylors of Harrogate, Diageo, Bunzl, PPG, British Gypsum and many more.

Having a new business achievement, the SCCG team will continue their hard work, eager to commence work on more, new and exciting projects, soon entering into 2020, and beyond, a spokesperson promised.

Toyota Logiconomi Forum: “Standing Still is Not an Option”

The Logiconomi Forum, jointly staged last week in Amsterdam by leading companies including Toyota Material Handling, Microsoft, Vanderlande, Toyota Motor Europe, Ericsson, Bosch and Eneo concluded last week. It provided a unique opportunity for senior logistics managers to explore and understand the latest technologies and discuss specific issues with experts in various fields; Automation, Mobility, Lean, IoT, 5G, and Energy.

“Listening to customers over the past two years, we have recognised that the pace of change in the world of logistics has been creating some serious challenges for the logistics profession. We could see the need for a new type of event to provide solid information and advice to help clarify the many choices that are available,” explained Matthias Fischer, President and CEO of Toyota Material Handling Europe. “But we also knew that this would require a collaborative approach, involving other companies with specialist knowledge, so we were very pleased to work with our partners to stage this event.” The event also included expert advice from EcoVadis, a leading company in the area of sustainability.
‘In logistics, standing still is not an option’ was the theme at the Logiconomi Forum, reflecting the speed of change in handling processes and the fact that for many companies the effectiveness of their logistics system can be critical in terms of success or failure in the marketplace.

Another key focus was lean-thinking, which is very much at the heart of Toyota’s own approach to manufacturing, and all other aspects of the business. ‘We aim for Zero Muda, which means no waste, and we believe our customers ultimately have similar goals. We also know that in today’s logistics systems, getting things right on time cannot just save cost through the elimination of waste – it can also create competitive value,” continues Matthias Fischer.

The Logiconomi Forum had a very unusual format, entirely geared to informing and supporting the participants in a practical and detailed way. Every delegate had the opportunity to register specific questions and areas of interest, allowing one-to-one discussions to be planned with a relevant expert in that field.

Presentations were mainly structured around short technical briefings, with a focus on simplicity of communication and practical guidance on how to adopt technologies in different logistics scenarios. These were supported by physical demonstrations, Including the use of machine learning which enables the training of autonomous vehicles prior to deployment, resulting in opportunities for seamless one-day commissioning alongside existing processes.

Toyota Logiconomi Forum: “Standing Still is Not an Option”

The Logiconomi Forum, jointly staged last week in Amsterdam by leading companies including Toyota Material Handling, Microsoft, Vanderlande, Toyota Motor Europe, Ericsson, Bosch and Eneo concluded last week. It provided a unique opportunity for senior logistics managers to explore and understand the latest technologies and discuss specific issues with experts in various fields; Automation, Mobility, Lean, IoT, 5G, and Energy.

“Listening to customers over the past two years, we have recognised that the pace of change in the world of logistics has been creating some serious challenges for the logistics profession. We could see the need for a new type of event to provide solid information and advice to help clarify the many choices that are available,” explained Matthias Fischer, President and CEO of Toyota Material Handling Europe. “But we also knew that this would require a collaborative approach, involving other companies with specialist knowledge, so we were very pleased to work with our partners to stage this event.” The event also included expert advice from EcoVadis, a leading company in the area of sustainability.
‘In logistics, standing still is not an option’ was the theme at the Logiconomi Forum, reflecting the speed of change in handling processes and the fact that for many companies the effectiveness of their logistics system can be critical in terms of success or failure in the marketplace.

Another key focus was lean-thinking, which is very much at the heart of Toyota’s own approach to manufacturing, and all other aspects of the business. ‘We aim for Zero Muda, which means no waste, and we believe our customers ultimately have similar goals. We also know that in today’s logistics systems, getting things right on time cannot just save cost through the elimination of waste – it can also create competitive value,” continues Matthias Fischer.

The Logiconomi Forum had a very unusual format, entirely geared to informing and supporting the participants in a practical and detailed way. Every delegate had the opportunity to register specific questions and areas of interest, allowing one-to-one discussions to be planned with a relevant expert in that field.

Presentations were mainly structured around short technical briefings, with a focus on simplicity of communication and practical guidance on how to adopt technologies in different logistics scenarios. These were supported by physical demonstrations, Including the use of machine learning which enables the training of autonomous vehicles prior to deployment, resulting in opportunities for seamless one-day commissioning alongside existing processes.

Top UK Wellness Retailer Adopts Paragon Routing and Scheduling

UK wellness retailer Holland and Barrett has adopted Paragon’s routing and scheduling software as part of its ongoing transformation, strengthening operations to better deliver what customers expect in a rapidly evolving retail sector. The software solution will enable the health and wellness retailer to restructure its store replenishment operation which supplies over 900 locations across the UK from its warehousing and international distribution centre in Burton-on-Trent.

Until now, Holland & Barrett has operated fixed daily routes with each store receiving a single weekly delivery. However, the health and wellness retailer took the decision to reduce inventory in the stores as much as possible, which would require increasing store deliveries from one to three times per week. With such an extensive range of more than 9,000 different products, this is critical to removing waste and inefficiency from the supply chain. Following an external review of its transport management function, Holland & Barrett decided to replace existing manual planning processes with dynamic planning enabled by Paragon’s routing and scheduling software.

The introduction of dynamic planning will ensure the health and wellness retailer can reduce in-store inventory and improve on shelf availability, while at the same time confidently delivering on the promise of its click and collect offering.

The Paragon routing and scheduling software will help Holland & Barrett identify and achieve transport cost savings by reducing dead mileage, enhancing reverse logistics and delivering maximum productivity levels. As most of the stores are located on the high street, the planning solution will also help its transport planning team to far more efficiently factor in complex delivery variables such as daytime access restrictions and the impact of urban congestion. This is critical to achieving the required efficiency levels. Moving forward, the health and wellness retailer is looking to reduce its fleet size using the planning software to create more efficient routes and effectively double-shift available vehicles.

William Salter, Managing Director of Paragon Software Systems commented: “The UK high street is under immense pressure to keep up with rapidly changing consumer habits. Experienced and trusted brands like Holland & Barrett are evolving to meet this challenge by investing in best-practice systems and processes to protect revenue levels, customer loyalty and ultimately profitability. Our routing and scheduling software is enabling retailers to optimise their transport operations, helping to deliver a superior customer experience and more efficient fulfilment operations.”

Top UK Wellness Retailer Adopts Paragon Routing and Scheduling

UK wellness retailer Holland and Barrett has adopted Paragon’s routing and scheduling software as part of its ongoing transformation, strengthening operations to better deliver what customers expect in a rapidly evolving retail sector. The software solution will enable the health and wellness retailer to restructure its store replenishment operation which supplies over 900 locations across the UK from its warehousing and international distribution centre in Burton-on-Trent.

Until now, Holland & Barrett has operated fixed daily routes with each store receiving a single weekly delivery. However, the health and wellness retailer took the decision to reduce inventory in the stores as much as possible, which would require increasing store deliveries from one to three times per week. With such an extensive range of more than 9,000 different products, this is critical to removing waste and inefficiency from the supply chain. Following an external review of its transport management function, Holland & Barrett decided to replace existing manual planning processes with dynamic planning enabled by Paragon’s routing and scheduling software.

The introduction of dynamic planning will ensure the health and wellness retailer can reduce in-store inventory and improve on shelf availability, while at the same time confidently delivering on the promise of its click and collect offering.

The Paragon routing and scheduling software will help Holland & Barrett identify and achieve transport cost savings by reducing dead mileage, enhancing reverse logistics and delivering maximum productivity levels. As most of the stores are located on the high street, the planning solution will also help its transport planning team to far more efficiently factor in complex delivery variables such as daytime access restrictions and the impact of urban congestion. This is critical to achieving the required efficiency levels. Moving forward, the health and wellness retailer is looking to reduce its fleet size using the planning software to create more efficient routes and effectively double-shift available vehicles.

William Salter, Managing Director of Paragon Software Systems commented: “The UK high street is under immense pressure to keep up with rapidly changing consumer habits. Experienced and trusted brands like Holland & Barrett are evolving to meet this challenge by investing in best-practice systems and processes to protect revenue levels, customer loyalty and ultimately profitability. Our routing and scheduling software is enabling retailers to optimise their transport operations, helping to deliver a superior customer experience and more efficient fulfilment operations.”

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