Day: 29 April 2020

Logistics giant BLG Group has reported a 1.5 percent YOY profit growth for 2019, on stable earnings of EUR 37.5 million. CEO Frank Dreeke says that it give the company “a robust and solid basis to ride out the storm”.

The company’s statement from its digital meeting reads:

For 2019, the BLG Group posted a total sales figure of EUR 1 billion, 158.6 million. That is an increase of EUR 17.3 million or 1.5 percent on 2018. At EUR 37.5 million, earnings before tax (EBT) remain at the previous year’s level. The EBT margin, at 3.2 percent, is just short of the previous year’s level (3.3 percent). 

In 2019, BLG LOGISTICS again consolidated its position as one of Europe’s leading automobile logistics companies and also expanded its network in Europe. A total of 6.3 million vehicles were handled, transported, or technically processed in 2019. A very good sales increase of more than EUR 50 million also generated a significantly improved profit. Sales revenue in the AUTOMOBILE division amounted to EUR 603.7 million, which is an increase of 9.1 percent on 2018. Compared to the previous year, EBT increased by more than 24 percent, reaching EUR 19.3 million.
Despite a slight downturn in sales, the CONTRACT division posted a stable result. At the close of the business year, sales amounted to EUR 563.9 million. That is a small reduction compared to 2018 (EUR 599.2 million). At the same time, the company increased earnings before tax (EBT) by 2.5 percent to EUR 7.4 million. The EBT margin also increased by 8.3 percent to 1.3 percent. With new orders and locations in Waiblingen, Meerane, Brandenburg, Ochtrup, Schlüchtern, and Geiselwind, contract logistics is ideally set up for the future.

The CONTAINER Division of the BLG Group is represented by half of the shares in EUROGATE. In business year 2019, the European terminal operator group generated an annual net profit of EUR 45.5 million (2018: EUR 67.3 million). The slightly lower overall handling volume in Germany resulted in a sales revenue of EUR 564.6 million, which was also below the previous year’s value (2018: 604.0 million). Generally, the business year was marked by the effects of the consolidation wave in shipping line alliances during previous years and the resulting changes in networks.
Looking at the current business year of 2020, the CEO stated: “At the moment, nobody can say with certainty how drastic the impacts of the coronavirus crisis will be. Economic research institutes predict a fall in GDP of 9.8 percent in the second quarter. That would be a crash double the scale of that in the 2009 global financial crisis. The effects of the coronavirus crisis on volume, sales, and profit will be massive and severe in all areas. However, the figures for 2019 show that we have a robust and solid basis which will allow us to ride out the storm.”

In his speech, Frank Dreeke stressed that BLG LOGISTICS remains committed to its strategic goals such as digitalization and sustainability. The seaport and logistics service provider aims to reduce its absolute CO2 emissions by 30 percent by 2030. The Sustainability Report describes what actions BLG LOGISTICS has already taken to achieve its sustainability goals. With 100-day projects, 6-month sprints, and basic research projects over several years, the seaport and logistics service provider is working on the implementation of artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, and digital platforms.

Shipping and freight professionals want to change their supply chain strategies post-Covid, according to a recent survey.

Answered by over 300 Shipping and Freight Professionals across the world, the survey brought out some key indicators that will inform the future course of global supply chains. One of the most important trends unearthed was the readiness to change supply chain strategies (42.2%). Additionally, answers and a large number of comments on the survey questions point to the overall adaptability of the industry and that we can expect a renewed surge in the demand for technology solutions, with 67.6% of the survey takers indicating they will invest in technology.

Global supply chains and shipping as we know them will be different from how they worked for decades. Navigating around and through the COVID-19 situation has left us all in uncharted waters, with 59.2% of responders indicating their operations were significantly affected, rocking the foundation of even the most stable businesses. However, sharing information and understanding best practices will enable the industry to come together and combat this as a whole. If there was ever a time for collective efforts, it is now.

With this intent, the survey, conducted by Shipping and Freight Resource and sponsored by Ocean Insights, the Ocean Freight Tracking System provider, was designed to measure the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on global supply chains. It collected and analyzed data on three key aspects – Impact, Preparedness, and Recovery.

The survey was answered by Carriers, Logistics Providers, Freight Forwarders/NVOs, Consultants, Shippers/BCOs (95.7%) and other (4.3%) industry professionals across job levels —C-Level, Director/Top Management, Middle Management, and Operations.

Find more details here.

A solution developed by smart tech firm Sauce is aimed at solving complex yard management challenges for confectionery and beverage manufacturer Nestlé. The system is being used to track and manage all trailer movements at the firm’s York factory, where products such as KitKat and Yorkie are manufactured; and at its Regional Distribution Centre, where products such Nescafé and Smarties are dispatched.

After being successfully introduced at the York site, the solution will now be applied to a revolutionary new distribution centre in the East Midlands, known as the Digital Distribution Operation of the Future. The multilingual system could then be rolled out to other Nestlé operations internationally – the business operates more than 400 factories in over 80 countries.

Sauce, which is based at the Centre for Digital Innovation (C4DI) tech hub, in Hull, was approached by Nestlé to develop a bespoke yard management system to monitor and manage trailer movements. The system is used to improve the visibility and tracking of movements of drivers, vehicles and trailers.

Previously, lorry drivers coming to the York site would drop their trailer off at the warehouse to be unloaded, then remain in a waiting area until it was ready, or collect a previously loaded trailer. Communication was via two-way radio or walkie talkies and the recording system was largely paper-based.

Under the new system, all delivery drivers now input their details digitally upon arrival at security, including their name, vehicle and trailer numbers. They then wait in a designated area where they can view a “flight board” – similar to an airport or train station information screen – enabling them to monitor the status of their load. When it has been loaded or unloaded, they can return to their vehicle and leave the site.

Shunter drivers, who manoeuvre delivery trailers on and off-loading bays at the warehouse and factories, also access the live information via a tablet in their cab, meaning they are fully aware of all movements on site.
Sauce Chief Executive Matt Weldon said: “To have a company the size of Nestlé put their trust in us to deliver this system is huge for us and we are incredibly proud to work with them.

“They have an amazing logistics operation and we’re delighted that we have been able to provide a further digital dimension to it. We have been able to provide Nestlé with the enhanced level of visibility they wanted as part of scalable solution that can be applied to any of their sites.

“Nestlé had looked at various off-the-shelf shelf yard management systems, but none suited their requirements. That’s where we came in. We worked closely with Nestlé to understand exactly what they needed and to create a completely bespoke solution.”

Sauce has created five programs to meet Nestlé’s requirements – a booking system; a traffic management system; a warehouse tracking system; a shunter tablet app; and a live flight board – which work seamlessly together.

Machine vision specialist Vitronic USA has named Beth Huff its new President. She succeeds Michael Schindler who, after 20 years, has “taken on new challenges”. In her new role, Ms Huff is responsible for all business areas of Vitronic in the USA and reports directly to the Group Board.

Further expansion of the Traffic Division and the Vitronic Logistics products are her key responsibilities. Also she will be heading the introduction of the company’s industry leading quality inspection solutions for the Automotive and Healthcare sectors.

“We are proud to be able to offer this responsibility to a long-standing and highly committed employee like Beth. In her, we have found a strong leader who constantly has her eye on our customers’ needs, and our family culture at heart. I look forward continuing to work with her and wish her every success in her new role,” says CEO Daniel Scholz-Stein, who has made various future-oriented changes in the family-owned company since its 35th anniversary in March 2020.

Beth Huff has been an integral part of the Group for more than 10 years. During this time she has held various positions, most recently as Vice President of Finance and Operations.