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Month: October 2020

Port Expands Hub for New Silk Road

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Mukran Port significantly expanded its transport connections on the New Silk Road in October. In addition to a direct container train between Mukran and Rotterdam, weekly short sea services to Scandinavia (Karlshamn, Sweden) and Lithuania (Klaipeda) now complement the Baltic Sea Port’s service portfolio. In addition, Mukran is adding the ElbePort Wittenberge to its network of German hinterland hubs. A second ship now operates four departures in each direction on the Mukran-Baltijsk route.

The new transport links serve the European pre- and post-carriage of containers on the ‘Baltic Sea Bridge’ – a transport corridor between Mukran and Xian in central China, which has now established a permanent part of the New Silk Road. Mukran Port can thus further strengthen its hub function in international freight traffic with China. “The new services are an excellent addition to our existing network, which already includes numerous hubs in Germany and the Baltic Sea region. We are now connecting further markets in Scandinavia and continental Europe to China,” says Harm Sievers, Managing Director of Mukran Port Terminals GmbH, summarizing the importance of the new connections. In order to continue to handle the increasing demand on the Baltic Sea Bridge, the capacities on the main route to Baltijsk in Russia were doubled. Since mid-October, a second ship, the ‘Ulrike G’, has been in service there. “Once again Mukran can thus demonstrate its capabilities as a modern multi-functional port and European hub for China traffic,” says Arne Ehlers, Managing Director of the shipping company BREB, which handles the charter process for Baltic Sea Bridge.

The targeted expansion of the China traffic is based on close cooperation between Mukran Port, DBO Bahnoperator GmbH and Eisenbahngesellschaft Potsdam mbH (EGP). The cargo capacity for the connection of Scandinavia to the New Silk Road was chartered by the shipping company DFDS especially for this purpose. The new short sea services between Mukran, Karlshamn and Klaipeda will in future run once a week in both directions. The same shipping frequency also exists on the route between Mukran and Klaipeda, on which part of the cargo is shipped to China.

Currently the partners are jointly developing a direct container train line between Mukran and Rotterdam. Here they are initially planning a weekly departure in both directions too. As confirmed by the first test phase in September and October with several round-trips, the train will need just 36 hours for the 1,800-kilometer rail route, including the respective terminal services in the ports.
The operator is EGP, which also handles the ElbePort Wittenberge. This trimodal transshipment terminal in Brandenburg enables the cooperation partners to further expand the short sea traffic between Mukran, the Kaliningrad region, Sweden and Lithuania in the container sector in a targeted manner. The ElbePort offers access to overseas connections via for example Bremerhaven and Hamburg. A connection via Cuxhaven to Great Britain is in preparation.

“Thanks to its geographical location, Mukran Port is the ideal logistics hub for these transports between Asia and Europe,” says Marcel Stein, Managing Director of DBO Bahnoperator GmbH. “The Xian route in Central China-Mukran is much more time-efficient for these transports than the traditional overland route via Poland and Germany, from where onward transports to Scandinavia and the Baltic States are carried out. In addition, the handling via Mukran also enables us to handle trains for Western Europe with up to 50x40ft containers in the same way as in China”.

Christian Becken, authorized Signatory and Project Manager for intermodal transport at EGP, mentions another advantage of the rail link via Mukran in addition to saving time: “On this connection we can use a train of 740 meters length. This is a significant increase in train length compared to the Polish infrastructure and enables us to combine transports between China and Europe, but also within Germany and Europe”. EGP uses modern electric locomotives owned by the company as well as its own container wagons for the transports. https://www.mukran-terminals.de/

Racking Solutions Partner

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Logistics Business talks to José Miguel Sobradillo, AR Racking Country Manager UK & Ireland, about the Spanish company’s global success.

How will good racking differ from bad racking? Why is it essential to use an expert racking provider?

“I love that question; I have been asked many times about this as most people think racking is just steel with holes. AR Racking has the most efficient range of uprights and beam cross sections together with very highly engineered connectors, making us one of the most competitive racking suppliers in the world. An expert racking provider is not just the one with good product but also the one that gives you the best service. I love a sentence I heard for the first time in the UK: you have two ears and one mouth, so you should listen twice as much as you talk. Don’t think of AR Racking as a provider, think of us as a partner that listens to the customer, fulfils your needs and delivers a quality product on time. Tell us about AR Racking, a brief history of the company and its current reach. AR Racking is part of Grupo Arania, a Spanish company with more than 75 years of experience in the steel industry, first in coiling, then tubing, racking and shelving and now in over 100 countries. The racking division has shown double digit growth in recent years, reinvesting that profit in people and a much bigger production facility. I am very proud of the team I work with. The company has the most efficient product, the most automated factory and the best service, diversifying its presence in Conventional and System Integrators Solutions throughout the world.”

Can you expand a little on AR Racking’s presence in the UK market?

“The UK market is very special for me because I have been responsible for it since joining AR in 2012. At that time our Maidenhead head office was just opening and we had a small network of stockists and project distributors working in small segments. Step by step, we have built a strong network of loyal stockists and increased the number of loyal project-oriented distributors, who are key suppliers in the small, medium and large segments. You can see I used the word ‘loyal’ twice – it was deliberate, because AR really believes in long-term relationships and we are much more a loyal partner than just a supplier. We must add to this distribution network the very large number of key accounts that our office in the UK has built in recent years. Our team has done excellent work building relationships and supplying many substantial projects on time and with excellent service. I can very proudly say that once we do our first job for a new customer, that client will  always stay with AR for the future.” Read the rest of the interview here: https://flickread.com/edition/html/index.php?pdf=5f3d1fcf3160d#50

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Intralogistics Fleet adds more Flexibility

Posted on by David Priestman

The Yorkshire-based logistics specialist Expect Distribution has added further Flexi articulated lift trucks to the already extensive fleet of Flexi very narrow aisle machines that are in operation across its multi-user warehouse facilities in Halifax and Bradford. Expect provide storage and transport logistics for a diverse range of clients and the trucks are required to meet the increased demand from medical supplies companies that are experiencing an unexpected spike in throughput of certain line items as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak.

The latest models from the Flexi ACiON range – which are designed and built by Narrow Aisle Ltd in Tipton, West Midlands – have been supplied. Flexi ACiON trucks feature digital electric motor technology that allows all independent drive, hydraulic and power-steering motor functions to be controlled digitally to ensure the most productive and energy-efficient performance throughout the working day. The onboard battery system’s range has been increased by over 15% compared to the previous models. The collaborative robotic – or ‘cobotic’ – control systems at the heart of the Flexi ACiON 1500 model deliver highly integrated performance and result in greater reliability and productivity as well as significantly reduced running and maintenance costs.

The Flexi ACiON’s advanced suite of ‘cobotic’ technology is, in effect, connected to the truck’s ‘nervous system’ and it allows features such as the operator’s vision camera, height selection system and aisle sensing technology to be integrated without the need for hard-wired relays, contactors and so on. This means that far less components are required and, as a result, truck uptime is optimised.

“Flexi articulated VNA warehouse trucks have played an essential role across Expect’s intralogistics processes for many years and we are delighted that the company has once again chosen proven and reliable Flexi technology as the ideal solution for its materials handling needs,” says Narrow Aisle’s managing director, John Maguire. “Flexis are popular among logistics service providers who need to maximise storage density and require safe and efficient throughput and Expect is one of many third party supply chain specialists who recognise the benefits that articulated VNA truck technology bring to their business.”

Expect’s new Flexis have been provided on an inclusive rental package that means all planned maintenance and service is included in one competitive fixed monthly rental charge. http://www.flexi.co.uk

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The Future is Voice Picking

Posted on by David Priestman

Tim Just, CEO of TopSystem, explains why controlling the networked world of logistics by Voice will be one of the communication channels of the future.

Pick by voice is much more than just an order picking system: the technology represents an important component within the networked logistics world. Indeed, many companies across various industries are already investing massive sums in the expansion and development of their in-house logistics processes. Rightly so: up to 50% of investments are spent on this area alone – and half of this amount on order picking. These are all reasons why logistics remains an important pillar of the digital process chain and one worth investing in.

Pick by voice has already established itself on the market as a highly economic and flexible solution. Despite this, many companies continue to underestimate the potential of voice technology. As requirements for process quality and efficiency in the logistics chain have increased over the years, voice technology has become an important cornerstone of process digitalisation. Voice technology first started gaining traction at the end of the 1990s. Pick by voice quickly established itself as a very popular manual order picking system. With an average error rate of just 0.08%, it is significantly better than other solutions such as conventional order picking lists (0.36%), MDE devices (0.46%) and pick by light (0.4%).

The noticeable increase in picking quality ensures that pick by voice is widely used by warehouse managers, with the technology offering maximum flexibility and easy integration into existing IT
infrastructures. The fact that the voice application can be directly linked up to the overarching warehouse management or ERP system also offers significant advantages. For instance, all downstream processes such as replenishment control and order management can be initiated swiftly. Read the whole article here: https://flickread.com/edition/html/index.php?pdf=5f3d1fcf3160d#46

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Digital and Artificial Intelligence Automate Warehouses

Posted on by David Priestman

Brummer Logistik , a third party logistics expert for temperature-controlled transport and warehouse logistics, and Logivations GmbH, an international consulting and technology company based in Munich, have agreed on an extensive cooperation for the digitization and automation of Brummer’s distribution warehouses.

Logivations W2MO uses cameras and artificial intelligence to recognize vehicles such as forklifts and robots, as well as stored goods and all processes in the warehouse and production. Bookings are made automatically based on the detected movements of goods. For the automatic transport of pallets, autonomous mobile transport robots and their coordination with other transports can be navigated with complete control. Logivations’ technology allows the transport robots to be provided in a very lean and cost-effective manner. A payback period of less than 2.5 years is typical. The complex intelligence is integrated into the existing infrastructure: several hundred detection units – cameras with artificial intelligence for object recognition – recognize everything that happens in the warehouse. “Digital Twin and Artificial intelligence offer revolutionary new possibilities for autonomous mobile transport robots,” says Dr. Christoph Plapp, Managing Partner of Logivations.

Digital and Artificial Intelligence

At Brummer, pallets are wrapped in foil, which is why laser scanners cannot recognize the entry channels of the pallets. The detection of pallets is therefore also carried out using artificial intelligence. Using extensive image material, all conceivable appearances of pallets were learned so that the AI-AGVs can quickly and safely steer into pallets and pick them up. “We tested long and hard and then decided to fully digitize and automate our logistics processes. It’s nice that this can be done at very manageable costs,” emphasizes Hans Brummer, Managing Director.

Over the next few months, Logivations will gradually digitize more BRUMMER warehouses and equip them with registration units. The planned 125 AGVs will be delivered and put intooperation step by step. At the beginning there is a comprehensive mixed operation, i.e. AI AGVs and manual forklifts take on the same transport tasks, but are optimally coordinated by Logivations software according to their respective capabilities. http://www.logivations.com

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WMS at Heart of Expanding Business

Posted on by David Priestman

Workplace solutions leader Resource Furniture Services (RFS) has signed a fully bundled, five year contract for SnapFulfil’s advanced cloud-based warehouse management system (WMS), as business stacks up.

The London-based company, which is one of the most established and experienced full service independent installation and relocation businesses in the UK and particularly excels in the financial, legal, government and education sectors, begins with 10 licensed users, but with the flexibility to scale up. With three new warehouse facilities recently added across the capital, RFS can now offer in excess of 50,000 sq.ft of storage and distribution capacity. As a result, they needed to rationalise their inventory management and tracking system and make the operational leap from a small to medium sized business.

Mark Cronk, Joint MD for RFS, explained: “It’s the right time to take the next step and prove to customers old and new that we have the foresight and aptitude to further improve our service capacity and quality procedures. RFS is big on accreditation too and the fact that SnapFulfil is Gartner-backed was an important consideration. We do have a bespoke scheduling system with a warehouse component, but it is paper based, manual and very labour intensive, with the potential for human error and misinterpretation especially as we expand. So, first and foremost, a user friendly and best-of-breed WMS will bring an automated and consistent approach and save us valuable time and money.

“Additionally, we like the fact that SnapFulfil is scalable and will grow with us as a business. Furthermore, with a reputation for multiple efficiency gains, it will quickly start to pay for itself; plus as a digital and system-driven initiative, it will really focus and sharpen the approach of both our warehouse operatives and us as a senior management team.” http://www.snapfulfil.com

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The Horrors of Ecommerce Delivery

Posted on by Keith McKinley

‘- Andrew Tavener, Head of Marketing, Descartes

The death of the high street continues. Even as essential stores in most areas reopen and many  lockdown measures start to lift, the shift to ecommerce shows no sign of slowing. Fuelled by the somewhat negative experience of social distancing, facemasks and one-way systems, consumers have moved to the online environment, relying on online retailers to get what they need. Already, retailers are reporting significant surges in orders, even those looking to get their Christmas shopping in ahead of time via retailers such as Marks and Spencer. But all too often we hear delivery horror stories of our goods not arriving, being sent to the wrong address, thrown over a back gate somewhere – all having a huge impact on the retailer’s reputation. So with this transition in consumer behaviour and increase in demand, what do ecommerce businesses need to do in order to meet these rising expectations and make sure this Christmas doesn’t turn into a nightmare?

Death of the high street

Consumer behaviour and preference has shifted dramatically during 2020, with businesses such as Amazon setting the bar for customer experience. Consumers don’t need to leave their homes for their shopping needs – convenience now reigns supreme as customers want to receive the items they’ve ordered, where and when they want them. 

As such, fulfilment delivery has become the most important differentiator for ecommerce. And for those that rely on third party logistics providers, this is even more crucial, as the responsibility for the last mile is taken out of their hands. Loyalty is vital for all businesses and the impact of a poor delivery experience can significantly alter consumer perception of the brand, potentially causing them to shop elsewhere in the future. The use of technology to optimise delivery efficiency and deliver a positive customer experience has never been more imperative. 

Delivery horror stories

Many ecommerce organisations have risen to the challenge that the pandemic has initiated, getting orders reliably out to customers and building a solid supply chain between the warehouse and the customer. But there have also been numerous horror stories of companies that delivered far more tricks than treats to their customers. 

When a scanning error caused thousands of parcels to be directed to incorrect addresses this year, not only did this cause serious frustration for customers, but traders that rely on the service were left with demands for refunds from unhappy customers that hadn’t received their packages. Ultimately, the reputation falls to the retailer to deliver, even if it was no fault of theirs. The end result is some retailers may miss out on repeat orders due to the failure of a delivery company. 

The high demands placed on supermarkets during the COVID-19 pandemic caused many to feel the strain, with often bizarre results. Toilet rolls substituted for LED bulbs, walnut loaf swapped for frozen octopus – logic seemed to go out of the window when the pressure was at its greatest. But when the pandemic was at its peak and large swathes of the population were forced to shield, incorrect or late deliveries caused upset and chaos for those customers that couldn’t get out to purchase the items they really needed, causing permanent brand damage.

Fulfilment as a competitive weapon

In order for retailers to meet demands and expectations, they must have effective processes in place to ensure products are seamlessly, quickly and accurately delivered once consumers click to purchase. The value of order fulfilment optimisation has become one of the most important factors in achieving this kind of success. For those retailers that aren’t leveraging fulfilment as a competitive weapon and enhancing their workflows with automation technologies, the risk of losing out to the competition is a growing reality. 

Research suggests that the pandemic has accelerated the shift away from physical stores to the online environment by approximately five years. This presents a huge opportunity for organisations to capitalise on the shift in consumer behaviour. Delivery companies themselves are also innovating, such as Royal Mail’s recent launch of its parcel pick up service, not just making the most of the rise in online shopping, but meeting customer expectations of convenience. However, in order to do this successfully, operational efficiency is essential. 

Smart solutions are a vital element to mitigate the fallout from congestion and higher demand, as well as leverage greater accuracy and visibility. Combining routing and scheduling solutions into a singular package, that can react in real time to events and also adapt to future trends and changes will help businesses improve efficiency and customer satisfaction.

A solution that provides visibility throughout the supply chain, from initial collection to the last mile of home delivery offers the opportunity to maximise operational efficiency. Even for companies using outsourced logistics, integrated telematics and mobile data communications provide increased visibility for the fleet manager and consumer, as they can see, in real-time, exactly where a vehicle is against the plan and route set out by the scheduling software. This added insight allows transport operators to add or amend jobs to avoid disruption, such as traffic, as well as send automatic updates to the customer about any changes to their delivery.

End the nightmare

2020 has been a difficult year, but for consumers, a timely and convenient delivery of a treat or essential item can actually bring positivity into their days, even if they are in lockdown. Retailers must therefore ensure that they have the systems and processes in place to optimise delivery processes, and work with trusted third-party providers to implement solutions to maximise operational efficiency and deliver on their promises to consumers. Without this, retailers run the risk of negative brand perception and lost custom in a time where the battle for sales is more competitive than ever. It’s time to end the nightmare of poor delivery experiences for good. 

 

Improved Store service and Supply Chain Performance

Posted on by Keith McKinley

German Retailer REWE is optimizing its supply chain process at its centre in Neu-Isenburg in order to be able to react to flexible dynamic puchasing behaviour. The retailer is working with the German logistics contractor WITRON to achieve this.

The project means REWE can pick more than 5,000 slow-moving items such as canned vegetables or wine packages ergonomically and store-friendly from the storage tote onto store pallets or roll containers. This is achieved by a 5-aisle AS/RS with a total of 25,000 storage locations at four workstations. It is an optimizing supply chain process that generates not only cost-efficient and logistical advantages, but also ecological benefits. This is because REWE would only need to transport 30% fewer totes to the store and back to the logistics center.

In this respect, the “goods-to-person” solution OPS (Order Picking System) will precisely be connected to the already existing tote picking system DPS (Dynamic Picking System). WITRON has worked to design the picking system in such a way that no structural changes to the existing building are necessary.

Both modules interact intelligently with each other in inventory management and picking. This means all items can be picked both in OPS and in DPS. A WITRON warehouse management system dynamically determines the most suitable picking system, according to priority and depending on the “most cost-efficient” pick”, “fastest pick”, daily volume, season, or the respective product group. In addition, the existing DPS repack is also used for repacking into the OPS totes. Storage into the OPS system can then be either single-stage and directly from the repack area into the OPS or two-stage with interim buffering in the DPS.

Since early 2015, REWE has been supplying more than 6,500 customers throughout Germany with 17,500 different dry goods from its logistics center in Neu-Isenburg. On a peak day, more than 500,000 pick units are picked in a store-friendly manner. During the design phase, the overall system layout has already been developed by WITRON and REWE in a way that it can be adapted flexibly and sustainably to new requirements regarding growing volumes, number of SKUs, and permanently changing business processes. It was also taken into account that future extensions can be integrated largely without any problems during ongoing operation – both in terms of IT and mechanics.

 

 

Socially Distanced Robotics

Posted on by David Priestman

The top priority for warehouse managers is to keep their associates safe while running their operations. Automation and robotics specialist 6 River Systems has devoted a team to focus solely on post-Covid recommendations, updates and features to improve worker safety.

With the snappily-named ‘Chuck’, 6 River Systems (6RS) says it can double or triple the productivity of warehouse associates—at half the cost of traditional automation and without requiring any new infrastructure or change to warehouse layout. “Chuck is the most configurable collaborative robot in the industry, with which it’s easy to increase throughput, accelerate new hire training,
reduce associate walking, and delight customers,” says Simon Jones, Head of Sales UK and Ireland. The solution goes beyond collaborative robots to increase efficiency across entire warehouse
operations, enabling productivity gains in picking, packing, sorting, and replenishment as well as actionable insights through real-time data.

Simon Jones claims that customers already using Chucks for automation have an advantage in the fight against Covid-19 compared to traditional cart pick operations. “They are more efficient and require fewer associates in the building than manual operations to get the same throughput,” he says. “Distributing pickers across the picking area is a fundamental characteristic of the solution, and pinch points where employees tend to have to congregate, like tote pick up and offload are eliminated, “ Jones adds. “While this is a great start, our goal is to deliver even more ways to increase associate safety at our customers’ operations.”

The biggest challenge is that each warehouse operation is unique and not every solution works for every site. Likewise, designing solutions during the Covid-19 pandemic is a balance between safety, efficiency, current site design and demand. “Rather than offering a one-size-fits all solution, we have compiled a list of recommendations to review and implement in partnership with each
customer site,” he adds. “Although health and hygiene recommendations differ from operation to operation, we are recommending that all associates wear protective gloves and a mask. Chuck is designed with large, easy to clean and robust action and pause buttons and lights, reducing interactions with touchscreens. The touchscreens are compatible with styluses and with a wide variety of gloves, which helps prevent cross-associate contamination.” Read the whole story here: https://flickread.com/edition/html/index.php?pdf=5f3d1fcf3160d#44

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Fen-Bay Announces Transdek Acquisition

Posted on by Keith McKinley

The acquisition of Transdek by UK company Fen-Bay has been announced. Fen-Bay is a provider of loading bay equipment, industrial doors, gates and barriers.

The Transdek acquisition will see the two companies work together under the Fen-Bay Group umbrella. The move is set to generate a combined workforce of 180 employees as well as a £20 million turnover. The group intends to increase its UK manufacturing base. It is also commited to strong sustained growth with other potential acquisitions in the future.

Transdek was founded in 1997. The company is an innovator in the logistics sector and has grown a strong reputation over the years. The company manufactures a range of surface-mounted, modular loading bay equipment. Its customers include some of the UK’s leading retailers.

The company’s production plant is in South Yorkshire. A three-time winner of the Queens Award for Enterprise, the organisation’s notable development work includes a range of rapid-install double deck lifts, which are designed to load high-capacity fixed double deck trailers. The company also offers vehicle-to-ground (V2G) lifts for loading vehicles at level-access sites.

Fen-Bay Group Managing Director Carl Sedlan says, “We see the acquisition of Transdek as a perfect fit for our range of products and services. We have seen significant growth in the scissor lift and dock leveller markets over the past years. Together with Transdek’s modular lifts and loading systems, we’ll now provide a total product and service portfolio for the industry.

“We were attracted to Transdek’s engineering and innovation capabilities, which dovetail with Fen-Bay’s strength in servicing and project management. We have also built a reputation as a market-leader in 24/7 maintenance thanks to our nationwide network of 60 Fen-Bay service engineers and investment in the latest servicing technology. This superb resource will also support Transdek’s products and customers as we move forwards.”

Leon Butler, Managing Director at Transdek, comments, “There are great synergies between the two companies. We’ve both developed excellent customer relations over the years. We have a major focus on providing the best products, services and after sales support for each unique application. The combination of Fen-Bay’s product portfolio, alongside Transdek’s modular lifts, means we can offer a one-stop shop, which will add value to our customers’ operations.”

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