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Month: December 2020

Parcel Logistics Company Appoints new MD

Posted on by David Priestman

The parcel, haulage and freight logistics company, Caribou has appointed a new managing director as its expansion plans pick up pace.

Daryl Dylan, who was previously Head of Carriers & Commercials, will step up to the role. His first order of business is to grow the Caribou depot network to 10 centres over the next 12 months. Dylan will also head up a significant recruitment drive, with 150 new jobs to be created by March 2021. Many of the new roles will be focused in additional service areas, including domestic and international freight forwarding, same day and haulage which will be added to the Caribou service portfolio before the end of the year.

He said, “I’m ecstatic to be named Managing Director. I see a lot of potential in Caribou. We are on course with our expansion plans and on course to achieve them much faster than we initially expected thanks to a fantastic team who have worked very hard.”

Caribou is a multi-modal operation logistics company. It offers parcel consolidation, global fulfilment and carrier management. Its state-of-the-art technology and dedicated customer service has seen the firm winning market share and confirming numerous partnerships.

It has additionally created a host of integrations with platforms such as Amazon, eBay, Woo Commerce and Shopify to streamline logistics for sellers across a range of popular systems. Caribou is the disruptive new name in the logistics industry. It was born out of the merger of a number of mail, parcel and packet specialist companies. It is the new kid on the block but packing a big punch with over 20 years experience in the distribution and delivery industry.

Caribou is designing and building its own game changing domestic and international mail and parcel solutions alongside its network of premium partners. Continuously evolving, its goal is to ensure an optimum delivery experience for the end user. Its customer centric approach is heavily focused on developing tailor-made solutions for clients with cutting-edge technology at the heart of its service offering.

Glocalisation

Posted on by David Priestman

Global integrator Witron had a front and centre role in the first wave of the pandemic. What did it learn and what comes next?

When Christian Dietl reviews the numbers for June 2020, he is proud of his colleagues working in logistic centres all over Europe and North America. “During this time, we only had one major technical defect in the 75 food logistics centres around the globe which operate with our OPM technology,” reports the CEO of Witron Services. “Even though we had to keep the systems running at full capacity and beyond.”

While the inner cities of Europe were emptying and throughput in physical stores was increasing, logistics centres were running at full speed. The importance of automation was growing, as was the importance in warehouses of people. Truck drivers were no longer allowed to enter DCs and staff in logistics centres now had to handle incoming goods. “We had to restructure our teams to prevent infections. So we worked with smaller maintenance teams and really only carried out the most necessary life-sustaining measures on the machines,” explains Dietl. The teams had already caught up on the maintenance backlog in May and June. “We learned a lot about the load limits of the components and this is now being incorporated into our future concepts.”

During this time, Witron technicians developed efficient concepts to keep system performance high at all times, while at the same time having to cut down planned maintenance intervals due to time constraints. “In addition, our cross-trained colleagues on site can change their roles very quickly, from system operator to maintenance technician and back again.” Flexibility pays off. “I have always said that we have the best team because there is only ONE team at the Terrebonne distribution centre, consisting of Sobeys AND Witron colleagues,” praises Fabien Roy, Logistics Manager at Sobeys in Canada.

Even more automation

Due to consistent hygiene rules, Witron had only four sick employees worldwide in the service teams, who were very quickly isolated. “We will continue to work in the Corona mode and will
continue to rely on distance rules and set teams,” says Christian Dietl. But what comes after the crisis? Automation will be the winner of the pandemic, even for SMEs, according to Witron, in accord with many analysts and scientists. In some industries, value added supply chains will shift back to Europe, and security of supply will become increasingly important, it believes. “We are moving towards glocalisation,” explained Wolfram Senger-Weiss, Chairman of logistics service provider Senger-Weiss, in a recent interview.

A Bosch analysis further states: The challenge here will be to prevent logistics costs from rising immeasurably. This can be prevented. It also means that automation and modularisation in
warehouses and logistics centres will benefit greatly from the trend towards greater supply security. Storage capacities must be able to be built up and decreased even faster in the future.
Warehouse management, conveyor technology, forklifts, and autonomous transport systems (FTS/AGVs/AMR) must be able to react flexibly. The same applies to the service and maintenance teams. The production supply from the warehouse must be able to quickly adapt to new products or new manufacturing processes.

Adding to this is the continuing boom in ecommerce, which even in the COVID pandemic has not suffered any slumps; on the contrary, it recorded new growth figures. In this context, intralogistics experts are pursuing different strategies. Flexible omnichannel solutions are the decisive approach. What unites all approaches is the importance of automation. For Christian Dietl and his service and maintenance teams, the pandemic remains the focus. “The disease is still there, it will occupy us for even longer – socially, economically, and technologically. It’s been shown that the Witron crisis management works; our systems run reliably with high availability even under permanent high volume requirements, and the OnSite teams roll up their sleeves – supporting them around the clock with great commitment. Together with our customers, we will continue to successfully master the challenges.”

More Inventory Reliability, More Customers

Posted on by David Priestman

With the construction of the new 5,000 m² warehouse at its Limburg, Germany site, Spedition Stähler, the biggest and most established shipping company in the Limburg-Weilburg district, has also taken the decision to install a warehouse management system. It selected the EPG | LFS Warehouse Management System from EPG (Ehrhardt + Partner Gruppe). This has enabled the logistics service provider to considerably improve its inventory accuracy and transparency. The company uses LFS to administer incoming and outgoing goods processes and has consigned those paper lists to history. This modernization of the warehouse management system has enabled Stähler to significantly grow its customer base within a very short period.

“The decision to install LFS was primarily due to the innovative capacity of EPG. We wanted a solution that will provide us with long-term support and also with an opportunity to grow our business. In comparison to other companies on the market, LFS is the most cost-effective both in this regard and also for our requirements,” explains Egon Bürger, Managing Director of Spedition Stähler. “The new warehouse is the heart of the company. This is why it is important to deploy state-of-the-art, innovative technologies here so we can provide future-oriented services for our customers.”

LFS ensures the dynamic location segmentation in the new 12-meter high warehouse. Across the 5,000 m² storage area there are 5,000 shelf slots for pallets. The objective is to turn the goods round as quickly as possible. “Before the installation of LFS a maximum of two people in the warehouse knew where each item was located. There was no location differentiation and access times were much too slow. There were also challenges with the assignment of batches,” continues Egon Bürger. Incoming pallets are now dispatched, labelled and assigned to a unique bin location with the assistance of a mobile workplace system – also supplied by EPG. In theory, each employee has an overview at all times of the current inventory situation as well as of all incoming orders. Stähler is also taking advantage of the integrated LFS module designed for the financial settlement of logistics services and therefore from an additional optimization of its customer invoicing process.

Growing customer-base

The investment has already paid off. Since the introduction of LFS Stähler has already considerably expanded its customer-base. And further future growth is the company’s top priority. “Spedition Stähler is a perfect example of the extreme flexibility of our software solutions as they can suit every requirement. And this is regardless of whether they are deployed by a medium-sized company or a large corporation,” says Dennis Schönherr, Project Manager and Logistics Consultant at EPG. “This is because, and often this is the most important aspect, our systems simply grow with the company and can adapt at any time. The standard version of LFS is already so sophisticated that many functions are available without any additional programming expense.” For example, Spedition Stähler simply connected its new clients itself and was able to work productively for them very quickly.

EPG – Smarter Connected Logistics

EPG is one of the leading international providers of comprehensive Supply Chain Execution Systems (SES) and employs 700 people at 17 locations worldwide. The company supplies its more than 1,500 customers with WMS, WCS, WFM, TMS and voice solutions to optimise logistics processes – from manual to fully automated logistics environments. EPG solutions cover the entire supply chain, from warehouse and road to ground and cargo handling solutions at airports. EPG’s comprehensive portfolio of solutions is complemented by logistics consulting, cloud and managed services and logistics training courses at the company’s own academy.

‘BlueTrack’ new Transport Service Program Launched

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Thermo King®, a leader in transport temperature control solutions and a brand of Trane Technologies, launched today the new Blue Track by Thermo King Program, its unique and customer-centric service delivery model that redefines customer support across the Thermo King dealer network in Europe, Middle East And Africa. Tailored to maximise customers’ uptime and boost vehicle utilization, the Blue Track by Thermo King Program leverages Thermo King’s technical expertise, service capabilities, connectivity and data analytics with market leading dealer network and coverage.

Thermo King’s Blue Track Program implements new standardized and enhanced service offerings that include proactive and transparent customer communications with centralized 24/7 fleet monitoring, remote triage and express services, proactive maintenance and repair, and improved customer communications. The services within the Blue Track by Thermo King Program are tailored to reduce planned and unplanned fleet downtime by 15-20 percent and improve fleet utilization by 5 percent. This directly translates into lower total cost of ownership and better return on investment for the customers.

“Transport is a key component of our economy and our way of life. Around one in six trucks and trailers is refrigerated and carrying food, pharmaceuticals, and highly valuable cargoes that need both stable temperature and stable humidity. Maximising their uptime has always been our number one priority,” said Francesco Incalza, president of Thermo King Europe, Middle East and Africa. “As a global business, Thermo King has long considered it our responsibility to lead the industry not only in designing and manufacturing sustainable products for our customers, but also in delivering the extraordinary service and support that can help boost our customers’ operations. With the Blue Track by Thermo King Program we’re raising this bar even higher.”

With global trends such as increasingly stringent environmental regulations, the electrification of transportation, and digital connectivity, the importance of uptime continues to grow – alongside customer expectations for more consistent levels of service. The Blue Track by Thermo King Program addresses this number one priority of fleet managers, and one of the most direct factors affecting their ability to increase revenues and profit from fleet efficiency.

“At Thermo King, we want our customers to be focused on one thing – their business and their mission to transport the goods safely – without any interruptions,” said Claudio Zanframundo, channel excellence and customer service leader at Thermo King Europe Middle East and Africa. ”The Blue Track by Thermo King Program is the essence of that approach. We are changing rules of the game as we move from a reactive to a completely proactive customer support that has only one goal – enhance our customers’ fleet utilization.”

With the Blue Track Program, Thermo King puts connectivity to work together with a 24/7 support of a full team that holistically looks at what is happening to the refrigeration unit – anticipating and addressing potential issues before they occur. The Blue Track by Thermo King Program further increases the capabilities provided by the dealers, resulting with a more dynamic dealer network able to offer smarter, faster, and more comprehensive service engagements.

The key customer benefits of the Blue Track by Thermo King Program are:
• Real time watch, central monitoring and 24/7 Fleet visibility through TracKing™. Telematics-enabled data from customer fleets are monitored from a central location. This helps decrease the unpredicted downtimes by proactively providing basic remote triage and recommendations for most efficient servicing when alarm codes are detected. With Thermo King Connected Solutions, customers can also monitor a wide range of factors relating to their fleet performance – in real-time and with data consolidated on a central platform.
• Mobile and in–dealership preventive maintenance. Blue Track by Thermo King Program ensures that customers have access to the right maintenance and repair resources when and where needed. Thanks to gathered telematics data, repair efficiency can be increased by 5-15 percent.
• Consistent service experience, faster repair, reduced and monitored dwell time. If any unplanned maintenance or 24/7 emergency service is necessary, customers can benefit from the entire network’s support. Customer service team directs them to the optimal Blue Track by Thermo King service location to ensure the workshop time is scheduled and performed with minimal downtime.
• Improved customer communications. Customers receive clear and timely text and email updates when any activity is required or underway. These updates include reminders, notifications of progress and milestones reached (e.g. ‘repair has begun’), and announcements of work completed to keep them informed every step of the way.

Customers will be able to benefit from the Blue Track by Thermo King Program’s advantages choosing one from a various levels of Blue Track by Thermo King service contracts tailored to their needs. Blue Track by Thermo King Select certification will be awarded to dealers within the Thermo King network of over 500 authorized service points in 75 countries that will actively deliver a range of advanced capabilities such as 24/7 availability, mobile service van coverage, certified technicians, fast turnaround times, and genuine parts availability.

Demo video of the Logistics Business Virtual Exhibition

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Logistics Business is staging an international, virtual exhibition for the logistics and materials handling industry in 2021. The Logistics Business Exhibition provides a platform for interaction between logistics, IT, transport and supply chain services, warehousing and materials handling manufacturing industries. The exhibition virtual marketplace enables visitors to source products online, request specific quotations, meet exhibitors on video calls & chats, networking, downloading documents and more.

The first event will be February 22-25th, with a second week in September 2021.

Watch the demo video here to see how it will work.

There will be 6 virtual halls: Forklift & AGV Technology, Handling Automation Systems, Packaging & Pallets, Software & Computing, Transport Services & Equipment, Warehousing Equipment. Visitors will be able to browse halls and search for specific requirements from a long list of sub-categories.

Live stream Panel Discussions each day will see an exchange of ideas across all technologies. Here is the draft schedule:

Monday 22nd: Distribution Centre Project Management; Supply Chain Software-as-a-service Thought Leadership; Loading Bay & Warehouse Safety

Tuesday 23rd: Automated & Robot Warehouse Vehicles; Packaging for eCommerce; Contract Logistics & Freight Management

Wednesday 24th: Forklift Technology Innovations; Sortation & Conveying Suppliers’ Forum; Storage System Projects

Thursday 25th: Transport Management IT Platform Decisions; Wearable Devices and Data Capture in Logistics; Pallets & Containers for Green Supply Chains

Packaging Firm wins ‘Supply Chain Solution of the year’

Posted on by Keith McKinley

The employee-owned packaging business, Kite Packaging has 7 sites located across the UK with a team of dedicated in-house specialists in the fields of load retention, in-the-box, packaging technologists and aerospace and automotive packaging design engineers. Kite’s packaging specialists are supported by best-in-class technology, systems, design capability and their Mobile Testing facility Unit – home to some of the industries leading technology and testing equipment.

This was the first year the employee-owned business entered the prestigious UK Packaging Awards. Entering 5 submissions, 4 of which were shortlisted, was a great achievement. The announcement that Kite are winners in the supply chain solution of the year category, was a fantastic success for the whole team.

The winning solution was a complete packaging re-design for a leading manufacturer of cookers, kitchen appliances and interior furnishings. The client approached Kite as their existing packaging did not sit correct with their philosophy, was taking too long to pack and was not actually doing the job it was meant to – protecting their items.

The packaging technologists worked together with the in house specialist divisions and came up with a packaging solution that not only gave them a re-usable, highly protective solution, but achieved the following great results :- reduced packaging weight, damages, plastic content, cost, packing time and packing space.

Nijmegen provides Freight Network with Europe Gateway

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Since the UK voted to leave the EU in June 2016, Palletways, an Imperial Group company and Europe’s largest and fastest growing express palletised freight network, has been working hard to ensure the business is well prepared to continue to deliver a high-quality service for its members and customers. Part of this preparation involved creating strategic import and export customs clearance sites to avoid delays to shipments.

Palletways Benelux’s Nijmegen hub has been prepared as one of the company’s key entry points to mainland Europe at the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December. The hub, located in the Gelderland region, Netherlands’s oldest city lies close to the German border. The Hub is now licensed through the Imperial Group to carry out import and export clearance for goods coming into and leaving Europe. All Hub employees have received in-depth training on how to handle import and export goods.

Rob Gittins, managing director of Palletways UK, said: “Despite Brexit creating a number of challenges for logisticians to overcome, it has also acted as a catalyst to make the supply chain more flexible. We’re confident we have the infrastructure, expertise and local knowledge in place to guide our members and customers through this period of change. Our dedicated customer service team supports our partners in all aspects of international shipments. They have in-depth knowledge of the entire international network, so can provide expert advice on local and international regulations and offer support to find the best way to ship customer pallets with the network.

“The Nijmegen hub was selected for its strategically close location to the UK mainland and for its access to central and Eastern Europe, as well as the in-depth customs knowledge that is helping to position the business as the first choice for international palletised freight.”

Palletways has also offered certified and fully accredited training for its +115 members in the UK in partnership with the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce. The training provided an understanding of what Brexit will mean for the logistics sector, Palletways, its members and their customers. Digitally delivered, it covered export and import terminology and processes including sanctions and embargoes, terms and documents and the implications for trade and how to understand commodity codes and customs procedures.

 

Maersk Selects Agility Warehouse in Abidjan

Posted on by David Priestman

Maersk has chosen the new Agility warehouse project in Abidjan to house its new storage, deconsolidation and distribution facility in the economic capital of Cote D’Ivoire.

The newly opened 5,000 SQM facility is designed to handle 3,900 pallet positions and meet the end-to-end requirements of Maersk’s global customers, including those in Retail, Fast Moving Consumer Goods, and Technology.

Thomas Theeuwes, Maersk Central West Africa Managing Director, said: “Maersk has a strong presence in the West Africa market, and we are continuously reviewing our value proposition to ensure we offer competitive end-to-end solutions. The Agility warehouses provide the standard of infrastructure that enables Maersk to offer a consistent experience for both global and local customers, assuring them the same reliable service, security and safety being provided in this facility is on a par with what customers experience in Maersk facilities within Europe and North America.” 

The Agility warehouses are located on the main highway from Abidjan to Yamoussoukro, which leads to neighboring Mali and is strategically situated adjacent to the new PK24 industrial zone of Abidjan. 

Agility is funding and developing 250,000 SQM of warehousing on the site in what will become a center of excellence for warehousing in the region to support businesses operating in and from Cote D’Ivoire. The Agility warehouses provide the essential infrastructure required for both multinational companies and local businesses in the storage, distribution, packaging, processing and light manufacturing sectors. 

Geoffrey White, CEO Agility Africa, said: “We are delighted that Maersk decided to lease warehouse space in the new Agility facility in Abidjan.  Agility is funding and developing a network of warehouse parks across Africa to enable companies to rapidly and easily enter or expand in the African market. 

Agility provides warehouses that are move-in ready, enabling fast deployment, flexibility and reduced capital commitments for our customers. The provision of secure, ready-built, quality, warehouses with consistent power and IT connectivity in the Abidjan market is a true enabler of growth and prosperity in Cote D’Ivoire.” 

Agility announced solar projects in Dubai and Jordan last month to reduce their carbon footprint.

 

 

Sample Dispatch and Archiving

Posted on by Keith McKinley

A décor printing specialist relies on storage solutions from META-Regalbau at its new Service Centre, reports Paul Hamblin.

Arnsberg-based décor printing company Interprint has recently opened a Service Centre as the base of operations for sample dispatch as well as storage of the company’s important sample archive. When selecting the shelf solutions required for its storage base, Interprint opted for META storage systems. META-Regalbau develops, produces and sells stationary and mobile shelf
technology. As a system provider, META deals with all requests relating to warehouse logistics: from advice, planning and project planning to the assembly of storage facilities. META offers its customers complete solutions starting with the initial idea and including project management and support as well as commissioning. The extensive range of shelf systems includes shelving, pallet racks, cantilever racks and mobile racks, flow racks, storage platforms and multistorey rack systems.

With around 1,300 employees worldwide, including 390 at its headquarters in Arnsberg, the Interprint Group is one of the world’s leading décor printing companies. For 50 years, the Interprint philosophy has been ‘Think global, act local’. Wood, stone and creative décors from Interprint adorn the surfaces of many wood-based materials used to create furniture or flooring for use in interior design. In the recently completed building, by coincidence directly adjacent to META, the company’s service department has been amalgamated and centralised. At the same time, the print specialist took on a complex digital challenge with the introduction of a new warehouse management system.

High demands, individual solutions

As one of the world’s leading décor printing companies, Interprint offers a wide range of sample services. To fulfil these services, HPL (High Pressure Laminate) sheets and different types of décor paper rolls of various lengths are stored in the new Service Centre. It was crucial that the different shapes, lengths and weights of the stored samples were taken into account when designing the shelves. Thanks to close co-ordination between Interprint and META-Regalbau, perfect solutions for the various requirements were found or developed over several stages of the project. In addition to the diverse requirements of the stored goods and the official requirements, increased fire protection requirements also had to be met. Among other things, set distances between the
sample rolls and the shelves were necessary to ensure full effect and performance of the installed sprinkler system. Interprint designed special editions of its paper rolls for this purpose.

A décor printing specialist relies on storage solutions from META-Regalbau at its new Service Centre. Susanne Wünsch, Head of Marketing at Interprint, spoke about the co-operation between
the two companies: “Our company attaches great importance to high service quality. The individual storage solution from META is a key element,” she said. “Despite the stringent requirements,
it was a very constructive project with META-Regalbau’s office and field staff,” added Anke Gerling from the décor development department at Interprint.

Variety of shelving systems

Different shelving systems are used at the new Service Centre. The META MINI-RACK shelving system is used to store the décor paper rolls. This versatile long span racking system is the ideal solution for large and heavy single items thanks to the vast storage space and high compartment loads. This system is also the ideal choice for archiving linear metres in tubes of different lengths. Shorter paper tubes are archived in an individual combination of META CLIP side walls with stepped beams.

Décor samples already pressed into laminate sheets (HPL) are clearly arranged in smaller volumes in META CLIP shelving systems divided by full height dividers. The diverse applications and individual solutions at Interprint demonstrate the versatility of the different shelving systems and prove that META can provide the perfect storage system for every storage item.

Scott Technology Announces Partnership Savoye

Posted on by David Priestman

Automation and robotics solutions provider Scott Technology Limited has announced the signing of a global partnership with Savoye, one of the world’s leading high-speed storage and retrieval system organisation, as a further signal of Scott’s commitment to offering leading technology in its chosen fields of expertise.

The relationship will allow Scott to expand its material handling and logistics systems to include the critical component of automated carton storage and retrieval technology. This will seamlessly integrate with Scott’s own conveying, sorting and palletising applications and enables the company to offer a true end-to-end solution.

Scott CEO John Kippenberger, said: “The material handling and logistics business is already an important part of the Scott global Group. This has largely been focused on Europe given the successful legacy of the Alvey business which Scott acquired in 2018. We are excited about taking this existing carton handling and palletising technology to meat processors, general frozen food manufacturers in several global markets – most notably the United States – and believe the addition of the Savoye technology serves to strengthen this offer.”

The partnership will expand the global reach and harness the natural strengths of both companies. Scott and Savoye have extensive networks of global customers, facilities in multiple countries and a combined history of over 160 years in business.

Savoye Director for Partnerships Hervé Aubert, said: “Savoye is very pleased to enter into this global partnership with Scott which will enable the integration of Savoye’s X-PTS® solution in a market sector where Scott is a strong and renowned player. The combination of Scott’s experience in end-of-line solutions with Savoye’s shuttle based X-PTS® storage solution will enable Scott to propose a comprehensive solution for food applications”.

Both companies have focused efforts on opportunities within the U.S. market, and this strategic alignment will help realise these.
Savoye North America Director Paul Deveikis, said: “We’re glad to enter this partnership where Scott’s and Savoye’s U.S. teams will develop a common solution for U.S. food companies. Savoye North America will be able to accompany and support Scott through our shuttle manufacturing facilities (Aurora Illinois) and integration teams based in the U.S.”.
Scott and Savoye are already well advanced on two large project opportunities, one in Australasia and the other in the United States. https://www.scottautomation.com/news/announcements/scott-announces-strategic-partnership-with-savoye/

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