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Day: 15 June 2021

Data helps secure supplies ahead of Euro 2020

Posted on by David Priestman

Euro 2020 is here and despite the easing of Covid-19 restrictions with pubs finally allowed to open their doors, many fans are expected to cheer on their nation from the side-lines at home, prompting the first ‘stay-at-home’ tournament in a generation.

With fans shunning the pub in favour of the patio, data-driven supply chain company C.H. Robinson is predicting a boom in BBQs and a frenzy in football memorabilia resulting in an upturn in the home delivery market.

But how do sport-related consumables reach consumers’ front doors?

Chris Mills, director of account management, transportation at C.H. Robinson Europe, said: “The sports industry, like any other, is dependent on supplies and deliveries aided by intuitive supply chains that can get goods from A to B. Not dislike professional footballers, supply chains have been in training for months ahead of Euro 2020 as they gear up for the spike in demand from armchair supporters for electrical goods, garden furniture, BBQs and frozen foods.

“With some consumers reluctant to visit the high street, online has increasingly become the convenient way to shop. Harnessing historical data and intelligence, we’ve helped suppliers, manufacturers and retailers prepare for a huge surge in online purchases and warned about the potential for them to be concentrated in a small timeframe ahead of the tournament.”

C.H. Robinson’s alliance with the Microsoft Corporation combining the power of its Navisphere multi-modal transportation management platform with the multinational technology company’s Azure cloud platform and Internet of Things can create a logistics solution that supports the need for enhanced real-time insights and visibility. It incorporates machine learning and artificial intelligence to support predictive analytics, IOT device monitoring for greater intelligence on products whilst in transit, premier data security and increased application speed.

Added Mills: “Collaborations such as these are critical to adapt to the abnormal strains that are placed on supply chains caused by major surges for goods online, like the situation that’s occurred pre-Euro 2020.

“Our predictive analytic technologies mean we have the capability to see things and act on them before they happen. This helps supply chains deal with the unpredictable and takes supply chain management from real time to prior time, from ‘track and trace’ to ‘predict and prevent’ to enable supply chains to respond to ever changing market conditions before they occur.

“Access to data allows us to predict trends and notify customers before issues things occur, and this foresight will ensure this is a tournament to remember for all the right reasons.”

 

Data helps secure supplies ahead of Euro 2020

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Euro 2020 is here and despite the easing of Covid-19 restrictions with pubs finally allowed to open their doors, many fans are expected to cheer on their nation from the side-lines at home, prompting the first ‘stay-at-home’ tournament in a generation.

With fans shunning the pub in favour of the patio, data-driven supply chain company C.H. Robinson is predicting a boom in BBQs and a frenzy in football memorabilia resulting in an upturn in the home delivery market.

But how do sport-related consumables reach consumers’ front doors?

Chris Mills, director of account management, transportation at C.H. Robinson Europe, said: “The sports industry, like any other, is dependent on supplies and deliveries aided by intuitive supply chains that can get goods from A to B. Not dislike professional footballers, supply chains have been in training for months ahead of Euro 2020 as they gear up for the spike in demand from armchair supporters for electrical goods, garden furniture, BBQs and frozen foods.

“With some consumers reluctant to visit the high street, online has increasingly become the convenient way to shop. Harnessing historical data and intelligence, we’ve helped suppliers, manufacturers and retailers prepare for a huge surge in online purchases and warned about the potential for them to be concentrated in a small timeframe ahead of the tournament.”

C.H. Robinson’s alliance with the Microsoft Corporation combining the power of its Navisphere multi-modal transportation management platform with the multinational technology company’s Azure cloud platform and Internet of Things can create a logistics solution that supports the need for enhanced real-time insights and visibility. It incorporates machine learning and artificial intelligence to support predictive analytics, IOT device monitoring for greater intelligence on products whilst in transit, premier data security and increased application speed.

Added Mills: “Collaborations such as these are critical to adapt to the abnormal strains that are placed on supply chains caused by major surges for goods online, like the situation that’s occurred pre-Euro 2020.

“Our predictive analytic technologies mean we have the capability to see things and act on them before they happen. This helps supply chains deal with the unpredictable and takes supply chain management from real time to prior time, from ‘track and trace’ to ‘predict and prevent’ to enable supply chains to respond to ever changing market conditions before they occur.

“Access to data allows us to predict trends and notify customers before issues things occur, and this foresight will ensure this is a tournament to remember for all the right reasons.”

 

Rail company optimises workshop logistics

Posted on by David Priestman

At 12 locations throughout Germany, DB Fahrzeuginstandhaltung GmbH ensures that rail vehicles are revised, repaired, and modernised on time. It reconditions around 198,000 brake components and 58,000 wheelsets every year. To make the workshop transports required for this more transparent and efficient, the company implemented the cloud-based version of the SYNCROTESS transport control system from the Aachen-based optimisation specialist, INFORM, as the central controller.

Intending to establish trouble-free processes for internal transport, DB Fahrzeuginstandhaltung has therefore chosen the solution of INFORM as its future standard system for order processing. The workshop in Cottbus made the initial start after a four-week test of the system. This was followed by the sites at Kassel, Dessau, and Neumünster.

Together, around 5,000 transports per month are already handled there via SYNCROTESS and delivered in an optimised order. Implementation has also begun at the Nuremberg, Fulda, and Bremen workshops, and Paderborn and Krefeld will soon be connected. The transport control system is intended to work as a company-wide new standard for internal transport.

“In the past, each DB Fahrzeuginstandhaltung site used its own systems and heterogeneous solutions for booking transport orders,” says Lasse Paulsen, senior consultant, warehouse & logistics at DB Fahrzeuginstandhaltung. “As a result, we had poor transparency concerning the number of transports and the utilisation of our forklift fleets.“

With SYNCROTESS, the company standardised the control of its transport logistics and now plans orders much more efficiently. Among other things, customers benefit from shorter workshop stopovers and turnaround times. In addition, the company succeeded in reducing costs for training and forklift leasing through optimised transport logistics.

“The whole process is now smoother and more reliable. We have achieved higher material availability, but at the same time we have been able to reduce our fleet size of internal transport resources, as well as unladen and orientation trips, by at least 30%,” Paulsen added.

“Lack of transparency about forklifts, materials, or other resources is a common reason for using a transport control system,” says Matthias Wurst, head of business development, industrial logistics at INFORM. “But transparency is not everything. Intelligent optimisation algorithms can, on an ad hoc basis, derive from specific situations which conveyors should carry out which order next so that, as a whole, the entire order network is optimally served. As a result, logistics departments are less busy putting out fires, but contribute to on-time and speedy delivery for production.”

To create a transport order, production employees enter it in a web interface. The system then immediately includes the order in the optimisation, taking into account all other orders. Likewise, drivers can create orders themselves if, for example, they discover material along the way that has not yet been processed. The next order is communicated to the drivers via a mobile device that they carry with them. The order can then be confirmed and completed in the same app. This was particularly easy to implement at DB Fahrzeuginstandhaltung, as employees were already equipped with suitable devices as part of a company-wide project.

Rail company optimises workshop logistics

Posted on by David Priestman

At 12 locations throughout Germany, DB Fahrzeuginstandhaltung GmbH ensures that rail vehicles are revised, repaired, and modernised on time. It reconditions around 198,000 brake components and 58,000 wheelsets every year. To make the workshop transports required for this more transparent and efficient, the company implemented the cloud-based version of the SYNCROTESS transport control system from the Aachen-based optimisation specialist, INFORM, as the central controller.

Intending to establish trouble-free processes for internal transport, DB Fahrzeuginstandhaltung has therefore chosen the solution of INFORM as its future standard system for order processing. The workshop in Cottbus made the initial start after a four-week test of the system. This was followed by the sites at Kassel, Dessau, and Neumünster.

Together, around 5,000 transports per month are already handled there via SYNCROTESS and delivered in an optimised order. Implementation has also begun at the Nuremberg, Fulda, and Bremen workshops, and Paderborn and Krefeld will soon be connected. The transport control system is intended to work as a company-wide new standard for internal transport.

“In the past, each DB Fahrzeuginstandhaltung site used its own systems and heterogeneous solutions for booking transport orders,” says Lasse Paulsen, senior consultant, warehouse & logistics at DB Fahrzeuginstandhaltung. “As a result, we had poor transparency concerning the number of transports and the utilisation of our forklift fleets.“

With SYNCROTESS, the company standardised the control of its transport logistics and now plans orders much more efficiently. Among other things, customers benefit from shorter workshop stopovers and turnaround times. In addition, the company succeeded in reducing costs for training and forklift leasing through optimised transport logistics.

“The whole process is now smoother and more reliable. We have achieved higher material availability, but at the same time we have been able to reduce our fleet size of internal transport resources, as well as unladen and orientation trips, by at least 30%,” Paulsen added.

“Lack of transparency about forklifts, materials, or other resources is a common reason for using a transport control system,” says Matthias Wurst, head of business development, industrial logistics at INFORM. “But transparency is not everything. Intelligent optimisation algorithms can, on an ad hoc basis, derive from specific situations which conveyors should carry out which order next so that, as a whole, the entire order network is optimally served. As a result, logistics departments are less busy putting out fires, but contribute to on-time and speedy delivery for production.”

To create a transport order, production employees enter it in a web interface. The system then immediately includes the order in the optimisation, taking into account all other orders. Likewise, drivers can create orders themselves if, for example, they discover material along the way that has not yet been processed. The next order is communicated to the drivers via a mobile device that they carry with them. The order can then be confirmed and completed in the same app. This was particularly easy to implement at DB Fahrzeuginstandhaltung, as employees were already equipped with suitable devices as part of a company-wide project.

GEODIS France acquires 200 biogas vehicles

Posted on by Keith McKinley

GEODIS is investing in a “green” fleet for urban delivery in France. The aim is to reduce pollution and noise disturbance. Stéphane Cassagne, GEODIS Executive Vice President of Distribution & Express Line of Business, and Emilio Portillo, Managing Director of IVECO France, signed an agreement that includes an order for 200 CNG vehicles that will be fuelled with biogas. Delivery is scheduled for the end of 2021.

“This investment marks another new step for GEODIS in reducing the impact of its activities on the environment and combating climate change,” says Marie-Christine Lombard, CEO of GEODIS. “In particular, by greening road transport in the last mile we will contribute to decarbonising the sector. Urban logistics is at the heart of our actions.”

GEODIS‘ goal is to achieve 100% carbon-free transport to the city centres of France’s 35 largest cities (with populations of more than 150,000 inhabitants) within three years. The proactive strategy initiated several years ago has reached a new level with the signing of this order with IVECO, a leader in alternative energies with nearly 60% of the French market.

GEODIS chose 107 IVECO Daily and 93 Eurocargo vehicles powered by BioGNV, a fuel that reduces CO2 emissions by up to 95% while offering the same performance as a diesel vehicle. Compared to a Euro VI-E diesel vehicle, fine particle emissions are reduced by 95% and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions by 90%. These vehicles fall into the Crit’Air 1 category. Certified by Pieck Quiet Truck 71 dB, they are able to make silent deliveries by day and night.

“The increased use of new energies is a lever for action to reduce the emissions linked to our distribution activities,” said Stéphane Cassagne, Executive Vice President of GEODIS‘ Distribution & Express line of business. “This order for 200 vehicles is a major step that marks our commitment to reducing CO2 emissions. It positions us as a major player in clean delivery in France, an ambition that brings yet more benefits to our customers.”

“We welcome GEODIS‘ commitment and the trust placed in our brand,” said Emilio Portillo, Managing Director of IVECO France. “IVECO believed very early on in the natural gas solution, for which demand is growing steadily in France and in Europe. With this solution, which meets the triple objective of protecting our health, the climate and the quality of life in the city, our vehicles have become the benchmark for transporters who are already committed to the ecological transition.”

CEVA unveils Italian well-being initiative

Posted on by David Priestman

CEVA Logistics has transformed its Somaglia logistics park into an open-air, urban art gallery. As part of the Prologis PARKlife initiative, eight internationally renowned Italian urban artists used 40,000 sq m of building facades and water tanks as canvases to create works of art inspired by a series of keywords, including innovation, future, diversity and inclusion, integrity, passion and sustainability.

Starting in September, guided tours will be open to the public, available by reservation free of charge. PARKlife represents a paradigm shift in the development of logistics parks. With PARKlife, the site is transforming into a small urban centre, where it will be possible to find a series of benefits to enrich the working day, including public transport, general services, activities and open space for free time.

The PARKlife initiative considers additional elements within the space, including sustainability, usability and liveability. The green spaces will be redeveloped to include larger, more diverse trees and perennial flowerbeds, with varying colours to create a natural dialogue with the works of art in the logistics park. The redesign of the green areas will ensure greater shading and the creation of wellness paths, which will be accompanied by bicycle paths.

The project also includes new relaxation and refreshment areas with vending machines to allow for lunch and coffee breaks in a welcoming environment for all on-site workers and also for drivers. Completion of the project is expected in September 2021.

Christophe Boustouller, managing director, Italy, CEVA Logistics, says: “The PARKlife initiative is a perfect example of our commitment to our employees as they work to deliver responsive logistics solutions for our customers. People are key to our business, and at CEVA, we want to create an environment where our employees can thrive. Today’s artistic unveiling is an important step in supporting current employees and attracting new ones to the industry.”

 

CEVA unveils Italian well-being initiative

Posted on by Keith McKinley

CEVA Logistics has transformed its Somaglia logistics park into an open-air, urban art gallery. As part of the Prologis PARKlife initiative, eight internationally renowned Italian urban artists used 40,000 sq m of building facades and water tanks as canvases to create works of art inspired by a series of keywords, including innovation, future, diversity and inclusion, integrity, passion and sustainability.

Starting in September, guided tours will be open to the public, available by reservation free of charge. PARKlife represents a paradigm shift in the development of logistics parks. With PARKlife, the site is transforming into a small urban centre, where it will be possible to find a series of benefits to enrich the working day, including public transport, general services, activities and open space for free time.

The PARKlife initiative considers additional elements within the space, including sustainability, usability and liveability. The green spaces will be redeveloped to include larger, more diverse trees and perennial flowerbeds, with varying colours to create a natural dialogue with the works of art in the logistics park. The redesign of the green areas will ensure greater shading and the creation of wellness paths, which will be accompanied by bicycle paths.

The project also includes new relaxation and refreshment areas with vending machines to allow for lunch and coffee breaks in a welcoming environment for all on-site workers and also for drivers. Completion of the project is expected in September 2021.

Christophe Boustouller, managing director, Italy, CEVA Logistics, says: “The PARKlife initiative is a perfect example of our commitment to our employees as they work to deliver responsive logistics solutions for our customers. People are key to our business, and at CEVA, we want to create an environment where our employees can thrive. Today’s artistic unveiling is an important step in supporting current employees and attracting new ones to the industry.”

 

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