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Month: June 2021

Palletways celebrates 15 years in Iberia

Posted on by David Priestman

The Palletways Group is celebrating its longstanding presence in Spain, 15 years after the launch of its Iberia network which is targeting 15% growth over the coming year.

Luis Zubialde, Palletways’ group chief executive officer, said: “It became evident that if we were to provide additional capacity across Europe, we had to break into Iberia. The launch of the network was a critical move for the Group which allowed our members and their customers to access other European markets.

“Launching into this new European territory has made sound commercial sense and our Iberia team has worked continually hard to maintain sustained growth. This has resulted in the network doubling in size over the past five years and based on current forecasts, we expect the network will grow by 15% over the next 12 months. These key indicators of market growth send out a strong message to the marketplace about our unwavering commitment for continued dominance in the pallet network sector.”

The Iberia network currently operates 80 depots and three hubs in Madrid, Zaragoza and Jaén and serves the Iberian Peninsula and Islands via its 70-strong member network. And despite the challenges resulting from the pandemic, the Palletways Group continues to experience phenomenal success in Iberia when the network moved a record-breaking one million pallets over the past 12 months.

Gregorio Hernando, managing director at Palletways Iberia, added: “From the moment the Palletways Group launched the Iberia network, the local market welcomed the new palletised freight service with gusto, so much so we launched into Portugal just two years later.

“We’ve seen a great deal of change over the past decade and a half however we’re as committed and determined as we’ve ever been to innovate to stay ahead of environmental and market trends. Our new services such as PalletwaysOnline and Pallets to Consumers (P2C), specifically for home deliveries, have reinforced our position in the sector and importantly, have been well received by our members and their customers.

“Our appetite for growth continues, as does our commitment to create jobs, incorporate technological improvements in our operations and optimise our facilities and processes for the benefit of staff, our members and their customers.”

 

 

Woolworths selects robotised solution for Sydney DC

Posted on by David Priestman

Vanderlande has signed a new contract with Australia’s largest food and grocery retailer, Woolworths, to deliver STOREPICK, a robotised, end-to-end automated case picking (ACP) warehouse solution.

The system will be installed in a new, innovative regional DC in Moorebank Logistics Park in Sydney and will supply over 200 stores in New South Wales from 2025. This will be the second Australian state where a Woolworths DC will be using Vanderlande’s STOREPICK solution.

Woolworths Group’s supply chain arm, Primary Connect, will build and operate the state-of-the-art DC, with the aim of enhancing customer shopping experiences, as well as improving efficiency in stores.

STOREPICK allows for the optimisation of all processes in the entire value chain. It effectively handles both incoming and outgoing goods, and thanks to Vanderlande’s Load Forming Logic (LFL) software, guarantees store-friendly deliveries across multiple store formats. This is combined with a redundant design and optimum usage of the DC’s footprint, which contributes to a safe working environment for Woolworths’ operations team.

In addition, the solution has been designed using the latest technologies in material handling, including the Vanderlande ADAPTO shuttle system with flexible in-rack shuttles, free-roaming AGVs, intelligent robots for case picking and Goods-to-Picker workstations.

Primary Connect Managing Director and Woolworths Chief Supply Chain Officer, Paul Graham, explains: “The facility will transform the way we serve our New South Wales stores, strengthen our network, and deliver on our ambition to create Australia’s best food and grocery supply chain. We will be able to carry up to 8,000 additional products, which will help in unlocking a much better shopping experience for our customers.

“To keep pace with growing demand and ever-evolving customer expectations, we need to continue to invest in new technology and capacity to power our next-generation supply chain. We’re pleased to be on this journey with our trusted technology partners at Vanderlande.”

Vanderlande’s Managing Director Warehousing Solutions for Australia and New Zealand, Roald de Groot, adds: “It’s been an incredible journey over the past two years for the local and overseas teams from Vanderlande who have worked closely together with Woolworths’ design team to make this project happen. We are extremely proud to provide Woolworths with this state-of-the-art fully automated solution and are keen to further build on this established partnership in the future.”

The relationship between both organisations has been a significant positive for Vanderlande’s Vice President Warehouse Solutions Terry Verkuijlen: “Vanderlande is proud to have been highly involved in this key partnership with Australia’s largest supermarket chain. Woolworths has strong ambitions in terms of its growth, product offering and customer experience, so we’re delighted to help play our part in this continued success story. By providing our automated end-to-end STOREPICK solution, it will enable Woolworths to maximise efficiencies within its new DC in Sydney.”

TPN first to introduce tail-lift surcharge

Posted on by Keith McKinley

The Pallet Network (TPN) is introducing a per-pallet surcharge for all tail-lift deliveries, as of 1st August 2021, in order to protect driver safety, service levels and the profitability of its partners.

The network is the first in the UK sector to take the courageous step of recognising the extra costs involved with tail-lift deliveries, and the levels of investment required of network partners.

The surcharge follows the HSE-endorsed RHA Tail-lift and Pallet Truck Guidance Document which was published in May 2021.

TPN MD Mark Kendall says: “We are committed to safe and sustainable business. That means that service offerings have to be matched with appropriate pricing to ensure continued investment and profitability.

“The UK pallet networks are being asked to do more tail-lift deliveries, particularly to residential addresses, than ever before but the sector has never addressed the price implications of this. Our commitment is to our partners’ success in terms of service, safety and profitability and so it is incumbent upon us to take the lead.”

The surcharge is designed to address the following:

  • The need for drivers to complete dynamic risk assessments at every site
  • The need for extra investment in driver training
  • Partner investment in electric pump trucks
  • To allow partners to adapt the original B2B model for consumer deliveries

It is essential to invest to improve the working conditions for drivers who are being asked to do increasingly difficult work, says Kendall: “Driver retention is a critical factor for our partners and we need to ensure that drivers are equipped with the best tools for the job.

“The sector as a whole has been unwilling to price tail-lift deliveries in a sustainable manner because they fear losing volume. However, TPN has always operated on the basis of quality, not volume.

“We believe customers will understand this change in pricing, and ensure that every tail-lift delivery is necessary and is to a suitable location. TPN is committed to service resilience and sustainable business and this is a necessary step in ensuring both.”

TPN was also the first in sector to incorporate the driver checklist for tail-lift deliveries into its ePOD application within a week of the guidance being released.

According to the Association of Pallet Networks, residential deliveries grew to 18% of pallet volume overall in 2020. TPN has always had a lower level of B2C work than the sector average, but stresses that it is not only home deliveries which require tail-lifts.

“There is a danger of creating a false correlation between B2C and tail-lift deliveries. Any business without a formal and FLT-equipped delivery site often requires a tail-lift delivery,” says Mark.

£30m helicopter logistics hub planned for UK

Posted on by David Priestman

A new £30 million advanced helicopter logistics hub will be delivered by real estate developer Graftongate on behalf of Italian aerospace giant, Leonardo.

The 210,000 sq ft project in Yeovil, Somerset, will see the consolidation of eight existing warehouses into one all-encompassing logistics hub.

The single-site logistics facility will help support Leonardo Helicopters’ global fleet through the warehousing of components and tooling in a state-of-the-art development, which has sustainability at its core.

Its features include rainwater harvesting tanks for brown water services, full LED lighting throughout the facility and a heat recovery system in the main warehouse, which will be complemented by a modern office temperature control system. In addition, there will be a bank of electrical vehicle charging points.

Graftongate will deliver the new development on a 35-year lease in partnership with a CBRE Investment Advisory retained pension fund. Leonardo’s logistics partner, Kuehne+Nagel, will operate the new facility under a 10-year logistics contract.

Construction of the development will commence in August and is scheduled for practical completion in Q4 2022.

Jamie Hockaday, Director at Graftongate, said: “We are very pleased to have collaborated with Leonardo Helicopters and Kuehne+Nagel to aid the delivery of the UK’s only onshore helicopter manufacturer.”

 

GEODIS wins ebike logistics contract

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Super73, a California-based designer and manufacturer of electric bikes, has awarded GEODIS a three-year contract to support its market growth in Europe and the Middle East. GEODIS’ responsibilities will include customs brokerage, warehousing, value-added services (e.g. the attachment of seats), European distribution to retail outlets and consumers, and export shipments to the Middle East and Africa, from multiple GEODIS facilities in Europe.

The demand of e-bikes has soared in recent years and Super73 has grown rapidly. The brand is very well established in the US and is quickly gaining popularity in Europe and the Middle East. There has become a need for a logistics partner that could help take advantage of this potential and accelerate market growth. By combining the Group services of Contract Logistics, Freight Forwarding and Distribution & Express and integrating them on a single online platform, GEODIS is able to provide Super73 with maximum supply chain visibility.

“Super73 presented us with a challenge that enabled us to show and utilise our full scope of services,” says Mark van den Assem, Managing Director of GEODIS in the Benelux. “It demands the successful cooperation of not only GEODIS’ multiple lines of business and country operations, but also a new creative integration of warehouse management systems with other applications.”

“We understand the complexities of developing new markets, particularly the logistics of supplying new customers not just with a superior product but with an efficient and reliable supply line. For a startup like ours, scalability is the name of the game, and we found in GEODIS a devoted team of logistics professionals focusing on just that,” says Nicolas Danan, the General Manager of Super73 Europe.

“GEODIS make it easy for us as they provide the whole spectrum of transport, warehousing, and distribution services all over European Union and the UK,“ adds Fabian Hardjoprajitno, Operations Manager of Super73 Europe.

 

NZ port orders more straddle carriers

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Lyttelton Port Company in Christchurch, New Zealand, has ordered four Konecranes Noell Straddle Carriers to expand its straddle carrier fleet in response to growing business. The new machines will be delivered towards the end of 2021. This order was booked in Q1 2021.

Peter Kania, Head of Straddle Carrier Sales, Konecranes, said: “The Lyttelton Port Company is in the process of converting its entire straddle carrier fleet to Konecranes, being very satisfied with the technology and service it has received from us. We will do our very best to ensure this continues.”

The Lyttelton Port Company has successfully operated Konecranes Noell Straddle Carriers since 2018. Simon Munt, General Manager Container Operations, Lyttelton Port Company, said: “We introduced the first Konecranes Noell straddle carrier to Lyttelton Port in 2018 and by the end of this year we will have 20 of these machines. The product, service and support from Konecranes is excellent.”

The straddle carriers on order are of the type N SC 644 E, diesel-electric machines that stack containers 1-over-3. The machines will be assembled and ready for operation 5-6 weeks after being delivered in October 2021. They will be the first straddle carriers operated in New Zealand equipped with diesel engines fulfilling EURO Stage V exhaust emission standards.

The straddle carriers will move containers between the terminal quayside, container yard and truck grids. They will stack containers up to 4-high in the container yard and handle incoming and outgoing container truck traffic.

A strong focus on customers and commitment to business growth and continuous improvement make Konecranes a lifting industry leader. This is underpinned by investments in digitalisation and technology, plus our work to make material flows more efficient with solutions that decarbonise the economy and advance circularity and safety.

Briggs Equipment acquires plant hire company

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Briggs Equipment has acquired JB Plant Hire, a Northern Ireland-based plant hire company. This latest acquisition further strengthens Briggs’s position in the Irish plant hire market following the purchase of Laois Hire in Portlaoise and Balloo Hire Ltd in Dublin earlier in 2021 and builds on the position established through the acquisition of Balloo Hire in Belfast in 2019.

JB Plant Hire, operating from two sites in Dungannon and Omagh, has an excellent and well-deserved reputation based on more than 35 years of growth. The business has a strong track record of delivering high quality plant hire services across the west of Northern Ireland and has established a loyal and diverse customer base.

This acquisition also demonstrates Briggs Equipment’s long-term commitment to ongoing business development and underlines its position as the UK & Ireland’s leading asset management and engineering services specialist.

Peter Jones, Briggs Equipment’s Group Managing Director, commented: “We are delighted to have completed this latest acquisition of JB Plant Hire. The business has been successful over several decades and we will be building on those proven results with the backing and investment of the Briggs Equipment Group.

“This acquisition means we are delivering on our ambition of providing comprehensive plant hire coverage across Northern Ireland. JB Plant Hire will complement our Balloo Hire business in providing quality plant hire to a diverse customer base.

“We look forward to working closely with the JB Plant Hire teams and supporting their future growth and product expansion as part of the Briggs Equipment Group.”

The JB Plant Hire name will continue, with all current operational contacts remaining in place.

 

NHS Trust pilots Thames riverboat delivery service

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust has become the first in the country to pilot a daily riverboat delivery service as part of its plan to reduce its carbon footprint. The Trust has teamed up with CEVA Logistics and Livett’s Group to trial the service on the River Thames.

If the proof-of-concept pilot is successful, the service will operate on a larger scale, removing trucks from the UK capital’s roads, while providing a reliable delivery route into London during the day. The Trust’s three delivery trucks currently travel around 1,500 miles per week. For each truck removed from the road, approximately 708 kg of CO2 could be saved per week.

The project will help Guy’s and St Thomas’ work towards its aim of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2030, and it supports the Mayor of London’s aim to reduce the number of lorries and vans entering central London in the morning peak by 10% by 2026.

The three-month pilot launches on Clean Air Day on Thursday 17th June 2021. Earlier this month Guy’s and St Thomas’ unveiled its sustainability strategy which sets out a clear path towards more sustainable healthcare for the next 10 years. The pilot is just one of the initiatives that the Trust has introduced to help reduce its carbon footprint and to become more sustainable.

In 2019, the Trust worked with CEVA Logistics to open a consolidation supply chain hub in Dartford close to the M25, which has reduced the number of daily truck deliveries onto the hospital sites by 90%. The Trust is also planning to introduce a fleet of three large electric trucks to deliver consolidated deliveries from the supply chain hub.

This initiative followed the switch to cargo bikes when transporting blood and tumours for testing between Guy’s Hospital and St Thomas’ Hospital, which replaced vans and motorbikes.

David Lawson, Chief Procurement Officer at Guy’s and St Thomas’, said: “The riverboat pilot forms a key part in our ambition to remove over 40,000 truck deliveries from central London roads each year. We also want to encourage and support other organisations to adopt the use of zero emission delivery models to improve air quality for the communities that we serve.”

Chris Walton, Managing Director, UK and Ireland, at CEVA Logistics, said: “The riverboat trial firmly supports our commitment to sustainable and ethical supply chains.  As part of what we call responsive logistics, we constantly look for smart, alternative solutions to improve our carbon footprint and reduce noise and air pollution, specifically when operating in urban areas. As part of our global FORPATIENTS strategy for healthcare customers, we offer flexible end-to-end logistics solutions that place the patient at the centre of the supply chain.”

Edward Livett, Director of Livett’s Group, said: “We are very excited and proud to be a part of this trial as it is a clear example of positive use of the River Thames, something we are constantly striving for. Livett’s specialise in river logistics and as a Group have assets from Putney down to Gravesend which we are confident will help make this trial an absolute success. We look forward to helping freight back onto the river and proving it to be an environmentally sustainable and safe solution.”

Stuart Godman, CEO at Absolutely, said: “We are proud to have been chosen as the final mile delivery partner. As a business, we want to build on our ambition to be a true ambassador for carbon neutrality. Significant partnerships, like this, provide the opportunity to utilise our expanding fleet of electric cargo vehicles and allow us to continue to provide an excellent service in a more sustainable way across London.”

James Trimmer, planning & environment director at the Port of London Authority, said: “This innovative scheme is another great example of the river’s potential as a green superhighway. It’s a win-win situation; the tidal Thames can help rebuild the economy post the pandemic and both reduce carbon emissions and air pollution in the capital.”

FourKites gains patent for AI-powered ETA tool

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Real-time supply chain visibility platform FourKites has been awarded a US patent for its Smart Forecasted Arrival (SFA) capabilities, which provide companies with highly frequent and accurate ETAs for freight in transit — even when that truck lacks any technology to transmit location data.

SFA is now available to FourKites’ customers globally, extending the benefits of real-time visibility to freight that would otherwise be invisible to modern supply chain management solutions.

Even as companies worldwide accelerate their investments in real-time transportation visibility platforms (RTTVPs) to better track and manage their freight in transit, they have been hindered by the portion of loads that previously couldn’t be tracked, usually due to the lack of electronic logging devices (ELD) onboard, errors in asset assignments or carrier compliance issues. SFA solves this longstanding problem by applying cutting-edge artificial neural networking (ANN) and machine learning (ML) technologies to the industry’s largest supply chain data network.

SFA is able to estimate the location of freight in transit based on other signals and data in the network, ultimately providing ETAs on 97% of untracked loads with 85% accuracy. The system correctly predicts late loads more than 90% of the time. This further strengthens FourKites’ Tracking Quality Guarantee, which establishes the highest standards in supply chain data quality across all modes.

SFA removes blind spots and compensates for poor-quality or even a complete lack of tracking data. Its breakthrough capabilities are underpinned by the unrivalled breadth and sophistication of FourKites’ platform, which tracks 70 billion miles across 275,000 distinct stops, and churns out one billion ETAs each year. FourKites’ continued track record of industry-first innovations help companies reduce fines and lower inventory, maximise productivity, drive operational efficiencies and improve customer service.

“Smart Forecasted Arrival is a much-needed breakthrough for the real-time transportation visibility software category, and a perfect illustration of the unique power of the FourKites global network,” said FourKites CEO and Founder Mathew Elenjickal.

“Thanks to our first-mover advantage, we have the densest shipper ecosystem in the entire world, creating the most robust and highest-quality visibility data set. Paired with our unmatched investment in our world-class data science team, we are years ahead of our competitors in offering these kinds of leapfrog capabilities to the market. Starting today, FourKites customers can get frequent and highly accurate ETAs on every single load.”

Smart Forecasted Arrival is available immediately to all FourKites customers.

 

 

UKWA announces new CEO

Posted on by Keith McKinley

The UK Warehousing Association (UKWA) has appointed Clare Bottle FCILT as the organisation’s new Chief Executive Officer, effective from 1st July 2021.

Clare, who will take over the role from Peter Ward, joins UKWA from Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, where she was Associate Director of Warehousing, responsible for managing 3PL contracts and running in-house warehousing operations across the UK.

Her career includes delivery of successful logistics projects as an interim manager for clients such as Kuehne+Nagel, M&S, Yodel and Bunzl. Later, she became National Logistics Manager for Lafarge Tarmac before joining Coca-Cola in 2015.

Speaking on behalf of the UKWA management board, newly elected Chair of the UKWA management board Neil Bowker warmly welcomed Bottle’s appointment: “The UKWA board is delighted to confirm Clare Bottle as our new CEO,” he said. “Clare brings tremendous industry experience to the role, having worked in the logistics arena for over 25 years. She enjoys a reputation for driving change and I have no doubt that Clare will continue to fight for our industry as the head of its leading trade association.”

Bottle was one of the founder members of Women in Logistics. In recent years she has also been a trustee of CILT (UK) and of Transaid, UKWA’s nominated charity.

Commenting on her appointment, Bottle said: “I am passionate about warehousing and logistics and am delighted to have the opportunity to make a difference in the industry in my new role. I believe it is vital for the future to attract and nurture best talent to our industry; careers are an essential engine of social mobility and I am committed to making the logistics profession increasingly equitable and inclusive. Above all, it is my ambition as CEO of UKWA to secure for warehousing and logistics operations the place they deserve at the heart of the UK economy.”

Ward, who has led UKWA for the last six years, will be stepping down to semi-retirement, but has pledged his support for Bottle as she takes up her new role as CEO.

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