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Month: April 2026

End-of-line Solutions at Interpack

Posted on by David Priestman

When the doors open at Interpack from 7th to 13th of May in Düsseldorf, Mosca GmbH will be presenting groundbreaking innovations in load securing under the theme of ‘connected efficiency’. The focus will be on integrated solutions that combine sustainability with Industry 4.0.

A highlight of this year’s exhibition in Hall 11, booth D56, is the highly efficient combination of the KZV-111 pallet strapping machine (below) and the Luna A3 rotary arm stretch wrapper. This combination demonstrates how seamless process transitions optimise throughput times. The KZV-111 provides the foundation for maximum stability, whilst the Luna A3 wrapper ensures final protection against external influences. Thanks to the intelligent control system, both machines communicate directly with one another, which minimises the need for manual intervention and enhances operational reliability. “The combination of strapping and wrapping reduces material consumption whilst ensuring maximum transport security,” explains Alex Jesser, Technical Product Marketing Specialist.

Automation for fresh produce

Through its strategic partnership with Reisopack, Mosca is expanding its portfolio for specialist sectors: the Reisopack 2905 horizontal strapping machine is specifically designed for the fruit and vegetable sector. With an integrated vertical edge protection feeder, it stabilises and protects sensitive goods during transport. These solutions are the result of close technical coordination to meet the high throughput rates in logistics centres for perishable goods. “Our aim is to find the right automated solution for every specific industry requirement,” says Jesser.

Mosca is premiering the new Reisopack Fusion series. With optimised colour schemes and four frame sizes, it expands the range of applications and enables optimal handling of various belt widths and pack dimensions. “The Reisopack Fusion offers our customers the flexibility they need to respond to changing packaging trends and different container sizes,” confirms Jesser.

Innovation in series production

Visitors to the exhibition can also experience the SoniXs P7-Connect B in action. It marks the next step in fully digitalised applications. As the successor to the MP-6, it offers full connectivity thanks to the WebHMI interface. Performance data can be analysed in real time via the digital interface, forming the basis for optimised predictive maintenance. The integrated SoniXs ultrasonic sealing system enables the reliable processing of PP and paper straps. The proven ultrasonic sealing process operates without a heating phase and is therefore not only energy-efficient but also emission-free.

Sustainability with HUG and recyclable strapping

For manual tasks, Mosca presents the HUG hand strapping tool and the more powerful HUG+ version. Together with a shredder on display at the stand, the strapping experts will demonstrate how customers can immediately prepare strapping for the next recycling cycle – fully in line with the circular economy.

Speaking of strapping: At Interpack, Mosca is exclusively showcasing the prototype of a new grey PP strap, which will be ready for market launch this autumn. Designed for bundling and sealing, the strapping consists of at least 35% post-consumer recycled material (PCR-PP) – a proportion that is deliberately highlighted by the grey colour. The fully recyclable strap is free from critical substances and combines regulatory compliance with maximum functionality for shipping and industry.

With this recycled content, the strap is already future-proof today: on the one hand, it meets the future EU requirements for transport packaging under the PPWR (effective from August 2026). On the other hand, it exceeds the 30 per cent threshold required by the UK’s Plastic Packaging Tax (effective from April 2027). “The new grey PP strap is compatible with all Mosca strapping machines,” emphasises Jesser. “The grey colour scheme is deliberately used to provide a clear visual distinction from straps without a recycled content.”

Asda’s Dual-temp Moving Double Decks

Posted on by David Priestman

Asda has begun introducing to its fleet an additional 55 temperature-controlled step-frame moving-deck double deck trailers manufactured by Tiger, following successful trials last year. The order is Tiger’s first for the dual-temperature variant of its refrigerated lifting deck trailer and will provide versatility for transporting chilled and frozen goods across the retailer’s network.

These new trailers deliver safer load stability, cargo capacity of up to 43 pallets or 72 cages, and reduced running costs and environmental impact through fewer journeys and streamlined maintenance.

Chris Hall, VP Asda Logistics Services, comments:

“We’re very pleased with these new dual-temperature moving double deck trailers from Tiger. This is Asda’s third year collaborating with the manufacturer and from our team having regularly visited Tiger’s factory it’s always been clear to see their ongoing innovation, flexibility, and attention to detail, along with impressive support.”

Asda’s trailers have been designed with a lower deck height of 1940mm and an upper deck height of 1860mm, giving the supermarket optimal clearances and air flow for its operations. The three-quarter-length 10-tonne-rated lifting deck is powered by Tiger’s in-house four-ram hydraulic system. The deck is operated by buttons that are accessible from both ground level and bay height, as part of Tiger’s ‘operator first’ approach to safety. Carrier HE19 fridge units with MHS2200 single-discharge evaporators take care of the dual-temperature capabilities.

The bespoke specification delivered for these trailers includes deep-insulated floor slabs, alloy flooring to suit MHE use, a temperature-retaining shutter at the rear and a heavy-duty gate at the front of the moving deck, multi-purpose load securing, an LED fuel gauge, and reinforced rear bay protection buffers.

Darren Holland, Tiger Trailers’ Sales Director, says:

“Asda is an integral part of Tiger’s customer base and it’s exciting to have worked closely with them on their latest refrigerated double deck trailers, which are the pinnacle of what we currently offer as a manufacturer. We’re proud that each generation of trailers we supply Asda with incrementally raise the bar when it comes to design, engineering, safety and sustainability”.

Axscend TrailerMaster tyre pressure monitoring and electronic brake performance monitoring systems are fitted to the trailers, along with the Haldex TEM Safe Parking Valve, Nexus’ ground-level sliding coupling, and extra protection to safeguard the fridge and trailer against tree damage.

Tiger has been building refrigerated trailers and rigid bodywork since 2020 in partnership with Spanish manufacturer LeciTrailer. The innovative moving-deck double deck model was launched in 2024 and Tiger offers competitive lead times.

Asda’s latest trailers from Tiger are finished in the retailer’s bold ‘Delivery from a to brie’ cheese and ‘Packs a crunch’ carrot liveries, with ‘Not all jams are bad jams’ rear doors. They join the 485 existing trailers the Cheshire manufacturer has supplied to the supermarket to date which include ambient double decks and short-length ‘urban’ single-deck fridge trailers.

Co-Packing is Supply Chain’s Safety Valve

Posted on by David Priestman

Co-packing and repacking are shifting from a last-resort cost into a strategic buffer for brands facing late-stage packaging disruption, writes Bartosz Grajewski (pictured, below), Sales Director at Transpak Copacking.

In an ideal supply chain, packaging decisions are locked months in advance, aligned with regulatory requirements, retailer expectations and production plans. In practice, manufacturers regularly face late regulatory changes, transport damage and last-minute promotional ideas that collide with the rigid realities of high-volume lines. When that happens, co-packing and repacking providers can act as a safety valve – absorbing packaging work outside the factory so core operations keep running. Three recent scenarios illustrate the pattern.

Local language, global line

A large personal care brand was preparing to enter the Baltic markets with an existing range. Retailer and regulatory requirements meant packs needed compliant local-language labelling before reaching shelf. But the volumes for three new markets were modest compared to the brand’s global runs. Stopping a high-speed filling and labelling line for a small, market-specific batch would have meant lost capacity and an unattractive cost per unit.

Instead, the company shipped a standard version of the product and outsourced relabelling to a specialist co-packer in Central Europe. Finished goods arrived, compliant labels were applied in the required languages, and products were prepared for local distribution. Decoupling production from market-specific packaging turned a regulatory bottleneck into a manageable adaptation step.

Marketing outpaces manufacturing

Another FMCG brand was preparing an in-store promotion for the peak holiday season – gift sets combining standard products with a limited-time bonus item in an unusual pack size. The concept resonated with retail partners, but the promotion had not been aligned early with manufacturing. By the time volumes and dates were confirmed, the production plan for the core range was locked.

Outsourcing the kitting turned out to be the fastest, least disruptive solution. The co-packer handled physical assembly, bonus-item placement, promotional labelling and shelf-ready preparation. The brand kept its core schedule intact while delivering the seasonal campaign on time. For the retailer, the only thing that mattered was that packs arrived ready to merchandise.

Damage in transit

A third scenario involved a North American metalworking-tools manufacturer shipping a mixed pallet load into Europe. The tools themselves were robust, but the journey was not kind to the outer packaging: a significant share of retail cartons arrived crushed or torn. Product quality met specification, but visibly damaged packaging risked returns and brand damage at point of sale. Sending stock back across the Atlantic would have been prohibitively expensive.

A local repacking partner received the shipment, separated intact packs from those needing attention, sourced new packaging, checked labelling and prepared the goods again as saleable stock. What could have been a costly write-off became a manageable recovery project that preserved both revenue and customer relationships.

A flexible buffer

None of these situations were part of the original plan, yet all are increasingly common in complex, international supply chains. Late regulatory changes, ambitious marketing ideas and transport incidents are difficult to eliminate – the real question is how quickly and efficiently manufacturers can respond.

Treating co-packing and repacking as a strategic buffer, rather than a last-resort fire-fighting cost, gives brands more options when reality diverges from the plan. The ability to adapt packaging after production, closer to the point of sale, can be the difference between delaying a launch and keeping products flowing to customers.

Battle to Control Packaging Costs

Posted on by David Priestman

Transit packaging material prices have been severely impacted by the conflict in the Middle East. But unlike other areas of business operation, there are clear ways of mitigating the risks and reducing costs, writes Chris More (pictured, below), UK Sales Director at Packsize.

Conflict in the Gulf has had an immediate, severe, and probably long-lasting impact on packaging material costs and it is easy to feel helpless in the face of this turmoil. However, shippers can take back an element of control in one simple move – by using the right size box.

On manual, or even semi-automated, packing lines when packing an assortment of goods into a single box or carton, the temptation is always to reach for a box that is safely (or too often, grossly) larger than that strictly required. But this is inherently wasteful, and under the present circumstances, increasingly expensive.

However, by exploiting automated ‘right-size’ boxing technology businesses can combat waste and expense on three fronts.

  1. Eliminate plastics
    With many of the familiar void fill products used in transit packaging, such as bubblewrap and Polystyrene shapes, made from plastic materials derived from oil and gas, prices for these products are bound to rise significantly. Since the start of the conflict the benchmark Brent crude has moved from $73 per barrel to well north of $100 and may yet go much further. Availability of these products are also likely to be impacted, as an increasing proportion of world supply now comes from the Gulf oil and gas producing countries themselves – both production facilities and of course shipping through the Straits of Hormuz are, to put it mildly, compromised. So why are businesses cramming these increasingly expensive materials – which are also environmentally unfriendly – into the voids of oversized packages? There is an alternative approach: by right-sizing, shippers can often eliminate the need for void fill – plastic or otherwise.
  2. Use less board
    Fluted board of course doesn’t derive from petrochemicals. But the conversion processes, from timber to pulp, and then into board, are again energy intensive and unless the mills are fortunate enough to have easy access to hydro-electricity, energy bills will inevitably rise and with them the factory gate price of card and board.
    As timber has to be hauled out of often inaccessible locations, and as finished board delivered to users often at a considerable distance, pricing will also reflect increases in road diesel and ships’ bunkers.
    Packsize finds that its clients typically save up to 29% of their board costs by right sizing. Combined with the elimination of void fill, their bill for packaging materials can be reduced by 35% or more.
    It has also been noted that there is a general trend in e-commerce in particular, predating the current conflict or even the ‘cost of living’ crisis, for consumers to place a higher number of smaller orders. That means that packaging – including wasted packaging – tends to form a greater proportion of each consignment.
    In addition, if anyone needed further incentives to reduce packaging material use, the introduction of Extended Producer Responsibility levies on packaging materials in the UK has added another layer of cost to transit packaging materials. Likewise, those operating in the EU or selling to that market will start to feel the impact of the EU’s Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulations when they are applied in August.
  3. Save on transport
    That leads to our third front in the cost control battle. Transport fuel costs are often the very first area to react to this sort of crisis. By right sizing consignments, it is possible to load many more packages onto a single vehicle – in most cases it is volume, not weight, that is the ruling factor. With higher packing density there is greater potential to reduce the number of trucking journeys out of the distribution centre and ‘last mile’ couriers, using smaller vehicles, may be able to carry a full shift’s worth of drops rather than having to return to the depot for reloading.
    What’s more, savings in ‘volumetric weight’, the basis for charging by airlines and many other carriers, can be significant. These are economic and environmental benefits that are important at any time, but especially now.

Packsize’s automated ‘right size’ packaging solutions offer many other benefits, including high throughput, significant labour reductions and reduced scope for error and damage. These attributes ensure that payback is often measured in months rather than years, and in the current cost environment, the ‘right size’ proposition is ever more attractive.

PODCAST – “Good Enough” to Future-Ready: Designing Delivery Networks

Posted on by Will Priestman

Are your delivery operations just “good enough,” or are they truly optimized for the future? This question is vital in today’s rapidly evolving logistics landscape, where customer expectations, technology, and sustainability goals are constantly shifting.

In this episode of Logistics Business Conversations, we explore how logistics companies can go beyond traditional methods and transform their delivery networks to stay competitive, efficient, and customer-centric. Drawing insights from industry expert, Gary Rosier-Taylor of Descartes, we delve into practical strategies for rethink delivery networks, leverage technology effectively, and prepare for the future.

Whether you’re managing a small fleet or a sprawling logistics operation, understanding these concepts can help you make smarter decisions today that secure long-term success.

Key Highlights:

  • Rethink Traditional Methods: Avoid the pitfalls of piecemeal growth and explore innovative solutions for a streamlined network.
  • Leverage Technology: Learn how AI and machine learning can revolutionize route planning and execution.
  • Embrace Sustainability: Understand the role of electric and alternative fuels in creating a greener logistics landscape.

Gary shares practical tips and real-world examples that can help you transform your logistics operations. Whether you’re a small operator or a large fleet manager, these insights are crucial for staying competitive in today’s market.

Listen now to gain valuable knowledge and take your delivery network to the next level. Embed the player below to tune in directly!

Ocado Renews Long-Term Logistics Contract

Posted on by David Priestman

Third-party logistics provider CEVA Logistics has renewed its contract with the world’s largest dedicated online supermarket retailer, Ocado Retail. This reinforces their successful relationship and supports the online retailer’s continued growth in the UK.

The renewed agreement will see CEVA continue to operate as a national consolidation centre for Ocado Retail. CEVA will manage the bulk storage of ambient products and distribute approximately to all seven of Ocado Retail’s Customer Fulfilment Centres (CFCs), which dispatch end-customer orders.

Ocado Retail’s volumes through CEVA have grown significantly year-on-year. To accommodate this increase, CEVA has reconfigured its warehouse design at its Kettering facility to process changes in pallet configuration and changes in SKU profile, significantly increasing storage capacity while maintaining impeccable service continuity.

Operational transformation drives efficiency and scalability

As part of the renewal process, CEVA successfully delivered a major operational optimisation programme, including a redesigned warehouse management system (WMS), new pick-face implementation, enhanced replenishment processes and updated put away logic. These improvements have increased outbound efficiency while maintaining full service levels throughout the transition.

CEVA’s Kettering facility now provides Ocado Retail with greater stock cover, stabilising and increasing product availability for end customers and enabling the business to manage peak trading periods year-round.

CEVA’s role as a consolidation centre allows Ocado Retail to optimise its CFC operations, ensuring consistent product flow, improved network efficiency and the scalability required to support long-term growth.

Tim Walker, Supply Chain Director, Ocado Retail, said: “We trust CEVA Logistics to support our growth, consistently adapting to our evolving operational requirements. The team’s ability to implement major system and layout changes while maintaining service has supported in improving efficiency and helped ensure product availability.”

Mike Weaver, managing director, Contract Logistics, CEVA Logistics, said: “This contract renewal reflects the tangible value delivered through our responsive logistics solutions. By combining operational excellence, continuous improvement and scalable infrastructure, we enable Ocado Retail to meet rising consumer demand. We look forward to further developing this successful partnership.”

New Circular Pallet for Sustainable Logistics

Posted on by David Priestman

As European businesses, including FMCG companies face mounting pressure to meet tighter sustainability regulations while maintaining efficient, cost-effective operations, Tosca, in partnership with Cabka, has introduced a new solution designed for the challenge. Launched this week, the Euro-sized Tosca Circular Pallet (CP 1208) is the next-generation pallet designed specifically for modern, automated and regulation-compliant supply chains.

“With increasing automation, tighter regulations, and rising sustainability expectations across FMCG and retailers’ supply chains, the demands placed on pallets are evolving.’’ says Laurent Le Mercier, EMEA President at Tosca. “Our new circular pallet gives producers, growers, and retailers a standardised, automation-ready, PPWR-compliant alternative that improves efficiency, enhances worker safety, and supports a truly circular supply chain without disrupting existing operations.”

Designed for supply chain efficiency

Engineered to integrate seamlessly into existing operations, the Tosca CP 1208 pallet delivers the consistency and reliability that automated, large-scale environments demand. Its 1200 x 800 mm Euro-standard dimensions ensure full compatibility and integration with Euro-size pallet handling equipment, eliminating the need for costly retrofits or process changes. Rounded skid edges also help minimize damage during forklift handling, reducing impact points compared with traditional square skid designs.
The Tosca CP 1208 provides a stable, standardized platform that allows companies to modernise their supply chains efficiently, without disruption or major infrastructure investment.

“This pallet demonstrates what circular logistics should look like in practice,’’ says Alex Masharov, CEO of Cabka. “By transforming recycled plastic into high-performance transport assets, we enable supply chains that are both more efficient and more sustainable. Together with Tosca, we are showing how circular materials can become the new standard for FMCG, retail and wider logistics.’’

Designed to work seamlessly with Tosca’s reusable plastic crates, integrated deck grooves securely lock crates into place without strapping, enabling stable, safer double-stacked transport and efficient load handling. RFID integration further enhances traceability, asset management, and full supply chain visibility.

Durable, hygienic reusable plastic alternative to wooden pallets

The Tosca CP 1208 is non-porous, easy to clean and splinter-free, making it ideally suited to FMCG, growers’ and retailers’ environments where hygiene, product protection and quality are critical. Its robust plastic construction is made from a unique blend of recycled plastic and includes integrated drainage holes to prevent water build-up and reduce moisture retention. Overall, this helps resist contamination and damage while maintaining consistent performance in automated storage and retrieval systems. Additionally, leveraging recycled content reduces dependence on volatile input markets, supporting more stable operational costs throughout the year.

Supporting safer handling across the supply chain

Crucially, its ergonomic design includes smoothly integrated, well-positioned top-deck handles, enhanced stability and anti-slip features to improve handling safety across the supply chain, from warehouses and packing stations to retail distribution centres. The pallet is also more than 4 kg lighter than traditional wooden pallets, making it easier to lift and move during daily operations.

Beyond operational efficiency, this supports the social pillar of ESG by helping reduce physical strain on employees and lowering the risk of injuries associated with manual handling. By combining lighter plastic with a stable, ergonomic design, and top-deck handles, the pallet contributes to safer and more comfortable working environments across modern high performing logistics operations.

“In high-throughput environments, efficiency and worker safety go hand in hand,” says Le Mercier. “By improving stability, grip and ease of handling, the Tosca CP 1208 helps reduce manual strain and the risk of musculoskeletal injuries, creating safer working conditions while supporting operational performance.”

Built for PPWR compliance and circular performance

With the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) reshaping logistics and packaging strategies, supply chains now require reusable, recyclable and traceable solutions by design. The Tosca CP 1208 is engineered to support supply chains in achieving PPWR and EPR compliance, offering a future-proof alternative to wooden pallets, which require ISPM-15 heat treatment or fumigation and are less compatible with circular reuse models.

Made from 100% recycled plastic and designed to be repaired, reused and ultimately recycled at end of life, the circular pallet embodies Tosca’s pooling-based circular economy approach. Its durability and modular repairability lower total cost of ownership while eliminating waste associated with single-use short-lived assets.

“At Tosca, we don’t simply supply a pallet,” concludes Le Mercier. “We partner with customers to manage assets and deliver supply chain performance, meet regulatory requirements, and turn circularity into a lasting competitive advantage.”

The Tosca CP 1208 is the next step in the company’s commitment to helping food and beverage supply chains become safer, more sustainable and more efficient. By combining a circular design with Tosca’s expertise in pooling and asset management, it demonstrates how companies can achieve regulatory compliance and operational excellence while advancing a long-term, sustainable supply chain strategy.

Supply Chain Execution Standardised Nationwide

Posted on by David Priestman

Infios has announced that POCO, Germany’s largest furniture and home improvement discounter, has successfully gone live with Infios Warehouse Management (WM) at its Trebbin logistics centre. The deployment marks the first milestone in a multi-site program to standardise and modernise supply chain execution across POCO’s nationwide logistics network.

Founded in 1989, POCO specialises in affordable home furnishings, kitchens, electrical goods and DIY products. The company operates 127 stores alongside a rapidly growing e-commerce business. Its logistics network includes a central goods-receiving warehouse, several regional distribution centres, and a highly automated e-commerce fulfilment centre. Growing operational complexity had outgrown the capabilities of its legacy ERP-based warehouse and logistics modules.

Furniture logistics presents distinct challenges, including bulky and heavy goods, variable packaging formats, and, in particular, multi-package items that must be stored, picked and shipped as coherent units while maintaining full transparency at the component level. These requirements demand a high level of execution intelligence, orchestration and real-time visibility that traditional ERP-based modules are not designed to deliver.

By implementing Infios WM, POCO is decoupling warehouse execution from ERP and establishing a modular, best-of-breed architecture purpose-built for intelligent supply chain execution. The solution enables standardised core processes across sites while flexibly adapting workflows, automation interfaces, and labour processes – including those unique to large-item and multi-package handling.

Seven-site program to harmonise logistics processes

The Trebbin go-live at the end of 2025 serves as the blueprint for further rollout. A second site will follow in 2026, with the remaining locations implemented using reusable templates and industry-specific configurations to accelerate time to value.

“Infios Warehouse Management delivers the execution intelligence needed to run complex, multi-channel supply chains at scale,” says Dirk Teschner, Senior Vice President and Managing Director at Infios. “For POCO, we have configured the solution to reflect the operational DNA of the furniture industry – particularly the precise co-ordination required for multi-package product handling.”

As part of Infios’s Intelligent supply chain execution platform, Infios WM can be extended with complementary modules such as slotting and yard management, positioning POCO to further optimise inbound, outbound and inventory management processes as its business continues to grow.

How to Fix Fuel Supply Planning

Posted on by David Priestman

With global fuel supply networks fragile and constantly shifting, you need modern logistics planning. That means continuous replanning, realistic constraints, and thorough scenario evaluation.

This article, by Dr. Debdeep Banerjee – Senior Presales Lead at DELMIA, Dassault Systèmes, explores the evolving nature of these networks and provides actionable steps to help you transform a chaotic process into a production-ready Minimum Viable Product (MVP) in just four weeks.

Planning Fuel Logistics During Endless Disruptions

Fuel supply networks operate in a vastly more exposed environment than they did just a few years ago. Recent disruptions across critical maritime energy corridors demonstrate exactly how quickly routing, inventory positions, freight economics and supply continuity break down when a single point of instability ripples across the wider network.

Consider that roughly one-fifth of global crude, refined products and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) trade normally passes through one such critical corridor. Recent disruptions there have sharply raised oil price forecasts, freight costs and insurance premiums. While this is clearly a geopolitical story, it’s equally a logistics planning problem.

Fuel operators now face an almost unlimited range of interacting variables. Vessel delays, demand swings, inventory constraints, charter cost inflation, labour rules and weather bottlenecks don’t arrive one at a time. They arrive together. You can’t build resilience by creating a single efficient plan and hoping conditions hold. Resilience comes from testing many scenarios, understanding trade-offs quickly and reworking your plan while operations are still moving.

A Highly Volatile Operating Model

The traditional planning model assumed a manageable amount of uncertainty. Transport plans were created in batches, dispatch windows remained relatively stable and dispatchers handled exceptions manually. That model is now breaking under immense strain.

Recent events in key energy shipping lanes have forced insurers, charterers and traders to reprice risk rapidly. Hull war-risk premiums recently rose from about 0.25% to around 3%, translating into millions of dollars in additional costs per vessel. Freight rates for LNG tankers also jumped sharply as supply and routing patterns fractured.

For planners, the core issue goes beyond cost inflation. The real danger is how disruption propagates. A delay at sea shifts berth timing. That delay affects terminal throughput, which changes inventory availability. Planners must then make entirely different routing decisions inland, often under tighter service windows and with fewer usable resources. A localized disruption becomes a massive network problem in a matter of hours.

The Multiplier Effect of Possible Disruptions

Planners spend most of their time maintaining data rather than making decisions. When a disruption hits, the response is manual and slow. Scenarios are not evaluated, they are guessed. And because the plan lives in a file rather than a system, every handoff between teams introduces another opportunity for something to go wrong.

Take fuel distribution. It always involves complexity. However, the current challenge lies in the sheer volume of variable combinations you must consider before making a decision. You’re rarely dealing with a single isolated event.

A logistics planner might need to account for all the following factors simultaneously:
• Reduced flow through a major transit corridor
• Sudden jumps in freight or insurance costs
• Inventory dropping toward a minimum threshold at one depot while another holds excess
• Changes in customer priority or allocation rules
• Shortages in compatible trailers or certified drivers
• Strict labour and rest-hour compliance constraints
• Low-emission or access restrictions in final-mile delivery zones
• Weather or port congestion altering arrival times
• Geopolitical turmoil changing route viability overnight

I explore these disruption patterns and their operational impact in more detail in our latest e-Book on fuel logistics resilience. No single static model can capture all of this in advance. Success depends on your ability to generate, compare and refine many possible scenarios rapidly. Organizations that respond quickly to disruptions are not faster because they have better reflexes. They are faster because they have already modelled the disruption before it happened. When the event occurs, they are selecting from a set of pre-evaluated options, not starting an analysis from scratch.

Resilience Begins with Constraint Realism

In fuel logistics, planning quality directly depends on execution realism. A plan that ignores contamination rules, compartment constraints, driver-hour regulations or equipment compatibility isn’t resilient. It’s simply an incomplete plan.

Why Real-World Constraints Matter

Plans must account for real-world constraints like driver certifications, cross-docking, multi-stop routing and regulatory compliance. This matters even more during disrupted conditions. When product flows tighten, you have far less room to absorb planning errors.

If a tanker delay forces a different delivery sequence inland, that new sequence still must respect labour rules, asset compatibility, customer windows and available stock. Your system can’t treat these factors as secondary checks added after the fact. They must function as part of the core optimization engine. Resilience shows up in your operation as a plan that remains fully executable after the disruption has already started.

Buying Decision Speed with Scenario Planning

The most useful question a planner can ask is rarely, “What’s the best plan?” Instead, the better question is, “What happens if our primary assumption no longer holds?”

What if a major corridor stays constrained for another week? What if charter costs rise further? What if a terminal misses its unloading slot? What if you must source product from a completely different origin?
Organizations that model these possibilities in advance hold a distinct advantage when market conditions change. They don’t start from zero. They simply move from one pre-tested decision path to another. DELMIA emphasizes this heavily in our logistics and workforce planning solutions. By prioritizing what-if scenarios, tactical route creation and resource balancing, you shorten the critical time between a supply chain signal and your operational response.

From Chaos to Operational in One Month

One of the most common objections fuel organizations raise when evaluating planning platforms is the implementation timeline. Enterprise software projects with 12 to 18 month go-live windows are not attractive when the planning problem is urgent today.

The DELMIA Fuel Supply Optimizer (FSO) delivery model is structured around a different premise. The goal is not perfection at go-live. The goal is capability in four weeks.

Week 1: Demo Challenge:
The first week is not a sales demonstration. It is a working session. The client’s actual business rules, network structure and a representative sample of planning data are loaded into the platform. By the end of the week, the team has seen the system handle their specific constraints, not a generic example. Key pain points are identified and concrete evidence of how the system addresses them is documented. The 1-week challenge exists because the best way to evaluate a planning tool is to watch it plan a real network.

Weeks 2 to 4: MVP Build and Deploy:
Weeks 2 through 4 focus on moving from validated concept to production deployment. This covers ingestion of existing planning data from Excel-based workflows into a structured, integrated planning and scheduling environment, configuration of the full constraint set, user training, and parallel running against the current process. By the end of week 4, a production-ready system is in place and planners are using it to generate real plans. This is not a pilot. It is not a sandbox. It is a live operational capability. Further optimization, additional scenario models and expanded capability can be layered on after go-live, but the core planning function is running from day one.

Week 4 (end of week): Delivery:
Full fuel inventory visibility across the network. Vessel planning and scheduling connected to inventory. Distribution planning with live constraint validation. Scenario planning capability the team can use without specialist support. Compliance monitoring for minimum stock obligations.

Turning Visibility into Action

Many fuel organizations now possess more supply chain data than ever before. But data alone doesn’t create resilience. True resilience depends on visibility tied directly to planning logic. When new information enters your network, your plan must adapt instantly. DELMIA’s logistics execution solutions emphasize continuous, real-time monitoring, track-and-trace capabilities and immediate feedback loops from the field. Disruption rarely announces itself as a single catastrophic event. It reveals itself slowly through updated ETAs, missed connections, delayed loading and shifting inventory positions.
A connected planning environment allows these weak signals to trigger automatic recalculations instead of manual firefighting. This empowers your organization to move away from reactive recovery and step into controlled, strategic adjustment.

Take Control of Your Fuel Supply Network

The ongoing pressure on global energy supply routes serves as a stark reminder: you must plan fuel logistics for instability, not around it. Disruptions will continue to emerge from operational, commercial, regulatory and geopolitical sources. All of them will threaten the shape of your plan.

This is where advanced planning platforms, such as DELMIA Quintiq, prove structurally essential. Logistics planning centres on multiple demand scenarios, intelligent route creation by zone, resource balancing and dynamic what-if evaluations across complex transport networks. You can use this unified planning framework to test the impact of delayed arrivals, reduced capacity, changed sourcing points, emergency reallocations or the temporary loss of a major transport corridor.

Resilience means asking better questions earlier, testing more possibilities before committing resources and adjusting your plan while you still have time to protect your service, margins and supply continuity. This capability is no longer an optional upgrade. It’s the basic requirement for operating a successful fuel network in a volatile environment.

Freight Platform Sets Weekly Loads Record

Posted on by David Priestman

European freight exchange Trans.eu has announced that it has reached a milestone in platform activity. In the final week of March 2026, the platform recorded a staggering 3.73 million load offers. This figure represents a 12% increase over the previous week and surpasses the long-standing peak from June 2025 by nearly 14%.

The surge comes during a period of significant geopolitical instability, particularly surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, which has driven increased volatility in global supply chains. Trans.eu’s data reflects this shift, with the Middle East market showing a notable 41.56% growth in previous weeks and continued high activity into late March. As maritime and trans-continental routes face disruption, the demand for flexible, secure road transport capacity within Europe has intensified.

While operational costs change weekly, sometimes daily, many contract rates remain behind. As margins tighten, more carriers are moving capacity to the spot market, where prices move closer to real-time conditions. This transition is driving a surge in available freight and increasing reliance on digital platforms like Trans.eu, that provide fast, secure matching.

The platform’s growth is led by key European hubs, with Poland recording a 37.4% increase over its four-week average (generating over 3.3 million loads), followed by the DACH region (+36.9%) and the Baltics (+25.4%).

At this moment of heightened volatility, with 35% of carriers operating under the risk of non-payment and operational costs peaking, Ewa Węgorkiewicz, Chief Commercial Officer at Trans.eu Group, emphasized the company’s responsibility to help close the industry’s trust gap.

Trust is the bridge between the cost of uncertainty and safe, mutually beneficial transactions for all parties,” Węgorkiewicz said. “We strive to become the place where transactions happen with confidence, making working outside the platform feel unnecessarily risky, by providing tools and guarantees, such as SafePay and our vetted network, that the outside world lacks.

The evolution is similar if we compare volumes seen for the entire month of March 2026 compared to previous month. As shown on the Trans.eu Freight Radar, an interactive map, both load volumes and spot rates have increased across nearly all of the 35 monitored countries. For example, volumes for Poland – Poland went up by nearly 85%, while volumes for the route of Poland to Germany increased by 10.5% March/February 2026. Germany domestic went up by 36%, Germany to Poland by 31.5% and Germany to France by 15.4%

In response to this increased pressure on supply chains, Trans.eu is accelerating its transition from a traditional freight exchange to an European Freight Platform, strengthening the heart of CEE road transport while seamlessly connecting freight capacity between Western and Eastern Europe.

Positioned as a safe haven for carriers, forwarders and shippers, the platform aims to secure freight execution without the risks of off-platform deals. It offers access to a rigorously verified community of over 40,000 European carriers, alongside SafePay, a payment guarantee ensuring carriers are paid for every load and helping forwarders gain instant credibility.

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