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3PL firm promotes first manager from fast-track programme

Posted on by David Priestman

Specialist 3PL logistics provider Europa Warehouse is celebrating the success of its Management Trainee programme, designed to give graduates an opportunity to fast-track a career in logistics.

A division of leading logistics provider Europa Worldwide Group, Europa Warehouse launched the programme in 2019, demonstrating its efforts to open doors for the next generation of talent.

Welcoming graduates looking to build a career in warehouse operations, the programme offers on the job training, giving individuals the skill set to quickly progress within the division.

Now, despite what has been a challenging year, Europa Warehouse is celebrating the growth and development of its team as its first trainee is promoted to Project Manager at Europa Warehouse.

With predictions that the ongoing growth in e-commerce could drive demand for 92 million sq ft of warehouse space across the UK by 2024, Europa Warehouse 3PL and logistics services are in high demand and going forward, the Management Trainee’s roles will be vital in sustaining growth and driving the business forward.

Europa Warehouse Logistics Director, Maria Torrent March comments: “Encouraging graduates to kick start a career in logistics and nurturing talent is a key focus for Europa Warehouse. The pandemic has shone a light on 3PL and logistics and sparked an interest for many young adults, and we are keen to offer opportunities and support.”

One of the programme’s recent success stories is Ram Odedra, who has been promoted to Project Manager at Europa Warehouse, Corby, before completing the two-year scheme. Ram found the opportunity on the Aston University graduate job portal and is now responsible for dealing with the new processes and contracts across Europa’s warehouses in Corby, Birmingham and Dartford.

Discussing why the Europa Warehouse Management Trainee programme appealed to him, Ram said: “The main factors that made me want to apply were the practical nature of the scheme and the chance to be able to work on projects across different areas and sites of the business. For example, I did my initial training at Minworth warehouse, then Northampton and finally Dartford. This meant that I could gain exposure to all aspects of Europa’s operations and in return, find the area that appealed most to my skill set.”

As part of the programme, a mentor is assigned to each Trainee to help guide development and ensure adequate support is provided.

Ram continues: “I am excited to be taking the next step in my career in logistics and progress within my new role. I would highly recommend the programme to anyone wanting to get involved in an operation where you are given live projects with real responsibility. Over the years, I have received an incredible amount of support and guidance working alongside Europa’s experienced professionals, as well as the flexibility to choose which direction I would like to take.”

Maria added: “Despite the challenges of Covid-19 and the increase in demand for warehouse space and 3PL services, we have ensured that employees continue to receive sufficient training and I am thrilled to see the success of Ram within our team. I look forward to watching others within the Europa team shine.”

Just last year, the division announced a recruitment drive for 120 new recruits following the launch of its 60m, state-of-the-art warehouse facility in Corby. The new site doubled Europa Warehouse’s logistics portfolio and has been constructed to a high-quality specification, including above-market standard 18 metre heights to facilitate three floors of mezzanines.

Europa Warehouse provides a range of value-added capabilities including e-commerce fulfilment, production services, inventory management, packing, labelling, special deliveries, final assembly, quality control and critical parts management.

BIFA hopes for “made-to-measure” Covid testing for incoming hauliers

Posted on by David Priestman

Freight forwarders are hoping that the introduction of a ‘bespoke Covid testing regime’ for hauliers arriving in England from outside the UK from April 6th, doesn’t throw another spoke into the wheels of cross channel trade, says Robert Keen, director general of the British International Freight Association (BIFA).

“Our members, which manage a significant proportion of the visible trade between the UK and the EU, have seen major disruptions to their operations for many months as a result of Covid; the changes to how import and export trade is conducted following the UK’s departure from the EU; as well macroeconomic issues affecting all modes of international freight transport.”

Earlier in March, when the UK government extended the deadlines of the Border Operating Model, BIFA said it was not surprised and welcomed the news that government will engage extensively with businesses.

Keen adds: “Controlling the spread of new Covid variants is critical and we want the new bespoke Covid testing regime for hauliers to work, but not impede trade flows. We invite government and its relevant agencies to work closely with us and our members and learn from the mistakes of the past when some political decisions were made that appeared to pay little regard to how visible international trade and the frontier actually works in practice.

“BIFA members are pinning their hopes that the bespoke Covid testing regime lives up to its billing and is made-to-measure, not off-the-peg. Creating more uncertainty will be of no use to anyone involved in managing the UK’s visible international trade.”

Disruption is the New Normal for Supply Chains

Posted on by Keith McKinley

2020 saw huge pressures and new challenges put on global supply chains. While the fallout from the pandemic undoubtedly forced retail businesses to adapt their processes, the reality is that there were many issues placing strain on supply chains well before 2020.

The disruption that plagues supply chains in the modern day has been shaped by increasingly complex consumer demands, the shift to e-commerce, smaller pick volumes and the increasing disengagement of workforces. Covid-19 has accelerated these issues, and for retail distribution centres and warehouse operators, a drastic change was required to meet evolving demands and mitigate business-threatening consequences of the volatile retail landscape, with research showing that even a short disruption of 30 days or less has the potential of a 3-5% impact on an organisation’s entire EBITDA. Disruption isn’t going to go away, so how can retailers embrace the opportunities in their warehouses and tackle it head on?

Going digital

Technology in supply chain management has enhanced dramatically in recent years, especially in the area of artificial intelligence and advanced analytics. Despite this, new research from REPL Group has uncovered that only 40% of global retailers asked have the flexibility within their systems to model for different scenarios, with an unsurprising but huge 83% saying COVID has heightened these issued and made forecasting a challenge.

AI can be leveraged to harness data, such as IoT-enabled fleet information, and help drive efficient decision making, while demand forecasting enabled by machine learning can help reduce waste, cost and ultimately improve the customer experience. Research by McKinsey found that 61% of executives reported decreased costs from the utilisation of AI in their supply chains.

The expansion of IoT into a wide range of devices also has its part to play here. Dynamic inventory tracking can provide real-time, automated feedback, while advanced management systems can automatically send and receive inputs from different stages of the chain back to centralised software, with advanced algorithms helping to raise efficiency. Connecting siloed data to a centralised system enhances the business’s overall resilience to external influences through better connectivity and increased visibility across the whole network.

Warehouse twinning

 It’s not just AI and IoT that has a role to play in managing disruption effectively for supply chains. As interruptions add a heightened level of pressure on warehouses, many have the catch-22 situation of needing to make improvements to layouts and workflows within their buildings to ease these challenges, but cannot afford to take the time to shut the premises down in order to do so. Digital twin simulations can provide the solution by creating a digital replica of the warehouse space. Here, operators can experiment with customised floorplans and workflows to decipher more efficient strategies for the future. Implementation of digital twins has only been accelerated by Covid-19 this year, with a third of mid to large-sized companies with IoT implementations looking to incorporate at least one digital twin by 2023.

Utilising a twin digital environment allows warehouse operators to analyse areas of the SKU mix for improvements, gain insight as to the where spikes of seasonal demand lie in certain products and gain visibility of the parts of the warehouse floor and supply chain process where automotive technologies can make a difference.

The human element

Elements of digitisation can also work towards freeing human resources from the mundane tasks that can easily take up most of their time. Goods to person systems allow for items to be brought to pickers, reducing time spent travelling across the warehouse floor, while self-driving carts reduce an employee’s milage by completing most of the aisle movement while travelling from the plant to the warehouse.

While extremely valuable during a time where social distancing between human workers should be maintained due to the pandemic, giving more time back to warehouse employees through these technologies also allows them to dedicate focus on more engaging and challenging tasks within the businesses, while meeting increased consumer demand.

Dealing with disruption

 While disruption now comes in many forms for warehouse operators, pursuing digitisation can provide the productivity, agility and robustness needed to deal with developing external pressures. The Covid-19 pandemic has undoubtedly pushed supply chains to make efficiency-driven changes, but it has also introduced a change in consumer shopping habits, with REPL’s research all highlighting that 53% of retail decision-makers were anticipating an increase in online sales at the start of 2021, bringing with it concerns on the supply chain impact.

Rather than viewing this shift as a further challenge for business operations this year, warehouse operators must instead consider the opportunities, acting now to increase supply chain efficiency and compete more strongly in an ever-more complex market.

Will Shepherd, Managing Partner Supply Chain, REPL Group

Procurement Transparency: The challenge of Aligning Supply Chain to Values

Posted on by David Priestman

In November, Apple stopped operations with one of its largest manufacturers in China. The iconic tech giant halted its supply from Pegatron following a discovery that thousands of student interns were being overworked. The result was disruption to Apple’s supply chain during a key trading period and a degree of reputational damage. This highlights the challenges inherent within supply chains and – with environmental and social governance (ESG) increasingly in focus – it is a timely reminder for all companies that might otherwise be content to underpin their operations with opaque supply networks.

Large global companies typically have some of the most complex supply chains and discoveries like this prove that even the best need to be continually vigilant. According to Apple, Pegatron went to “extraordinary lengths” to evade its oversight mechanisms. In this case, Apple was able to get ahead of the problem and imposed sanctions, but it underscores a problem. Clearly most businesses do not have the oversight capabilities of Apple, meaning their abilities to detect infringements will be inferior. If the Apples of this world can be hood-winked, albeit momentarily, the reality for many companies will be that of suppliers gaming systems to their advantage. That cannot however be an excuse for businesses to wave a white flag and step aside from responsibilities.

Consumers are demanding more of businesses and business must demand more of themselves. Public attitudes are having a large impact on consumer-facing companies. Today, big businesses have a growing responsibility to improve their monitoring, reporting and adherence to ESG standards. These ethical concerns are filtering into the business supply chain and, in turn, Procurement – on the frontline of purchasing goods and services – will be vital in driving ethical change.

An ethical ambition cannot be fulfilled however until the business understands the precise source of all its materials. Putting a framework in place to gain this overview is now essential, for which the solution lies partly in technology but not completely. Blockchain was heralded as having the potential to unlock supply chain transparency, however, the technology and lack of universal adoption means this is still some way off having commercial application. Businesses must therefore strive to get the basics right until such a utopia exists.

Specifically, companies should introduce effective mechanisms to identify, capture and track data on their supply chain. By pulling together data on their supply chain from different sources, they can identify any knowledge gaps and, therefore, where potential risks may lie. Once this initial mapping has taken place, the immediate gaps should be investigated and suppliers segmented into risk categories, giving firms a holistic, evolving snapshot of all potential ethical infringements.

Ultimately, the onus falls on businesses to source responsibly. It is more important than ever for businesses to have a full understanding of their supply chain, and this must be done sooner rather than later. The timing is fitting: most companies are rethinking their supply chains in the wake of the pandemic and, with ethical considerations becoming increasingly important, it presents a real opportunity for businesses to learn from Apple’s recent episode and review their procurement processes.

Authored by James Bousher, Director – Operations Performance at Ayming 

 

Software to Support Distribution of Covid Vaccines

Posted on by David Priestman

Huge logistical efforts are needed to for the distribution Covid vaccines worldwide. The vaccine doses have to be kept constantly refrigerated, which makes the challenges even greater. At Frankfurt Airport (FRA), Fraport has increased the number of its cold storage dollies for transporting temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical cargo. The software of the refrigeration control system has also been improved.

INFORM GmbH, a leading global provider of intelligent optimization solutions for airlines, airports and ground handlers, supports the security of the cold chains of these thermal transports. The fleet of now 20 thermo vehicles has a computerized control of the refrigeration. Special dialogs have now been built into the existing software, through which the driver can recognize the temperatures to be maintained, check them, and electronically document exact compliance. The solution thus makes an important contribution to the unbroken cold chain. “The upcoming distribution of vaccines will be a mammoth task that will tie up our capacities for many months,” says Stefan Reiss, Senior Operation Manager, Fraport. “The safety and reliability of the transport is our top priority. So, it’s only natural that we improve our existing systems once again.”

The modification of the existing cargo transport system was specifically commissioned with the safety of the upcoming vaccine transports in mind and was implemented on short notice. “The INFORM and Fraport teams worked together in a very coordinated manner,” Reiss said. “The fast and flexible approach allowed us to go live within a few days. Our partner, INFORM, responded quickly here and supported the specification process with their expertise.” The software changes now make it possible to document quality assurance even better. In addition, the system generates the aspects of preparation for other thermal units, such as heating up or cooling down the units in time, so that then they already have the required temperatures during transport.

The new dollies are called “Cool Box”. They enable temperature-sensitive products to be transported with pinpoint accuracy within a range of minus 20 to plus 30 degrees Celsius. Each transporter consists of two cabins that can be efficiently accessed from both sides. Each cabin is also equipped with an individual controllable cooling system. Even with the engine off and an outside temperature of 30 degrees Celsius, one cabin maintains the desired temperature for more than 60 minutes. The transporters continuously transmit up-to-date information on the load via an electronic temperature monitoring and tracking system.

Increase Output with Automated Labelling

Posted on by David Priestman

Save up to 5 minutes per label print job: Automate labelling to remove intermediate exports or data retyping from your production process.

Are you retyping label data or using intermediate data exports? Increase production output by improving label data quality while printing labels at greater speed on fixed or flexible locations with automated label printing directly from your ERP.

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Checkout our infographic and find out how you can implement automated labelling >>

 BRADY UK

 

UK Port of Tyne Increases Container Handling Ahead of Brexit

Posted on by Keith McKinley

In the final days of the transition period before Brexit and after 10 months of challenging supply chain conditions due to Coronavirus, The Port of Tyne in the UK has a clear message to shipping providers, cargo owners and freight forwarders.

“We’re fully open, there’s no congestion, goods are moving freely in and out of the port and we are doing everything we can to help ports in the south east of the UK. Port of Tyne has extra capacity to further increase our cargo handling volumes and we’re here to keep Britain moving,” says Richard Newton, Commercial Director for Logistics at Port of Tyne.

The Port of Tyne is one of the UK’s leading deep-sea ports, takes almost 90% of the world’s largest ships and has been working tirelessly to support container movements and minimise the current delays faced by end users in the region. Due to increased volumes of goods arriving for the Christmas festive period and the legacy supply chain impact of Covid-19, in recent weeks the Port of Tyne has seen a significant increase in vessel calls and associated container volumes.

To alleviate the supply chain disruption seen at ports elsewhere in the UK, the Port of Tyne has been supporting shipping lines and feeder operators by allocating additional berths to assist in the evacuation of empty containers to a variety of north European ports for European consumption. This ensures containers are used for loaded export shipments and reduces the number of empty containers shipped back to Asia.

Richard Newton adds: “We are here to help everyone in the supply chain including shipping lines, freight forwarders, end users and hauliers, and we want to demonstrate that there has never been a better time to re-configure supply chains and shipping routes into the UK. We’ll handle your containers so that the environmental, cost and efficiency benefits from shipping goods closer to the point of consumption are realised.”

 

Game on for Bulgarian e-commerce

Posted on by David Priestman

With lockdowns around the world this year, many have relied on e-commerce as a way to shop, and even with many physical stores now allowed to re-open, consumer behaviour continues to change at unprecedented speed.

A leading e-commerce business in Bulgaria, ozone.bg, cited a 55% increase in online orders a few weeks into March compared with pre-lockdown sales. Other events, such as Black Friday and seasonal peaks has led the company to modernise its distribution centre near Sofia.

With a wide product range within the gaming industry, Ozone.bg needed a partner who could deliver an order picking solution that could collect multiple products in different areas or floors. Engineering company, STAMH was selected.

STAMH’s engineering and software teams re-organise the centre to allow areas and systems for the storage of palletised goods, space for small goods storage and a sorting area for orders. In addition, the team built packing areas.

STAMH also build an automated and mechanized storage system that would work on 3 different levels. In order to do this STAMH built a gravity roller conveyor to connect the second and third storage levels as well as the packing and sorting areas on the ground level (pictured above).

Once, the pre-assembled order or package is packed and ready for shipment, it’s placed along a motorized roller conveyor. This conveyor line drives the package to the area, where it’s automatically sorted and leaded to the area of each courier company. Each package can be placed anywhere along the conveyor line for boxes and trays.

The distribution centre now has a barcode scanning system to allow for faster order processing and sortation.

Nadezhda Blagoeva, Technical Director in STAMH says, “The conveyor system connects different areas and speeds up all processes in the logistics base. In a very intuitive way, conveyor lines organize orders preparation processes.

“Warehouse operators no longer have to carry heavy trays and packages across long distances. They are organized in different areas and manual work is significantly reduced. Now, thousands of new orders are prepared much faster and in a more efficient way”.

Based in Sofia, STAMH built a new mobile racking system earlier this year for ice cream business, CERMAT. For more information on this project  click here.

New Packaging Process that is over 99% Plastic-Free

Posted on by David Priestman

E-commerce retailer Internet Fusion Group has created a sustainable packaging process that is over 99% plastic-free. Investments in two Quadient CVP-500 automated packaging machines and switching to Corrugated Fanfold material from Ribble Packaging, have aided with their pursuit of an environmentally sustainable right size packaging process.

To highlight the full extent of their achievements, Internet Fusion have released a report investigating the environmental effects of paper-based packaging versus plastic packaging products. The report explores the full manufacturing process of both paper and plastic packaging, through to the recyclability and long-term environmental effects once a package has reached its destination. Head of Sustainability at Internet Fusion, Adam Hall said; “Our customers are tired of plastic pollution, and we are tired of the justifications being put forward for continued plastic production in the middle of a marine plastic crisis. When you dig a little deeper these arguments simply don’t stack up, so we felt it was time to share the decision-making process that has led us to our packaging being over 99% plastic-free. Our customers choose us because of our environmental efforts and in turn, we choose Ribble for the same reasons – it’s partnerships such as these that can shift a whole industry towards a more sustainable future.”

Right Size packaging specialists Ribble Packaging supply Internet Fusion with over 75% of their packaging material in the form of Corrugated Fanfold board, a versatile fully recycled and recyclable cardboard product that feeds many of the leading automated packaging systems in the UK.

Stephen Rector, Managing Director of Ribble Packaging, commented on Internet Fusion’s success: “It is fantastic to see that Ribble products are helping our customers in creating more environmentally sustainable packaging processes. We also see the need to improve our in-house operations to make them more sustainable.”

Earlier this year, Ribble embarked on a project to make their operations carbon neutral. Stephen added; “We understand the need to focus on the effects our manufacturing process has on the environment, this has led to us embarking on a carbon-neutral project that will see us embrace new sustainable technologies and practices. Our products allow customers to create a more sustainable packaging process, but we can enhance these benefits by offering a carbon-neutral manufacturing process as well.”

BEUMER Group wins Chairman’s Manufacturing Performance Award 2020

Posted on by David Priestman

With its AFR Systems (Alternative Fuels and Raw Materials) business unit, BEUMER Group supports cement producers in feeding calciners and main burners with alternative fuels and raw materials. The system provider develops complete solutions for efficient handling of different materials. The Portland Cement Association (PCA) has now named BEUMER Group as a winner of the renowned Chairman’s Manufacturing Performance Award 2020.

 The production of cement has always been one of the most energy-intensive operations. In order to avoid expensive primary fuels such as carbon, gas and oil, and to produce cement in a more economic and sustainable way, many factories have relied on alternative fuels for the incineration process in the calciner for several years. These include waste tyres, rubber chips, plastic or other oleaginous mineral materials as well as processed industry/household waste. With its AFR Systems business unit, BEUMER Group supports cement manufacturers with extensive know-how and customised systems. With this capability, it is able to supply and install the whole chain from acceptance and unloading of the delivery vehicle up to the storing, conveying and feeding process of the solid alternative fuels for the specific user. The customer receives everything from one source, thus having a unique contact. The system provider has now been honoured for this with the Chairman’s Manufacturing Performance Award 2020, presented by the Portland Cement Association (PCA), a leading organisation in the cement industry. “I am very honoured to receive this recognition on behalf of BEUMER Group,” said Brian Giese, BEUMER Corporation Director of Business Development, Conveying & Loading. “It demonstrates our commitment to support cement manufacturers in their efforts to make production greener and more sustainable.”

 

Founded in 1916, the PCA is the premier policy, research, education, and market intelligence organization serving America’s cement manufacturers. The award recognises achievements in three areas, the development of innovative products, unique processes, and best-in class-practices, and was presented to three companies this year.

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