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Tag: freight forwarding

Brexit Supply Chain Management

Posted on by David Priestman

A provider of bespoke business services has announced the launch of a Brexit support package that will assist the management of supply chains and support companies whose staff travel to work across the EU.

Jigsaw Business Group – headquartered in the North East of England – has already in its 25 years of business carved a reputation for providing bespoke business services and transforming supply chains for global brands across Rail, Automotive, Renewables and many other STEM manufacturing Industries.

The business – over the last nine months – has applied these skills to develop a Brexit roadmap that will support manufacturing and operational locations across the EU with both supply chain management and, particularly, the movement of staff and recruitment.

This includes:
• A confirmed pool of in country EU contract staff across all 27 member countries
• An established pool of UK staff who have Frontier Worker status
• A country by country EU requirements matrix that identifies what is needed by citizens of UK Businesses to work in the EU
• Patented secure monitoring technology that allows clients to remotely see and verify, in real time, what is happening in supply chains, enabling fact driven discussion and action planning to transform the way companies collaborate and manage their supply chains.

Speaking about the company’s preparedness for Brexit, Executive Chairman of Jigsaw Business Group, Dean Stennett said: “Brexit in whatever form, will place additional administrative burdens on any UK business importing or exporting product and where staff need to work across the EU.

“Combine this with the recent impact of Covid-19, and we have witnessed a fragility to the modern supply chain like never before seen. Manufacturing businesses are now looking to design smarter, stronger and more diverse supply chains where a balance of near shoring, lower cost manufacturing, and digitization are seen as being key to building more robust supply chains and ensuring a lasting recovery. With more than 25 years’ experience supporting the management of client supply chains across the EU and Asia, Jigsaw Business Group can offer the same support to those companies now affected by the Brexit transition. We have spent more than nine months at Jigsaw Business Group preparing for all options when it comes to the end of the Brexit transition and, be it a Hard or Soft Brexit, we are making sure we can support our clients and other businesses through this transition,” added Stennett.

And, the company’s planning and innovation doesn’t stop there. The company’s recent launch of its unique patented technology – Jigsawsafe® – has seen Jigsaw Business Group take the market by storm with the first product of its type designed to support teams to collaborate remotely, gather and store data and safely enabling teams across various global locations to be onsite from their desk.

“As part of our nine-month Brexit planning we were already well underway with the development of Jigsawsafe® as part of our efforts to drive down costs, reduce response times, increase staff safety, limit carbon emissions and eliminate supply chain fragility for our clients,” Stennett continued. “Recent world events have accelerated the development of and demand for Jigsawsafe® as companies across the globe look to transform their supply chain strategies and keep their workers safe.”

Jigsaw Business Group is a leading provider of business services, delivering supply chain management, business improvement, recruitment and training and development services. The company specialises in working with clients in a range of sectors from rail, automotive and energy through to aerospace, manufacturing, engineering and retail. The business works in full accordance with all industry best practice standards including being certified to ISO9001:2015 across all its service areas.

Cooperative Logistics Network Surpasses 300 Members

Posted on by David Priestman

The Cooperative Logistics Network, the first international freight forwarding network with global coverage to launch instant quoting ability for its members, has set a new coverage record by adding its 300th agent. One major factor contributing to this growth is the fact that all members have had to pass a rigorous selection process, so only forwarders of the highest standards are part of the network.

“I am very excited about the sharp rise in the number of our members which is even more worthwhile bearing in mind the pandemic and the crumbling economy worldwide. This increase undoubtedly demonstrates the efficiency, cooperation among partners, productiveness, and expediency of the network which has been operational for the last 5 years,” says Antonio Torres, the President and Founder of The Cooperative Logistics Network.

Every year the Coop organizes an Annual Meeting which brings together all the members under one roof so that they can talk face to face and discuss the prospects of collaborating in the future. The increase in the number of cities covered definitely had a role to play in the outstanding success of the Virtual Meeting of 2020 and the record attendance of The Coop’s Annual Meeting in 2019 where more than 180 freight forwarders met at Abu Dhabi.

The Coop is also the first international freight forwarding network with global coverage to launch instant quoting ability for its members. FreightViewer – a member-exclusive transport management software – enables the members to instantly create professional and accurate door-to-door quotations by establishing an automated data transfer of carrier rates and tariffs. This year, The Cooperative has taken a step forward with the enhancements of this TMS by establishing agreements with some of the most prominent shipping solutions providers in the market.

Torres further adds, “As I see it, our key to success is the quality of the network, the wide international coverage, as well as the benefits offered. Our team always strives for more and better services, in order to provide members with the most innovative advantages- firstly, through our efforts to improve our TMS- FreightViewer and secondly, with the wide array of logistics and marketing tools. This year, for example, we have created a new personalized online brochure for members and we have launched our blog.” The Cooperative Logistics Network is presently represented by 304 independent freight forwarders from 130 countries spanning all five continents.

Precision Pricing Software

Posted on by David Priestman

Forensic profitability analysis for small and global businesses alike is available at a click with today’s supply chain software, as Paul Hamblin discovers.

Graeme Aitken has a job title I’ve never heard before: he’s VP Strategic Customer Pricing, part of the global pricing team at parcels and shipping behemoth DHL Express. In essence, he is available when the standard company pricing process becomes more complex. “If we have a profitability issue, whatever it is, I tend to get involved,” he says. “I also work on larger yield projects.So if we want to look at unprofitable customers, unprofitable lanes, I help come up with various yield initiatives.”

‘Complex’ in this context can mean several things. “It might mean complex operationally, where we might offer services beyond normal pickup and delivery, or it could be complex pricing. Examples might include running dedicated trucks to the customer; or we might have people working in the customer premises to process shipments on their behalf, perhaps including specialpackaging requirements or customs paperwork.”

Some years ago, as Head of Global Costing, Graeme Aitken built a new cost and profitability system for DHL Express. Historically, it was painstaking work, using the more basic spreadsheet skills available at the time and requiring detailed visits to DHL facilities to examine processes up close (“Time and motion studies, basically,” he sighs). By 2012, the company started to fully automate.
“So we now had every checkpoint for every shipment. Because we had that, we could cross reference it to the P&L, we could cross-reference it to the billing data. And we could produce margin data for every shipment that goes through our network.”

This is where data software vendor The Information Factory came in. The UK-based supply chain software specialist used this new profitability data to create a set of applications for Graeme Aitken and his
team which enable forensic analytical capability of DHL’s global network and processes. The results are astonishing levels of data knowledge that would have been inconceivable even a few
years ago.

How does it work, in layman’s terms? “We can look at groups of customers when we have a potential problem somewhere in the network. So, for example, we might have too much business on particular lanes. And if our planes are full, we either have to get a new plane, which is very, very expensive, or we take off the cheapest business that’s flying that plane; or we put in a rate increase, perhaps.”

The Information Factory has built the analytical capability to make these examinations very quickly. “Because I can specify a bunch of criteria,” Aitken goes on, “I can ask for, say, every shipment which is coming from Hong Kong, every shipment which is going to the US, every one over 30 kilos, or less than a certain price per shipment. With these high filter delivery percentages, I can specify such criteria and the system will immediately deliver, say, 50 customers that meet that criteria and need action.”

The data thrown up by the system is then shared with DHL’s relevant country management teams. “We will share everything with the country concerned, because the first thing we want to do
is check that the data is accurate,” Aitken explains. “If there’s a credit note, for instance, that needs to be taken into account. Then the country has everything it needs to fix the issue.”

All such knowledge is distributed through the system that The Information Factory built. “It creates the analysis at the front end, it’s the distribution tool for all the data, and then the country must come back and tell us what they’re going to do. And then we’ll go back to track it and measure the improvement.”

He says that The Information Factory is very good at building prototypes and showing what they can do for their clients, quickly. “It’s straightforward. Their experts say: ‘Here’s what we can do for you. Here’s how it’s going to work. Here’s a small testing set. Here’s how and why tests can be done quickly.’” And he wanted to succeed quickly, he confirms. “It can give me every customer with a margin of worse than minus 10%. If that’s too many, I make it minus 20, minus 25 minus 30. And I can run iterations of this stuff 20 times a day, if I wish. I will also go to the customer with the salespeople to discuss pricing. And you have this amazing information at your fingertips and you can show them why you’ve come up with the price you have. We can be very surgical in the actions we take.”

Logistics Group Strengthens European Network

Posted on by Keith McKinley

The international parcel logistics company GLS expects 30 to 40 percent more volume in the autumn and Christmas season. In 2020 the GLS Group has invested more than 150 million euros in the expansion of its European network.

“We are consistently driving forward the international capacity expansion and the sustainable orientation of our Europe-wide network,” explains Martin Seidenberg, CEO of the GLS Group. “This year has made it clear what an important role GLS plays in supplying the population. We see our investments as an important pillar of future-oriented and cross-border parcel logistics.”

This year the GLS Group opened more than twenty new locations throughout Europe and expanded the capacities of the existing facilities by up to 50 percent. The largest successfully implemented projects include investments in European hubs, such as Essen, Barcelona, Budapest and Poznan. Group-wide, more than 2,500 additional employees in parcel handling and over 6,500 vehicles in delivery and long-distance transport are deployed at the peak season.

“Our goal is to also handle the additional volume of international parcels for our customers smoothly and with the high quality they are accustomed to”, says Seidenberg. “We have also pushed ahead with the digitalisation of our parcel logistics – among other things with the latest generation of hand-held scanners for simple and direct interaction with our customers during parcel delivery. For the international e-commerce business, we offer an uncomplicated, cross-border returns service to customers who target their online offering to different countries. With the international ShopReturn Service , GLS thus underlines its European strength.”

At the same time, the peak season at all GLS locations in Europe, the USA and Canada is accompanied by corona-related measures, focusing on the safety of customers, employees and partners. Since the beginning of the pandemic, several million euros have already been invested, among other things in equipping the locations with appropriate protective equipment such as masks and disinfectants.

  • – Significant investment in the expansion of the European network
    – Parcel volume expected to reach record level
    – Covid-19: Continued focus on hygiene and occupational safety measures

The GLS Group provides reliable, high-quality parcel services to over 240,000 customers, complemented by freight and express services.  ‘Quality leader in parcel logistics’ is GLS’ guiding principle.

Volvo Invest to Drive Change in Logistics

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Volvo Group Venture Capital has invested in the Swedish tech company Adnavem. With an online marketplace for container freight and a platform that streamlines and simplifies cooperation between parties in a global transportation chain, Adnavem has recently attracted a great many customers, investors and logistics suppliers. The idea behind Adnavem is to shift power from the transport seller to the transport buyer through increased transparency on prices, lead times, carbon dioxide emissions, and data on delivery precision.

“Adnavem is the right kind of modern company, and we see great value in their new technique and innovative business model. It is important for us to be close to the digital transformation taking place in transport and logistics around the world,” says Erik Johansson, Investment Director at Volvo Group Venture Capital.

Digitalization driving change

Transport and logistics is a traditional industry with traditional working methods. Andreas Wramsmyr saw an opportunity to combine a digital marketplace with a brand new business model, which directly links the importer/exporter with the parties providing the actual services in the transport chain.

“Many industries have already used digitalization to eliminate the middlemen whose main task it is to broker services, and now it’s the turn of the transport and logistics sector. New technology is opening up new opportunities, and as companies place higher demands on sustainability and efficiency, a digitally-driven service like Adnavem creates that much more value. Our customers are clearly indicating that they’re looking for new, more efficient ways of working, and they want to reap the rewards of digitalization. We are delighted to be able to offer smart algorithms that optimize each individual transport based on environmental perspective, price or lead time, while the process is controlled automatically for greater business value,” says Wramsmyr, CEO and co-founder of Adnavem.

Adnavem currently operates in Sweden, China and Singapore. With this year’s new capital, the company will enter new markets and continue to develop the marketplace with new services and offerings.

Road Transport Capacity and Prices are Rising Again

Posted on by David Priestman

A new European survey has revealed that road transport demand is picking up, according to TMS supplier Transporeon.

• Compared to September 2020, 6.3% more road transport capacity was available in October on the European spot market.
• Compared to October 2019, less capacity was available (-20.3%).
• The rising price trend that started in June and July with a short interruption in August, continued in October. Compared to September 2020, prices rose by 3.6%.
• Prices have now reached the highest level this year and are above pre-crisis level.
• Year on year, prices have also risen by 1.2% compared to October 2019.
• The rise in the price level can be explained by the fact that the level of available capacity has been low for several months and prices are adjusting with a slight delay.
• The automotive industry continues its recovery, as shown by the rising prices on the spot market (+4.7% compared to September 2020). The decrease in available capacity (-3.6% compared to the previous month) is part of an ongoing development already observed since June 2020.

This is the result of the current evaluation of the transport market monitor (TMM). The online service is provided by Tim Consult on the basis of transport data of more than 1.8 million freight loads per year. The processed transport data, stemming from the spot market, is provided by Transporeon, Europe’s leading network provider for transport logistics services. The report is based on data available up to 09 November 2020.

“We are currently seeing the first increase in available transport capacities recorded since April this year. At the same time, we observe an ongoing trend for increasing prices. This is a normal development in times of generally low levels of available capacities on the spot market. This month’s data can be read as a sign that the positive price trend observed after the summer break was not just a seasonal phenomenon, but a sign for an economic recovery. The interesting question now is how the second wave of lockdowns in Europe will affect this development.”, said Oliver Kahrs, Managing Director of Tim Consult, a Transporeon subsidiary.

Agility Reports KD15.3m Net Profit for Q3

Posted on by David Priestman

Agility, a leading global logistics provider, today reported Q3 earnings of 8 fils per share on a net profit of KD 15.3 million, a decrease of 29.4% compared with the same period a year earlier. EBITDA declined 1.9% to KD 46.5 million, and revenue was flat at KD 403 million. Nine-month earnings stood at 16.47 fils per share on net profit of KD 31.5 million, a decrease of 50.4% over the same period in 2019. EBITDA declined 14.1% to KD 122.4 million, and revenue declined 0.7% to KD 1,168 million.

Tarek Sultan, Agility Vice Chairman and CEO, said: “While we – like many businesses – are still feeling the impact of COVID-19 we are also seeing recovery across most of our business lines, albeit with each business recovering at a different pace. Agility benefited from early and decisive measures taken to contain costs and preserve cash, and is well poised to navigate what is likely to continue to be a volatile market for some time. Agility remains committed to investing in technology that will transform our industry, expanding our digital logistics offerings, and bringing world-class warehousing infrastructure to fast-growing emerging markets.”

Global Integrated Logistics Q3 EBITDA was KD 18.5 million, a 35.2% increase from the same period in 2019. The improvement was primarily driven by significant cost reductions across the business. GIL’s Q3 net revenue was KD 71.4 million, 5.1% higher than the same period in 2019. Along with net revenue increases in Air Freight and Contract Logistics, there were net revenue declines in Ocean Freight, Fairs & Events and Project Logistics. GIL gross revenue was KD 305.7 million, a 7.3% increase from same period in 2019.  The Q3 Air Freight NR increase of 39.1% was driven by continued demand for exceptional shipments related to the Life Sciences vertical. Ocean Freight NR declined 14.5% when compared with Q3 2019, as a result of volume and yield compression. Air Freight and Ocean Freight volumes decreased in Q3 vs. same period in 2019, as a result of customers’ demand and production disruption arising from COVID-19 as well as capacity constraints.

Contract Logistics continues to experience strong growth (12.7% net revenue growth), mainly in the MEA Region (Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, UAE), where there was strong performance at new facilities, along with increased efficiencies. Fairs & Events (F&E) has been hurt significantly by Coronavirus-related event postponements and cancellations. Starting in Q1, GIL introduced a range of cost reduction measures intended to ensure continued strength of EBITDA performance in anticipation of falling global trade volumes. This positions GIL well for operating in the current environment. GIL continues to focus on operational productivity as well as customer solutions to respond to the changing market environment.

Agility’s Infrastructure Companies

Agility’s Infrastructure group EBITDA declined 16.5% to KD 31.6 million during the third quarter. UPAC, NAS and GCS were primarily responsible for the decrease, each reporting significant declines as a result of the pandemic. In contrast, Agility Logistics Parks (ALP) and Tristar proved resilient during this pandemic. Infrastructure group net revenue fell 24.4%, and gross revenue declined 15%. ALP experienced revenue growth of 5.6% in the third quarter. ALP continues to see increased demand for warehousing spaces from customers that are mainly suppliers of necessity goods. ALP is moving ahead with the developments in Kuwait, Saudi and Africa to meet customers demand.

Tristar, a fully integrated liquid logistics company, posted a 15.9% revenue decline mainly due to commercial fuel sales. Maritime segment has shown a healthy growth due to the deployment of new vessels on long term contract. Fuel Farm segment also reported an increase in revenue as compared to same period last year. At the profitability level, Tristar have achieved improvement in earnings mainly due to contribution from Maritime segment. Tristar contractual business model helped them to be resilient during this crisis and achieve a profitability growth compared to last year.
National Aviation Services (NAS) reported a Q3 revenue decrease of 46.1% but is beginning to see improvements in passenger traffic and flights. NAS Kuwait continues to suffer from the cap imposed by the government on the number of passengers/flights into/out of Kuwait International Airport. Other geographies NAS operate in performed well, and are experiencing a rebound. NAS VIP services and airport lounges have been mostly impacted, where, in most cases, lounges remain closed. Cargo remains a positive subsector for NAS.

The pandemic also has affected performance at United Projects for Aviation Services Company (UPAC), which saw revenues decline in the third quarter compared to last year; primarily due to the cessation of operations at the Kuwait International Airport during the lockdown period and subsequent resumption of traffic at a lower capacity. Business is starting to show signs of gradual recovery as UPAC continues taking measures to reduce the negative impact on its business.

At GCS, Agility’s customs modernization company, revenue fell 30.2% in this quarter compared to the third quarter of 2019 due to the decline in trade movement, though the negative impact of COVID-19 eased during Q3.

Recap of Agility 3rd quarter 2020 Financial Performance:
• Agility’s net profit decreased 29.4% to KD 15.3 million. EPS was 8 fils vs. 11.33 fils a year earlier.
• Agility’s EBITDA decreased 1.9% to KD 46.5 million.
• Agility’s revenue increased by 0.6%, to KD 403 million and net revenue decreased 9.7%.
• GIL revenue increased by 7.3% to KD 305.7 million.
• Infrastructure’s revenue declined 15% to KD 101.7 million.
• Agility enjoys a healthy balance sheet with KD 2.2 billion in assets. Net debt was KD 173.9 million (excluding lease liabilities) as of September 30, 2020. Reported operating cash flow was KD 115.2 million for the first nine months of 2020, an increase of 17.5%. more Agility news here

Long-term Airfreight Capacity Between Europe and USA

Posted on by David Priestman

GEODIS, a global logistics provider, has announced the continuation of its scheduled Own Controlled Network (OCN) service linking Europe and the USA. The current service, providing three full rotations each week, has been confirmed throughout 2021.

With transatlantic air freight capacity continuing to be tight and forecasted to remain so well into 2021, GEODIS is contracting freighters to operate within its OCN as part of its global AirDirect service offering. The 2021 schedule is confirmed between Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS) and Chicago O’Hare (ORD) with 3 departures and 3 return flights a week.

Eric Martin-Neuville, Executive Vice President, Freight Forwarding of GEODIS said, “Our customers on both sides of the Atlantic have been suffering from a severe shortage of regular, guaranteed air freight options. We foresee this situation remaining for some time and so have committed resources to provide stability and assure the continuity of our service through the full year of 2021. As a critical element of our OCN program, we can ensure seamless end-to-end delivery through consistent monitoring and control of all shipments, including pharmaceuticals and medical equipment as well as vaccine delivery as it becomes available.”

Through its AirDirect product, GEODIS will offer capacity wherever the market demand requires. Additionally, GEODIS AirDirect services operate a weekly fixed day schedule between Hong Kong (HKG) and Guadalajara, Mexico (GDL) as well as Shanghai-Amsterdam-Shanghai (AMS-PVG-AMS). More news here

5-point Strategy Against Corona

Posted on by David Priestman

How do we deal with the rising COVID-19 numbers and the immediate effects on employees, supply chain and turnover calculations? At this year’s German Logistics Congress, Günther Jocher, Managing Director of GROUP7, presented his company’s 5-point strategy. The first point of the strategy is to quickly adapt to the changed needs of the market. “We recognized the increasing demand for medical protective equipment early on and supported our customers with the initially difficult import process. By transporting a total of 31 million pieces of equipment, we were able to compensate the reduced volumes in other sectors such as automotive and textiles”, Jocher explained.

Surprise customers with new services such as Skype inventory

Point 2 of the GROUP7 strategy is the development of new products and services, adapted to the new Corona restrictions. “An important stock-taking of a customer gave us the idea to handle the process digitally. Our customers and the auditors were able to view the inventory virtually via Skype, and our employees could take samples on site”, Günther Jocher explains. This environmentally friendly and time-saving process will also be used by the logistics service provider after Corona.

Use the crisis to strengthen cohesion in the company

GROUP7 Managing Director Jocher’s point 3 was very important: “I deliberately avoided short-time working – we used the time to reduce vacation and strengthened our sales department”. According to him, this had already proven itself in the past: Thanks to the strong sales activities in the 2008/09 crisis, GROUP7 was able to generate a 64 percent increase in sales in the following year.

Continue to drive investments such as the Hamburg construction project

The 4th point in GROUP7’s pandemic package is aimed at investments in future business areas. Despite the difficult situation, the company was certified according to the GDP guidelines (Good Distribution Practice) in order to further advance the Pharma & Healthcare sector. “Our new construction project – a logistics center in Hamburg-Billbrook will also start on schedule in 2021,” said Jocher on the subject of investments.

Using the pandemic as a driver of the digitalisation process

The final point of the GROUP7 strategy is to use the pandemic as a driver of the digitalization. “Our further developed, digital security net has proven itself useful for our customers in the current crisis,” says Jocher. GROUP7 also tested agile working earlier than planned and will in future use it in the forwarding departments where it brings added value. “With our 5-point strategy for dealing with Corona, we are planning to be even more innovative in the future,” concludes Jocher.

More freight news here.

Dachser and Fraunhofer Institute Continue Research Partnership

Posted on by David Priestman

The Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML and Dachser are extending their collaboration in the Enterprise Lab for a further three years. Their partnership will continue to focus on research and development projects with practical application benefits for the Dachser network. These include digital technologies such as data science and artificial intelligence (AI), real-time locating systems (RTLS), 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT), autonomous vehicles, and adaptive warehouse systems.

“The first step in our joint research work in the Dachser Enterprise Lab is to gain a detailed understanding of new technologies and their potential for logistics. Then we build on that to develop prototypes and concepts that add tangible value for Dachser and our customers, turning them into innovations,” explains Stefan Hohm, Corporate Director Corporate Solutions, Research & Development at Dachser, who will head the new IT & Development executive unit as of January 1, 2021. “So far, the work we’ve done together has proven that we can transform research results from the Enterprise Lab into new processes and services throughout the entire logistics network,” Hohm says.

“We’re delighted that Dachser is continuing its collaboration with Fraunhofer Institute. Our research results up to now and our new research contracts show just how important applied research is for logistics and supply chain management,” says Prof. Michael ten Hompel, Managing Director of Fraunhofer IML. “We’re particularly proud that the lab teams have continued to work effectively despite the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic. Of course, technical aids such as video conferences and collaboration tools have been a great help. But above all, it’s the extraordinary commitment and motivation of everyone working at the Enterprise Lab that is key to successful research in challenging times,” ten Hompel says.

In the Dachser Enterprise Lab, Dachser logistics experts and scientists from Fraunhofer IML work in mixed lab teams on various research and development assignments. The partnership between the logistics service provider and the research institute was launched in October 2017 and will now run until October 2023.

 

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