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Tag: haulage

FTL and Groupage Contract Win with Conglomerate

Posted on by David Priestman

GEFCO UK has been awarded a three-year contract with a multinational conglomerate, specialising in science-based technologies, to provide FTL and groupage services to its consumer goods and healthcare business areas.

The contract award comes as part of GEFCO UK’s plans to explore new market sectors and push for further diversification across its client portfolio. The new client, a US-headquartered, science-based technology company, works across a number of business areas, including industry, worker safety, US health care, and consumer goods.

Already an overland FTL/LTL customer of GEFCO Group in several other international markets, the new client has partnered with GEFCO UK following a RFQ process which began in Q4 2019 and entered its final negotiation phase during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Amid the challenging business landscape, much of the contract discussions took place remotely from March with mutual commitment to a flexible approach to negotiations.

GEFCO UK is providing domestic next day part and full trailer loads, with daily collections from the company’s distribution centre in Rugby equating to an average volume of 150 shipments per day. Further ad hoc collections will be made from a second site in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham.

Vicky Arnold, Sales Director at GEFCO UK Ltd. said: “Our new partnership comes as our business looks to expand and diversify its offering, the importance of which has been underlined by the current COVID-19 situation. As such, this is a significant opportunity for GEFCO UK to demonstrate our flexibility and commitment to outstanding customer service during these challenging times. We’re thrilled to be able to support our new client’s operations in the UK and hope to become a valuable and trusted partner for them.”

3D City Models for Geospatial Transportation Data

Posted on by David Priestman

HERE Technologies, a leading location data and technology platform, has unveiled high-fidelity, 3D models of 75 city centers around the world to give software developers the geospatial data needed to build real-world visualizations of cities. With HERE Premier 3D Cities, last-mile delivery drivers can navigate dense cities with maps that highlight precise building dimensions and entry points along their delivery routes. Telecommunications companies can optimize their buildouts of 5G networks in 3D and urban planners and emergency responders can build digital twins for better land use analysis and disaster readiness simulations.

HERE Premier 3D Cities contain rich data layers and attributes that are aligned to physical geometry and terrain. Each structure is indexed, addressable, and accurate in terms of physical location, volume size, elevation and façade color. Currently, the Audi A8 luxury sedan’s modular infotainment platform (MIB2+) integrates HERE 3D city models, providing drivers with the latest navigation user interface and lane-level guidance experiences.

“With the enterprise developer in mind, HERE has captured, indexed and mapped the world’s major road networks and urban centers in 3D,” said Jørgen Behrens, Senior Vice President and Chief Product Officer at HERE Technologies. “We’re excited to see how these unique 3D city models open up a world of possibilities and value for businesses. They are the building blocks to create accurate, sub-meter augmented reality applications that are transforming supply chains, transportation and mobility networks, and overall consumer experiences.”

The indexed and addressable structures within HERE Premier 3D Cities allow developers to search and highlight individual buildings, attach additional metadata to the structures, and apply advanced rendering techniques including CGI applications. HERE Premier 3D Cities are available in Cesium/OGC 3D Tiles to support seamless integration. Each kilometer of data is stored in small-sized tiles for efficient streaming and rendering. Sample datasets of London, Berlin and Munich are currently available on AWS Data Exchange.

HERE has mapped 196 countries and collects more than 28 terabytes of terrestrial LiDAR data every day. HERE Premier 3D Cities are created with multiple sources – including LiDAR, optical and satellite imagery – and decades of cartographic expertise and AI/Machine Learning applications the company has developed to deliver industry leading location-based services to enterprises globally.

Road Transport Capacity in Europe falls while Prices Rise

Posted on by David Priestman

The result of the most recent evaluation of the Transport Market Monitor (TMM), an online service provided by Tim Consult, is based on road transportation data of more than 1.8 million freight loads per year. The processed 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 January 7, 2021.

• Compared to the previous month, road transport capacity fell significantly by -16.4% in December 2020. The European spot market availability index now stands at 85.9 points.
• Currently, there is significantly less road transport capacity available on the market than a year before. The capacity index fell by -16% compared to December 2019.
• Transport prices increased by +3.9% between November and December 2020. Compared to December 2019, prices went down by -2,7%.
Brexit impact
• Significantly falling capacity and rising prices can especially be observed on the corridor between France and the UK, which is impacted by Brexit. Road transport capacity from France to the UK reached a two-year-low at 58.8 index points. This corresponds to a huge decrease of -39.4% compared to the previous month. Prices went up strongly (+34.8%) during the same period, peaking at 154.3 index points, a two-year-high. Compared to December 2019, transport capacity fell by -22.1% while prices soared +51%.
• Transport capacity and prices for goods shipped from Germany to the UK showed a similar development. Transport capacity decreased by -29.7% between November and December 2020, reaching a two-year-low of 85.3 index points. At the same time, prices rose sharply by +41.2%, reaching a two-year-high of 153.9 index points.
Industry focus
• In the European automotive sector, road transport capacity went down by
-17.9% in December 2020 compared to November 2020, falling to a two-year low of 72.3 index points. Prices have continued to follow their positive trend since May 2020 peaking at a two-year high of 105.6 index points for the automotive branch. This corresponds to an increasement of +1.8% in December 2020 compared to the month before.
• In the chemicals and life sciences sector, the road transport capacity index fell strongly by -14.6% to 96.2 points in December 2020 compared to the previous month. Prices have jumped by +13.5% during the same period in the industry.
• Transport capacities in the steel sector went down significantly by -22.5% between November and December 2020. At the same time, prices reached a two-year high of 111.2 points. Since May 2020, a stable trend of steadily rising transport prices can be observed in the steel sector. From November to December 2020 alone, prices have sharply risen by +8.7%.

German Logistics Provider Speeds Billing

Posted on by David Priestman

The target of Simon Hegele, a globally operating logistics specialist with 50 locations, was clear from the very beginning: The effort for service recording and invoicing for its customers from a wide range of industries was to be significantly reduced – from several days per month to just a few hours. With EPG | CnB, EPG’s contract and billing system, the contract logistics provider has found a digital and flexible solution that supports this goal achievement.

Since October 1, 2020, CnB has been running productively at two locations of the logistics service provider Simon Hegele Gesellschaft für Logistik und Service mbH: in Karlsruhe and Duisburg. “In the course of a conversion of the current version of our warehouse management system EPG | LFS to Release 8, we also wanted to optimize the billing of the logistics services we provide for our customers,” says Sven Söllner, Head of Competence Center WMS at Hegele. “We need more transparency to be able to track the individual billing steps – from goods receipt to picking to value-added services to goods issue. At the same time, it also allows us to provide much better evidence of billed services to our customers.” In addition, it is important for the logistics service provider to see at an early stage what sales are being generated. To this end, Hegele can now use CnB to draw up pro forma invoices on a daily basis, for example, and look at the development over a certain period of time.

Complex billing conditions: easy to manage with CnB

For a first customer, Hegele is using CnB to make it easier to trade the very high requirements for billing terms. This involves many individual details: for example, items are sometimes invoiced on a piece basis, sometimes on a carton basis, and there are items requiring serial numbers and mixed pallets. In each case, different pricing is necessary. “Even in such complex cases, CnB should help us to act efficiently and without errors in the future,” adds Sven Söllner.

One major benefit can already be seen: In the course of the short-term reduction in value-added tax from 19 to 16 percent, Hegele is benefiting from CnB because the system can be easily adapted for certain periods and with regard to certain key figures with just a few clicks: “This is a significant reduction in workload and would only have been possible with our old solution with an enormous amount of effort,” says Sven Söllner.

Currently, CnB is linked to the warehouse management system LFS. In the future, the contract and billing system will also be linked to SAP in order to create consistency between warehouse management and the commercial ERP system.

CEVA Logistics Acquires ASTI Group in Morocco

Posted on by Keith McKinley

CEVA Logistics has acquired ASTI Group in Morocco as part of its strategic expansion plan across the African continent. CEVA Logistics and ASTI have been long-term partners for more than two decades and have delivered a range of multi-modal services to customers across the North African country in that time.

Through acquiring the company, CEVA Logistics will expand its range of export capabilities, specifically reefer services – in cooperation with its parent company the CMA CGM Group, a world leader in shipping and logistics – and Contract Logistics activities in both Casablanca and the Tangiers Free Zone. The new operation will be looking to capitalize on the strength of the automotive industry in the country, a vertical in which CEVA Logistics is a market-leader.

ASTI is already a top ten logistics player in the Moroccan market with almost 100 full time staff members based at the two locations which will additionally offer air, ocean, ground (domestic and international), project logistics and Customs clearance services. ASTI is a Customs clearance expert in Morocco and is fully certified with the authorities and has a direct EDI interface with Customs.

Says CEVA Logistics’ CEO Mathieu Friedberg said: “The acquisition of ASTI further enhances our standing in the African market and shows our ambition for the continent as a whole.  We believe there is enormous potential across a range of freight services and extending the CEVA brand in its own right in Morocco will set us on the road to further success”.

CEVA Logistics is a global business. Last month it announced the win of a major, five year contract with Pernod Ricard to provide the drinks manufacturer with warehousing and distribution support in South East Asia. For the full story click here.

New Executive Board for Logistics Provider

Posted on by David Priestman

On January 1, Burkhard Eling (pictured) became Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Spokesperson of the Executive Board of logistics provider Dachser. He heads the Corporate Strategy, Human Resources, Marketing executive unit, which also includes Corporate Key Account Management and the Corporate Governance & Compliance division. Eling succeeds Bernhard Simon, who will take over as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the family-owned company in mid-2021.

Also moving to the Supervisory Board with Simon is the former Chief Operations Officer (COO) Road Logistics, Michael Schilling. In response, Dachser has made further changes to the Executive Board as of January 1, 2021. Two Dachser managers of many years’ standing have been promoted to the logistics provider’s operational management body: Stefan Hohm as Chief Development Officer (CDO) and Alexander Tonn as COO Road Logistics. They are joined on the Executive Board by Robert Erni, who left DSV Panalpina to join Dachser on September 1, 2020 and has taken up the role of Chief Financial Officer (CFO). The five-man Executive Board team is completed by Edoardo Podestà, who has been COO Air & Sea Logistics since October 2019.

Eling, 49, joined Dachser in 2012 as deputy head of the Finance, Legal and Tax executive unit. He joined the Executive Board as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) the following year, since when he has been responsible for the logistics provider’s group-wide strategic idea and innovation management program. With a degree in industrial engineering, Eling joined Dachser from the engineering and service group Bilfinger SE, where he was Head of the controlling and internal audit departments, CFO of a US subsidiary and of an international facility management service provider. Eling started his career with the construction companies Hochtief AG and Philipp Holzmann AG.

With sound judgment and agility

“My fellow board members and I are taking over an extremely robust and fast-growing company that even the challenges of the coronavirus crisis haven’t managed to throw off course. With their tremendous know-how and commitment, the people at Dachser have succeeded in maintaining the supply chains of our global customers even under adverse conditions,” says Burkhard Eling, CEO of Dachser. “With the trust and support of the founding family, we as an Executive Board team, will preserve the unique, people-oriented culture of Dachser as a family-owned company. At the same time, we will continue to develop the company with sound judgment and agility on its way to becoming the world’s most integrated logistics provider,” Eling continues.

Alexander Tonn is a new member of Dachser’s Executive Board as of January 1, 2021. As COO Road Logistics, he will be responsible for the European overland transport networks for industrial goods and food. In addition, he will continue to lead the European Logistics Germany business unit. Tonn, 47, has been with the company for over 20 years, having held managerial positions including at Dachser’s Allgäu logistics center in Memmingen and at company headquarters, where he was responsible for the logistics provider’s global contract logistics business for several years.

Stefan Hohm, 48, will head the newly created IT & Development executive unit as Chief Development Officer (CDO). Hohm has been working for Dachser for 27 years, during which time he has managed, among other things, the branches in Erfurt (Thuringia) and Hof (Upper Franconia). Most recently, he was Corporate Director for the logistics provider’s research and development work as well as its Corporate Solutions business. Besides the further development of IT, he is now also responsible for worldwide contract logistics.

Burkhard Eling’s successor as CFO is Robert Erni, an internationally experienced logistics finance manager, who took over as CFO on January 1, 2021 after a four-month induction and transition phase. Before joining Dachser, the 54-year-old Swiss national was Group CFO at logistics provider Panalpina for nearly seven years.

There are no changes to Dachser’s air and sea freight business, which has been led by Edoardo Podestà, COO Air & Sea Logistics, since October 2019. The 58-year-old Italian, based in Hong Kong, became Managing Director of Dachser’s air and sea freight business in the Asia Pacific business unit in 2014. Podestà is also a highly experienced Dachser manager. He joined the company in 2003 when it acquired the joint venture Züst Ambrosetti Far East Ltd.

Move Drives Future Growth

Posted on by Keith McKinley

NGC Logistics has joined Fortec Distribution Network – a move described by the Brackley-based transport company as integral to its drive for future growth.

The international couriers operate from a 30,000 sq ft warehouse and has a fleet of over 1,300 vehicles. Pallet distribution remains the company’s primary service offer at the Brackley warehouse and, with a £40m turnover, its substantial client base is made up of large e-commerce businesses.

As online ordering soars, general manager, James Hadley says they have already restructured and adapted, and have big ambitions to expand across the UK. “We had many reasons for joining Fortec, and with COVID changing buying habits, we were keen to push ahead with the move. The profile and demographics of e-commerce has shifted, and over 50% of our deliveries now are to private homes – pre-COVID it was around 25%. We’re already operating more efficiently as a result of our restructure, but if we are to meet our business objectives to open more service centres UK-wide, we need to drive more volume, achieve a better balance from our freights, and have the ability to deliver bigger pallets. Joining Fortec will allow us to achieve these business goals.”

James was also attracted to Fortec Distribution Network because of the shareholder opportunities now available through the wider Pall-Ex Group. He added: “We are keen to work together with likeminded haulage companies who, like us, place high quality pallet distribution at the top of their service offer and want to influence the overall running of the network. Becoming a shareholder in a leading pallet network will play a key part in our business success.”

Adrian Bradley, Manager Director of Fortec Distribution Network said: “We are delighted to welcome NGC Logistics into our network. Their whole ethos and focus on efficient, high quality pallet distribution matches everything that Fortec is about, and we can’t wait to support them in their ambitious plans to expand and thrive.”

Transport Operator Adopts new ‘Co-Driver’

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Ambroise Bouvier Transports, based in St Pierre des Landes, is taking full advantage of the new version of the Co-Driver application. A long-time user of AddSecure’s fleet management solutions since 2014, Ambroise Bouvier now benefits from the the updated Co-Driver application, deployed since March 2020.

A multi-activity company with five agencies specializing in full-load transport, pallet collection and distribution, cold transport, transport management, and logistics, Ambroise Bouvier has 420 vehicles connected via the Co-Driver application. The migration from the old AddSecure solution to Co-Driver has enabled the company to upgrade and benefit from new technical and operational functionalities.

“Via a more reliable and high-performance on-board device, Co-Driver offers better truck positioning accuracy, which enables more efficient driver guidance, as well as better network coverage with fewer ” blank zones ” and more reliable real-time data feedback,” says Yves Le Bourdoulous, the Information Systems Manager at Ambroise Bouvier Transports. “The system is operating successfully and has received strong support from our teams and drivers. Co-Driver provides vehicle tracking with timeline analysis of a journey, driver name and driving times. The dispatcher keeps track of all the resources on the same tool. This makes it possible to generate very good scores for the connected trucks.”

Benefits from the new Co-Driver version:

Drivers now use the Co-Driver application on smartphones. They have easy access to their personal data (driving and rest times), messages from the dispatcher, and their eco-driving score. The eco-driving index, set up with the AddSecure team, is based on the analysis of indicators (overspeed, idling, harsh braking, rollout and coasting). Co-Driver also provides information on empty kilometers and CO2 emissions. The human resources department retrieves on D+1 the legal files of the vehicles and drivers in order to establish salaries and calculate fees. Previously, the time limit for collecting the legal files was 7 days.

With Co-Driver, fleet managers and the workshop service can control the connectivity of the onboard computers, and get the mileage performed. This data simplifies the follow-up of maintenance to prevent breakdowns, and ensures good connectivity is maintained.

“Thanks to the fleet’s connectivity and geo-location, Co-Driver offers a real-time vision of the available resources and makes it possible to adapt and harmonize the workflows. The application’s interface has been improved to offer better performance and integrates new functionalities. The AddSecure solution is particularly simple and fast to deploy with an average installation time of 30 to 45 minutes per vehicle, depending on the brand. We also benefit from AddSecure’s excellent assistance and the daily support of the project manager,” continues Yves Le Bourdoulous.

In the near future, Ambroise Bouvier Transports will deploy the advanced fees calculation and salary administration functionalities. And an interface with their TMS software is going to be implemented to send mission data and roadmaps directly to the drivers’ smartphone application.

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.

New Electric Piggyback Truck Launched

Posted on by David Priestman

Hiab, part of Cargotec, launches the MOFFETT E4 NX, its next generation eSeries of electric forklifts and the world’s first all electric 3-wheel drive truck mounted forklift. Inside the chassis of a MOFFETT M4, Hiab has constructed a zero-emission truck mounted forklift powered by lithium ion batteries with new controllers and the new HMI (Human Machine Interface) that displays battery capacity, machine performance and service information. The MOFFETT can be charged from a regular household socket or a 30 amp socket for faster charging, as well as from the truck in between deliveries.

The new MOFFETT eSeries, currently available in four E4 NX models with more being added, is not only beneficial to the environment as it has zero emissions, it is also much more comfortable and safer for the operator as it is virtually silent and has less vibrations than a diesel powered truck. The low noise means it can be operated without earplugs allowing the driver to both see and hear danger. It can also be operated at night-time and deliver the cargo inside warehouses.

The total cost of ownership is lower than the equivalent diesel model as it can be electrically charged and has reduced service costs. It is engineered with fewer moving parts, which reduces service time and spare parts costs.

“The MOFFETT eSeries is the natural choice for customers who need to enter low emissions zones, work at night or meet sustainability targets. However, as it’s cheaper to run, safer and more comfortable, we think it will prove popular with customers in a wide range of industries. We are certain that drivers will appreciate working in an exhaust free environment and being able to hear what is happening around them,” says Jann Hansen, Director, Sales & Product Business Management, Truck Mounted Forklift, Hiab.

The MOFFETT eSeries have in-built connectivity so that owners can access Hiab’s HiConnect™. HiConnect monitors over 100 machine parameters. Some are displayed on the HMI while the full range of data are available from the HiConnect web portal. Parameters range from battery capacity to delivery route and time, driver safety and service notifications.

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