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Logistics At Every Turn, Live

Posted on by Keith McKinley

As logistics partner of the McLaren Formula 1 Team, DP World recently held an exclusive event for its customers and stakeholders at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking. Under the banner of ‘At Every Turn Live’, the conference featured a stellar line-up of speakers from the worlds of F1 and logistics, and discussed a wide range of topics including the implications for global trade of the US Election, the impact of AI on transport and logistics, supply chain resilience, and how adopting a ‘pit stop mentality’ can help businesses can take strategic pauses to reset and go again in unpredictable times.

The event, which was compered by Nicki Shields, well-known to motorsport fans as the presenter for Formula E’s TV coverage, got underway with opening remarks from Beat Simon, DP World Group Chief Operating Officer for Logistics, followed by an enlightening conversation between Beat and Andrea Stella, Team Principal of McLaren F1 Team.

Beat believes the synergy between DP World and McLaren lies in an aspiration to propel and to be leading, as well aspassion and precision. “If you look at what happens in F1 or logistics, it’s about things having to work and an entire team working together to make things happen.”

The pair then handed over to innovation guru Dr Chris Brauer, who walked the captivated audience through how AI is shaping today’s business landscape. “It’s a time when collaborations between humans and technology will reshape the world in ways we can only begin to imagine.” He described AI as “one of the most remarkable innovations in the history of civilisation,” going on to highlight areas where it can play a significant role, such as sustainability, and used an example of how the NHS has used AI to optimise its supply chain for short-life blood products, helping to reduce waste, overstocking and guaranteeing supply.

Independent Trade Economist Dr. Rebecca Harding then took the audience on an interactive journey, encouraging them to participate in real-time decision-making as a means to illustrate how global challenges are affecting today’s business landscape and how these may be overcome. With a focus on maritime trade, she workshopped a scenario using real-world examples of the threats supply chains are coming under and concluded with the line: “This was not fiction. Everything we have seen and said today is actually happening.”

Pit Stop Mentality

Peter MacLeod, Editor of Logistics Business Magazine, hosted a panel of three under the ‘Pit Stop Mentality’ title, featuring retail and consumer trends guru Mary Portas, OBE, economist John Ferguson and Hans van der Eijk, Senior Vice President Sales & Account Management Contract Logistics at DP World Europe. The discussion focused on the evolution of logistics and retail, emphasising the shift from physical stores to online efficiency and the impact of COVID-19 on consumer behaviour. Key points included the rise of “beautiful businesses” which prioritise societal roles, the importance of community connection, and the shift from just-in-time to just-in-case inventory management. The conversation also highlighted the significance of sustainability, with businesses integrating recycling and local sourcing.

Additionally, this session touched on the psychological aspects of staying ahead, drawing parallels between motorsport and business leadership, emphasising resilience, motivation, and decision-making under pressure.

Interviewed by BBC chief presenter Maryam Moshiri as part of another panel under the heading ‘Global Race, Global Reach’, Beat Simon summed up DP World’s view on a changing geopolitical landscape by saying logistics is like water: “We are always looking for the easiest way to flow.” Addressing supply chain visibility, he described eloquently how the term can now be applied all the way down to SKU level, giving freight forwarders unprecedented knowledge of the status of a particular shipment. In today’s geopolitical landscape, building resilient supply chains may imply additional costs. Scenario planning is key in planning ahead, remaining agile and ensuring competitiveness.

Cyber Attack Protection

Sir John Sawers, former chief of the UK Secret Intelligence Service MI6, talked about cybercrime, expressing surprise at how the fear of 10 years ago – of some kind of digital Armageddon – has not happened, but that the threat has instead moved into the world of denial of service attacks of businesses, many of which are happy to pay a ransom rather than risk business disruption. His experience of global affairs led to a fascinating look at how countries are putting mechanisms in place to prevent similar attacks affecting governmental systems.

Matthew Griffin, a leading futurist, said the proceeds from digital/cyber crime is generating revenues of $1.2 trillion, growing at 125% each year. “As we see the levels of cybercrime increase dramatically, your cyber budgets will increase by two-to-three per cent each year.” He described how GPT4 agents have been used to hack into 53% of military systems within two minutes, and how autonomous, adaptable, multi-sensory smart cyber defence systems are now being developed in an attempt to counter this threat.

Sir John said businesses should prepare for events they may not have thought about before, and to consider how they are going to survive if a crucial supply line is threatened. Beat Simon agreed, adding: “Plan for the unexpected.”

Beat Simon welcomed the fact that DP Word’s customers are starting to take climate change very seriously, citing events such as the reduction in capacity of the Panama Canal as a very obvious impact of the crisis, but Sir John said a reversal of US policy may threaten global targets set by the Paris Agreement. Griffin, responding to a question from the audience about the cost of sustainability, said the ultimate target for a business is to be sustainable as well as offering products at a competitive cost. With growing energy costs, this seems challenging at first sight, but renewable energy costs are decreasing, and nearshoring can both cut transport costs and reduce carbon consumption. Taking fast fashion as an example, referencing Mary Portas’ earlier contribution, he cited lab-grown cotton as a way to make this consumer habit more sustainable.

Lessons from McLaren

Formula 1 fans in the audience had plenty of content to keep them engaged; as well as a tour of the McLaren F1 Team factory and a close-up look at some of the brand’s most iconic racing machinery, Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing addressed the audience alongside two-time F1 World Champion Mika Häkkinen. The pair covered considerable ground, dating from their starts in motorsport as young boys all the way up to the latest Grand Prix. Häkkinen spoke passionately about his recovery from a potentially career-ending injury, and the resilience he showed to get back behind the wheel. He also talked about the mentality of going seven years before his first F1 victory, and how he fine-tuned his life – his routines and close team – to achieve his ultimate goals.

Brown’s insight was fascinating, particularly when discussing real-time decision-making and how clear commands and predetermined responsibilities – whilst also allowing space for individual decisions – has helped bring his team back up to championship leaders.

Summarising the day, Rashid Abdulla, CEO and Managing Director, Europe, DP World, said: “It is truly inspiring to be here at the McLaren Technology Centre. The day has been incredibly insightful, with contributions from panellists representing diverse backgrounds, industries, and perspectives. What stands out from McLaren’s example is that while any company can have the best vision and strategy, it is clarity that drives true engagement.

“At DP World, our goal is to build a strong and sustainable business model that delivers value to our customers while ultimately enabling consumers to access better products at lower costs. Events like this are crucial for fostering collaboration and driving innovative solutions for our industry.”

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Webinar: Reducing Fulfilment Costs

Posted on by David Priestman

How can a business save money by getting the absolute maximum from its transport and logistics operations? What technologies and strategies are available and where can the greatest benefits be achieved? The latest Logistics Business webinar – brought to you in association with Paragon from Aptean and accessible free on demand via this link – answers all of these questions and more.

Under the title of “Driving Change & Reducing Costs in Direct Fulfilment Operations”, Logistics Business editor Peter MacLeod speaks with industry experts Luke Robinson, Sales Director, UK&I Transport, Food & Beverage, at Paragon from Aptean, and his colleague Gareth Evans, Aptean’s Solutions Consultants Manager.

In a 30-minute webinar aimed at businesses seeking to optimise their logistics operations, the panel discusses how inefficiencies can be identified, what first steps can be taken to catch the so-called low-hanging fruit, and how to get the best out of the existing workforce by winning their hearts and minds through the implementation of an effective change management strategy.

Given the struggles to recruit and retain staff, a move towards a more digital way of working is underway, and companies such as Paragon from Aptean are at the forefront of helping businesses to understand how to take the necessary steps to unlock the greatest efficiency whilst at the same time remaining competitive in the marketplace.

Access the latest Logistics Business webinar by following this link.

watch:

Webinar: Driving Change and Reducing Costs in Delivery

 

New AI-driven TOS at Duisburg Gateway

Posted on by Will Priestman

INFORM is poised to enhance the Duisburg Gateway Terminal (DGT) operations through its advanced AI-based solutions, ensuring a robust start as the terminal initiates operations and scales up. This partnership focuses on leveraging AI technologies to streamline intermodal logistics, pioneering Europe’s first CO2-neutral intermodal terminal in the heart of Duisburg’s port.

New AI-based TOS solution at Duisburg Gateway

DGT is on trackto establish itself as the largest intermodal terminal in the European hinterland, with an ambitious annual throughput goal of 850,000 TEU. Located on the historical coal island in the port of Duisburg, the terminal is innovatively planned and will be operated exclusively with crane systems and vehicles without fossil fuels, sidestepping conventional terminal equipment to minimize its environmental impact. Covering 235,000 square meters in total, this terminal represents a monumental step in the logistics sector, handling up to 1 million containers per year across its six cranes and 12 rail tracks, with daily operations for 20 trains, around 400 trucks, and 6 ships. The first construction phase of the terminal will open in summer 2024, utilizing INFORM’s Syncrotess Intermodal TOS.

Sven Zölle, Managing Director at Duisburg Gateway Terminal GmbH, remarked, “Partnering with INFORM enables us to harness the full potential of AI in our terminal operations, setting a strong foundation for DGT’s operational excellence from the outset. As INFORM’s Intermodal TOS covers both the administrative parts of a Terminal Operating Systems and has a strong focus on optimization and automation, this partnership reinforces our commitment to environmental stewardship but also ensures that we remain at the forefront of technological innovation in the logistics industry.”

INFORM’s AI-Driven Solution: Elevating Terminal Operations

INFORM will implement its Intermodal TOS at DGT, leveraging a modular design that enables a high degree of automation and operational optimization. Key features include:

  • Barge Handling: Utilizing AI to streamline barge handling, enhancing throughput and minimizing operational delays.
  • Crane Optimization: Creation and optimization of crane jobs to refine the operations of six intermodal barge cranes, essential for the terminal’s efficiency. The TOS aims to organize crane jobs to substantially decrease handling times. Together, the goal is to stepwise introduce crane automation at DGT throughout the project.
  • Optimized Train Loading: Leveraging advanced algorithms to efficiently plan and execute train loading operations, ensuring optimal use of resources, and reducing turnaround times.
  • Stack Optimization: Employing AI to intelligently optimize container stacking, improving space utilization and accessibility while reducing re-handling.
  • Billing Module Integration: Facilitating the billing process with a tailored module that accurately captures services rendered, streamlining financial operations.
  • Booking Platform Interface: Facilitating seamless integration with the DXI platform to streamline combined transport bookings and enhance operational coordination.

“This expanded suite of services underscores our commitment to delivering a highly efficient, scalable, and sustainable operating environment for DGT, utilizing cutting-edge AI to optimize every aspect of terminal operations,” said Alex van Winckel, Director Strategic Relations and Sales at INFORM’s Terminal & Distribution Center Logistics Division at INFORM. “We are thrilled to partner with the team at DGT on this groundbreaking project.”

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Shipping Industry Remains Easy Cyber Target

Posted on by David Priestman

New research has found that the maritime industry remains an “easy target” for cybercriminals, and that the cost of attacks and demand for ransom payments across the sector have skyrocketed over the past 12 months.

The report, which was produced by global, sector-focused law firm HFW and maritime cyber security company CyberOwl, reveals that the average cyberattack in the maritime industry now ends up costing the target organisation US$550,000 – up from US$182,000 in 2022. It also shows that demands for ransom have increased by more than 350%, with the average ransom payment now US$3.2m – up from US$3.1m last year.

The report is based on a survey of more than 150 industry professionals – including C-suite leaders, cyber security experts, seafarers, shoreside managers, and suppliers – and reveals significant gaps in cyber risk management that exist across shipping organisations and the wider supply chain, despite progress made by IMO 2021.

The research was carried out by the maritime technology research agency Thetius.

Key findings include:

– The financial cost of a maritime cyberattack can be extreme: they now end up costing the target organisation US$550,000 on average (an increase of 200% from 2022). Ransom demands have increased by more than 350% over the past 12 months, with the average ransom payment now US$3.2 million (up from US$3.1m in 2022). 24% of the victims of cyberattacks were tricked into transferring funds to criminal organisations
– Despite these eye-watering costs, most shipping organisations significantly under-invest in cyber security management: a third spend less than US$100,000 per year. 25% of survey respondents said their organisation does not have insurance to cover cyber risk
– Although overall levels of preparedness seem to be improving: 80% of survey respondents understand what actions would be required of them in the event of a cyber security incident (up from 74% in 2022). 64% said their organisation has cyber risk management procedures for dealing with suppliers (up from 55% in 2022)

Tom Walters, Partner at HFW, said: “Our findings show that while maritime cyber security has improved, the industry remains an easy target. Shipping organisations are being subject to more cyberattacks than ever before, and the cost of attacks and demand for ransom payments have skyrocketed. And as the use of technology continues to increase across all aspects of shipping – from ship networks to offshore installations and shoreside control centres – so does the potential for cybersecurity breaches.

“Maritime operational technology and fleet operations management are now almost entirely digital, meaning that a cyberattack could compromise anything from vessel communication systems and navigation suites to the systems managing ballast water, cargo management, and engine monitoring and control. Failure of any of those systems could result in a vessel being stranded and potentially grounded, and we saw from the Ever Given the impact that can have on global supply chains. This is a critical issue for all parties involved in the shipping sector, and it’s clear that the industry has to do more to protect itself against cyberattacks.”

Daniel Ng, CEO of CyberOwl, said: “The good news is that the conversation on vessel cyber risk management has clearly shifted away from the ‘why’ towards the ‘how’. There is less scepticism about the need to manage the risk, more thoughtfulness on how best to spend each dollar in shoring up defences. “The challenge for the change agents in shipping is that they are dealing with new risks in a new domain under sector-specific constraints. All of this in an environment where shipping companies are still too secretive to share benchmarks and best practice widely. The sector must make the most of the specialist expertise available. And those with specialist maritime cyber security knowledge must do more to share knowledge of risks and best practice. “What works in other sectors may not work in shipping. And applying a generic approach could lead to expensive wastage.”

Nick Chubb, Managing Director of Thetius, said: “Our research shows that the industry has improved dramatically in a short space of time. But it also shows that cybercriminals are evolving faster. The costs of cyber-attacks are growing. The impact that can be created in the global supply chain by exploiting a single easy target means the entire maritime industry needs to raise the bar.”

Quantum-Powered Solution Tackles Logistics Optimization

Posted on by David Priestman

Unisys has unveiled ‘Unisys Logistics Optimization’™, a new quantum-powered solution designed to help organizations solve complex logistics optimization challenges in seconds. As logistics costs continue to rise, companies are urgently trying to redefine the shipping process to improve the customer experience, decrease their costs and drive additional incremental revenue.

This is where Unisys Logistics Optimization™ steps in. Populated with industry-specific insights, the solution leverages a combination of quantum computing, advanced analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) to drive business outcomes.

The company will debut Unisys Logistics Optimization™ during a virtual launch event on October 17th, and anyone interested in attending is encouraged to register in advance. Those who attend will have the opportunity to see a demonstration of the solution and hear from industry leaders.

Unisys Logistics Optimization™ uses pre-trained models to generate answers to complex queries in seconds. This represents a substantial leap forward, as this rapid turnaround was not possible previously. Traditional computational tools would require years to collect and learn from operational data to produce similar results. The solution provides logistics companies, such as air cargo carriers, with an optimal plan for packing, storing and routing shipments across multiple vehicles more efficiently and cost-effectively.

Piloting the new solution in pursuit of its next breakthrough in logistics optimization is Malaysia Aviation Group’s (MAG) cargo arm, MAB Kargo Sdn Bhd (MASkargo), which serves nearly 100 destinations worldwide. Currently, the airline’s flight planners spend a significant amount of time manually selecting and assigning each shipment to unit load devices (ULDs), resulting in high operational overhead. Unisys will implement a secure and reliable solution that provides MASkargo flight planners with a graphic cargo plan tailored to maximize their cargo capacity, profitability and ability to manage priority shipments that meet customer expectations.

“MASkargo is continuously seeking ways to enhance efficiency, improving the customer experience and touchpoints,” commented Mark Jason Thomas, CEO of MASkargo. “Our collaboration with Unisys represents part of MASkargo’s digitalization journey by employing the use of quantum computing, artificial intelligence and machine learning to optimize processes, supporting network planning, and ensuring reliable, clear communication of accurate information.”

Unisys has an extensive track record of serving and innovating for logistics and transportation companies for more than 30 years, putting the company in a unique position to offer a wealth of industry expertise. Unlike other solutions in the market, Unisys Logistics Optimization™ does not require any additional data training to begin deployment, and it does not upend existing IT infrastructure or operations – providing immediate and ongoing value to clients as its accuracy self-improves over time through daily use, so it is never out of date.

“Containing logistics costs is mission critical, and companies are seeking solutions that will meet that important need,” said Chris Arrasmith, senior vice president, Enterprise Computing Solutions at Unisys. “We have built true operational foresight by integrating advanced analytics, reinforced machine learning, and the best of classical and new quantum computing architectures, enabling us to drive value in near real-time for clients.”

Unisys Logistics Optimization™ is built for air cargo, ground handlers and freight forwarders and is designed to help logistics companies optimize in three ways:

• Capacity: The solution evaluates loading strategies for companies by predicting and prescribing scenarios for pallet and ULD builds, allowing for more day-of shipment departures. It also helps identify opportunities for additional carrier revenue by detecting unused space.

• Inventory: The solution can predict and prescribe locations and packaging requirements on inventory, as well as amounts of inventory and freight sensitivity. This reduces packing and build times, minimizing freight damage or spoilage, preventing costly claims.

• Routing: The solution evaluates all potential routes and incorporates dynamic data sets, such as weather and travel times, to optimize and identify ideal outbound and reverse logistics routes.

Transporeon Unveils Platform Innovations

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Transporeon, a leading Transportation Management Platform and a Trimble Company, has announced new platform innovations that enhance its spot quotation, contract rate benchmarking and freight audit capabilities. With a robust network of 1,400+ shippers and retailers and 150,000+ carriers and logistic service providers, Transporeon’s neutral Transportation Management Platform (TMP), which provides equal benefits to both shippers and carriers and enables companies to simplify collaboration, will now further streamline internal operations and embrace new business opportunities.

Stephan Sieber, CEO of Transporeon, commented: “In today’s fast-paced world of transportation and logistics, adaptability is key for companies to survive and thrive. Digital technologies can significantly reduce cumbersome, manual processes. We have seen that when companies adopt more collaborative approaches, improved efficiency often follows. This is precisely what Transporeon’s platform enables. With our latest platform innovations, logistics teams can gain access to even more detailed market insights and codify tedious manual tasks into fully automated processes – not just within their own company, but between business partners.”

Autonomous Quotation

Price negotiations remain opaque and manual in the growing freight spot market. Freight forwarders, brokers and LSPs spend considerable time manually researching and building quotes.

Transporeon’s Autonomous Quotation solves this challenge by enabling brokers and LSPs to prioritise incoming transport requests easily and automatically serve customers with instant, accurate pricing for truckload spot transports based on predicted market rates.

By fully automating the spot bidding process with Autonomous Quotation, brokers and LSPs can increase the volume of opportunities they quote for, which in turn, can lead to new business opportunities. Automating the process can also unlock cost-savings by minimising the manual work involved in the quotation process.

Autonomous Quotation generates quotes based on companies’ individual quotation strategies. Users can define their own tactics based on criteria including margin requirements, equipment type, distance, stop location and pick-up and delivery windows. The module is based on a customised trained prediction model and is backed by data science and machine learning algorithms that incorporate bidding outcomes over time to increase accuracy.

Jonah McIntire, Director Procurement and Chief Network Officer at Transporeon, said: “Freight brokers and logistics service providers have faced an uphill battle when competing in the spot market, navigating time-consuming manual price negotiations and freight auction portals. With Autonomous Quotation, companies can decouple their spot revenue growth from their staffing costs to win those shipments by issuing quotes instantly, accurately and at scale. No more manual admin but more opportunities. After all, you can only win what you can quote!”

Rate Benchmark

Rate Benchmark extends the capabilities of Transporeon’s existing Market Insights solution, which democratises truckload pricing by providing real-time insights into markets, lanes and their development. Rate Benchmark takes Market Insights one step further by allowing companies to benchmark their contracted rates against the market.

With Rate Benchmark, users can easily spot opportunities and make informed procurement and pricing decisions and improve tenders. It calculates average monthly contract rates on a postal code level and compares them with the user’s rate on the same lane.

McIntire explained: “Shippers, carriers and logistics service providers have very few reliable and neutral data sources that deliver high-quality freight rate information. When Transporeon launched Market Insights, it had a transformative effect on our network. Rate Benchmark builds on this success, permitting customers to compare their contracts against the market with precision. We’re delighted to share this development with our network.”

Freight Audit

Freight Audit represents the next evolution of Transporeon’s audit functionality. It allows customers to audit shipments executed on Transporeon’s platform and combines a variety of specific capabilities, including cost allocation, online dispute management, invoice legal information audit, billing instructions, accruals and accounts payable. Freight Audit doesn’t require additional customer input as it uses existing platform data, such as rates and transport orders.

Freight Audit minimises invoice discrepancies through upfront billing instructions. Fully integrated with the Transporeon platform, it helps to eliminate the need for separate tools for freight buyers and logistics providers. Moreover, the product is not limited to the invoice audit – it provides an accounts payable file, fully automating the accounting process.

Each process within Freight Audit has a complete audit trail for compliance, and invoices are approved according to governmental invoice requirements. In addition, it enhances data accuracy by ensuring all data is confirmed by shippers, carriers and FAP (freight audit and payment). As a result, Freight Audit enables companies to eliminate transport overspend and simplify internal and external compliance.

Stefanie Bergfeld, Director Audit and Payment at Transporeon, added: “With fragmented finance and audit processes, it can be easy to overspend on transport and make compliance missteps. Not only does Freight Audit address these problems, but it also significantly reduces manual processes with a high level of automation, minimising administrative work. Thanks to its seamless integration with the Transporeon platform, Freight Audit can also be used by smaller customers who wouldn’t normally look for a standalone audit solution.”

The three innovations were unveiled at Transporeon NEXT, Transporeon’s flagship bi-annual launch event, which is taking place this week at its annual summit.

Freight Marketplace Launched

Transporeon furthermore announced the launch of Freight Marketplace, a neutral (of equal benefit to both shippers and carriers) deal-making hub for freight procurement.

Both buyers and sellers of transportation services face ongoing challenges in aligning capacity and assessing fair pricing. In addition, insufficient transparency and fragmented systems can lead to low relevance on carrier tender invitations and inefficient alignment with shippers’ service preferences. Negotiating efficiently and fairly is also a challenge due to the lack of standardised data sets, which hinder like-for-like comparisons and make it difficult to consider factors beyond price, such as sustainability and service levels.

Transporeon’s Freight Marketplace addresses these challenges head-on with a new solution designed to transform logistics procurement and redefine how companies buy, sell, negotiate and contract. Its key benefits include:

  • A central location for deal-making: Freight Marketplace unites carriers and shippers ‘under one roof’ to do business based on their specific needs, capabilities and requirements. It taps into Transporeon’s extensive network of 1,400+ shippers and 158,000+ carriers for instant scale, creating a definitive catalogue of buyers and sellers.
  • Simplified negotiations: Freight Marketplace uses advanced algorithms to simplify negotiations and optimise the procurement process.
  • Multi-dimensional negotiations that factor in sustainability: Negotiations between shippers and carriers often focus solely on price, disregarding other factors such as volume, lead time and sustainability. Freight Marketplace solves this challenge, enabling shippers and carriers to factor pricing, volume, CO2 emissions and more into negotiations. Buyers can prioritise low-emission options, while sellers have a platform to showcase their efforts in reducing emissions.
  • Enhanced visibility and transparency: Freight Marketplace allows logistics providers to build comprehensive profiles that include their expertise, services, performance metrics and fleet data. To establish transparency, it blends self-declared facts with third-party verified information and real-world insights from the Transporeon platform. Shippers have similar profiles, enabling both parties to search for partners that precisely match their specific requirements, ensuring a smooth matchmaking process.

Platform neutrality

Freight Marketplace drives value for both buyers and sellers through neutrality, ensuring an environment where all players can benefit equally:

Buyers benefit from pre-structured, standardised data that simplifies finding new partners through high-quality profiles. Freight Marketplace makes it easy to access fair pricing and optimise decisions based on other factors such as volume, lead time, and sustainability.

Sellers gain access to a broader range of shippers and mini tenders, allowing them to win new business. Since every event is structured the same way, sellers can also evaluate opportunities more efficiently, meaning they no longer need to decipher shipper-specific jargon or endless Excel table names.

Sieber said: “Finding reliable partners, aligning capacity and securing fair agreements is a long-standing industry challenge. That’s why we built Freight Marketplace to take freight procurement to the next level. At its core, our new solution is a one-stop shop for deal-making, empowering buyers and sellers alike to connect, negotiate and close new business. This is supported by advanced algorithms, full transparency and a focus on sustainability.”

Chris Keating (pictured, left), Group Head of Strategy at Trimble, has been announced as the incoming CEO of Transporeon as Sieber will be stepping down and leaving the business at the end of this year. Additionally, it was revealed that, following Trimble’s takeover of Transporeon, the Transporeon brand will be withdrawn towards the end of 2024, meaning the business will be henceforth known purely as Trimble.

Optimise Existing Capacity to Save Costs

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Growing businesses will sooner or later need more capacity in their supply chain to fulfil larger sales volumes. Adding capacity to an existing facility by introducing automation, reconfiguring current handling and storage equipment, or building an extension all offer a potential solution but can be expensive and disruptive to ongoing operations.

Another possibility is to relocate to a new and larger warehouse but leaving aside the costs and complexity involved the current lack of available new-build sites can make any such move impractical. Before making any decisions, growing businesses would do well to consider how to make the most of their existing facilities by utilising the power of warehouse management software (WMS) to maximise the efficiency of their current operations.

Using WMS to increase factors such as occupancy, throughput, and data and task accuracy can all help to increase the capacity of an existing warehouse. In doing so these businesses will avoid disruption and eliminate – or at least delay – the need for additional capital investment.

Any growing business involved with the supply of products will need to store and deliver more and more items. Building a bigger warehouse is one answer but can take time and generally requires a large investment. Industry data suggests there is over 51 million sq m of warehouse space available. Most of this is in-use and leading commercial agency Savills reported earlier this year that vacancy rates are below four per cent – a historic low. Another recent report suggested that the number of new build warehouses in the USA and Europe has decreased by a quarter over the past two years.

That means less available space is being chased by more potential occupiers, and no doubt the growth in e-commerce and home delivery is one of the causes. Another report from warehouse developer ProLogis estimates every extra £1bn spent online will require another 72,000 sq m of warehouse space. The rate of building barely keeps up with demand. Space is not cheap but there is hardly a motorway or major truck road intersection without a warehouse already there or awaiting planning approval.

Some businesses find that creating a new warehouse is the best option. For example, Ireland’s leading furniture importer and wholesaler reduced complexity and increased its stock volumes in 40% less overall space by investing in a new facility and implementing a state-of-the art WMS. While this approach suits some, many businesses have found they can use their existing storage facilities more efficiently. One way is to invest in new technologies and equipment that allows denser storage and/or faster throughput which can both increase overall capacity.

This might be as simple as replacing block stacking with pallet racking or wide aisle with narrow aisle configurations. Big changes often represent significant investment which, leaving aside the potential disruptions to ongoing business, may be beyond many businesses. For these a better approach is to use what they have more efficiently and this is the role of the WMS and related technologies.

Another change over the past decade is the type of warehouse operator. Ten years ago, most large facilities were operated by, or at least on behalf of, retailers. Today the largest proportion is operated by 3PLs, some as dedicated facilities but many others holding stock for multiple clients. Everyone is cost-conscious but 3PLs sell their services and base their costs on factors which include the number and size of pallet locations, overall storage capacity, picking capabilities and so on. For these businesses in particular, maximising efficiency and profitability with support from a WMS is vital.

There are only two realistic ways to increase capacity without a total reconfiguration. The first is to ensure maximum utilisation of every available space. The second is to increase throughput to get stock in and out more quickly. Efficiency gains like these are often possible because existing operators might not have noticed that their warehouse has changed in front of them while they have been busy focusing on their day-to-day operations.

Consider a hypothetical, but not implausible, business that setup or renovated its warehouse operation 10 years ago. At the time the operation required space for 2,500 pallets of various heights to meet customer needs, perhaps 1,000 at 1.6m high, 1,000 at 1.8m and the rest at 2.1m. That was the right configuration at the start and allowed a degree of flexibility to support the business requirement. The WMS was configured accordingly and operations have run smoothly since, or so it seems.

But over time it is not unusual for customers and their requirements to evolve. In fact, a small change here and there often means a business does not know immediately how many pallet locations, and of what type, they have. This might be because of changing the actual racking but adding equipment such as coolers or pallet wrappers might inadvertently block or restrict access to otherwise usable locations. Unless these businesses remember to keep their WMS up-to-date, and experience says that many do not, they will not be able to say how many spaces they have.

Nor for similar reasons can many businesses immediately identify the number of available free locations or their overall occupancy rates. Some free locations help with stock handling flexibility but too many can be a waste of resources and, ultimately, very costly for a business that is selling space.

Another possibility is that the profile of the stock is different, for example more larger pallets or fewer small ones, and so on. While it is of course possible to store a smaller pallet in any size location the reverse is certainly not true and that immediately leads to potential allocation issues that will restrict the performance of the overall operation. But even if it makes sense to store those smaller pallets in larger locations this is not an ideal use of the available volume in the warehouse – there could be up to 500mm of free but unusable space above a small pallet stored in the largest location. Again, unless the WMS is updated, it will be impossible to utilise all spaces with maximum efficiency.

Even in the best run warehouses there will be occasions when some pallet locations are out of commission. This might be as a result of accidental damage or to allow maintenance on the building infrastructure. This reduction in capacity will cost in terms of lost revenues but how many businesses will have a real-time view of their income generating capabilities or be able to see how much they are losing as a result of these outages. Certainly, with a properly configured WMS they would be able to tell. Another potential scenario, perhaps in extra-busy warehouses or where the stock profile has changed, is that demand for some locations exceeds capacity. This can restrict efficiency, for example preventing efficient putaway or requiring the excess stock to be stored elsewhere temporarily and potentially being unavailable for picking.

Experience suggests that almost any warehouse team experiencing problems like this will be unable to identify all of the problems, and their causes, immediately. But there is some good news and it does not necessarily require significant investment. Any decent WMS will help maximise stock management efficiencies but the best will incorporate business intelligence and analytics functionality. One example is ProWMS Advanced Warehouse Management’s business intelligence module that allows operators or managers to instantly identify where change is necessary and will have the maximum impact. This is done via easy-to-read, live, visual dashboards displaying, for example, products in each location with a detailed breakdown of relevant stock information.

Experienced application vendors will challenge warehouse teams about these and similar issues when they start to discuss the business and operational requirements for new implementations. They will have various tools to help them ensure the configuration is correct and always up-to-date to reflect structural changes, evolving stock profiles, and new business demands to help maximise operational efficiency and profits.

For over 30 years, Principal Logistics Technologies has been a leader in the design and delivery of innovative warehouse management software (WMS) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. Its technology and services, which include the design of new revenue-generating services for 3PLs, optimise operational performance, reduce OpEx and increase revenue for 3PL, distribution, wholesale, manufacturing, and retail warehouse businesses.

The company supports enterprise-level and multinational businesses with complex single and multisite operations spanning 3PL, chemicals & hazardous goods, hard & soft commodities, chill picking, cold storage, cross-docking, eCommerce & eFulfilment , FMCG, pharmaceuticals & healthcare and more. It operates from offices in Dublin in Ireland and Manchester and Birmingham in the UK.

 

How to Win During Peak Shipping Season

Posted on by David Priestman

Freight procurement processes have always been noted for their high levels of complexity which increases exponentially during peak shipping season. These busy months demand operational efficiency, agile collaboration, proactive rate management, and a sharp focus on sustainability throughout the transportation management process.

This article by SHIPSTA addresses six of the most common challenges that can surface in peak shipping season, while providing solutions on how to best address them.

1. Pressure to Save Costs

Transportation accounts for a significant amount of total operational costs, consequently becoming a huge target for potential cost savings. However, constantly changing freight market rates can make it difficult for procurement teams to secure the best deals and maintain predictable costs.

To prevent this, it is recommended to move away from standalone data sources and look at leveraging centralised rate management solutions which bring together all your data and provide one sole source of truth. This allows you to turn your data into insights and action and surface the best opportunities by giving you visibility across different pricing options vs the best combination of lanes, modes of transport or other business requirements.

Leveraging the power of an eAuction feature can help you with dynamic negotiations, bringing your qualified carriers or other LSPs into a bidding process, securing your access to the best price and increasing your efficiency.

2. Capacity Shortages & Time Constraints

As demand surges during peak season, the limited capacity of LSPs or unforeseen disruptions can lead to difficulties in providing the needed transportation services in time, causing delays, increased costs or even higher risks or loss. Capacity constraints can turn into missed delivery deadlines and force the company to seek last-minute transportation solutions at higher rates, significantly impacting transportation budgets and overall supply chain costs.

Having fast access to a larger database of LSPs, the ability to pivot to real-time (spot) requests in case of emergencies, as well as instantly connecting with carriers through a centralised and automated platform, while having better visibility on their availability, can be your greatest allies in such situations where time becomes of the essence.

3. Increased Workload and Limited Resources

Even outside peak seasons, transportation procurement is a very heavy process that requires teams to spend countless hours between spreadsheets, emails, and phone calls to ensure smooth sailing. With an even higher growth in demand and workload during peak season, the need for automation and speed has been highlighted more than ever by logistics and procurement teams.

Technology in the logistics sector has evolved to provide tailored solutions for these needs. Such an example is leveraging a specialised freight procurement platform that helps with data-heavy & time-consuming operations, increasing work efficiency and accuracy, while streamlining all communications with your LSPs.

Using such platforms can save up to 70% of the time you would have spent on repetitive and manual tasks. Running tenders, launching RFQs, analysing the outcomes and going through a truly data-driven decision process, can now become a matter of minutes instead of weeks.

4. Complex Freight Landscape

Working with a wide range of carriers, brokers, and other LSPs can complicate the freight procurement process, making it difficult to evaluate and select the most optimal ones as per your business requirements.

However, combinatorics allows you to set your own business rules, flexibly integrate all the relevant criteria based on organisational priorities, like speed, cost, sustainability KPIs, etc. and automatically calculate optimised award scenarios. This will enable you to compare and evaluate at scale multiple suppliers, build detailed reports, and surface the best alternative, especially from a cost perspective, with much less effort.

5. Governance of Sustainability KPIs

With such a large volume of CO2 emissions coming from transportation, governmental and business requirements around sustainability have increased significantly across the years. Even more when we talk about such high shipping volumes like the ones during peak season, meeting these complex regulations and KPIs can be difficult, time-consuming, and costly, in the absence of a proper setup.

The foundation for success is to integrate sustainability criteria from the beginning into your freight procurement strategy and monitor it using dedicated green procurement dashboards.  It is important to ensure that your carriers, LSPs or other type of partners are aligned with your expectations in terms of such business requirements, so you can select the best option accordingly.

6. Compliance and Risk Management

Even in a regular, day-to-day context, handling compliance and risk management in freight procurement becomes an exceedingly difficult and sensitive task. With all complexity increasing exponentially in peak shipping seasons, meeting transportation & other government regulations, as well as business compliance standards, can become difficult and leave room for exposures.

Integrating your end-to-end freight procurement processes, managing LSPs, contracts, award of business and relevant documents within a dedicated platform helps you ensure that compliance is well up to company standards and will prepare a solid base for auditing when the time comes.

In uncertain times, allocating money to technology cannot always seem like an easy decision, but it quickly becomes one when ROI and further cost savings top by more than 10x the price.

Take a closer look at SHIPSTA to see how its platform and services can help you both during and outside the peak shipping seasons. To uncover more ways to win this peak shipping season, read the complete e-book here.

Dubai Packager Implements EPG TMS

Posted on by David Priestman

Supply chain software company EPG (Ehrhardt Partner Group) has cemented its already strong partnership with Dubai-based Falcon Pack, as the disposable food packaging specialist is to implement EPG’s Transportation Management System (TMS). The two companies have forged strong bonds since Falcon Pack’s introduction of EPG’s LFS Warehouse Management System (WMS) in 2018.

With its adoption of the TMS, Falcon Pack is taking advantage of EPG’s much-admired suite approach to supply chain software solutions. The EPG ONE Supply Chain Execution Suite comprises bespoke applications for each branch of the supply chain journey, from Gartner Magic Quadrant-recognised storage and fulfilment (WMS) to transport and distribution (TMS). Key business drivers within the TMS are routing optimisation and scheduling, provided by EPG’s Greenplan application, winner of the prestigious Best Product award at LogiMAT 2023. Dozens of Falcon Pack transport vehicles, from small vans to truck-trailer combinations, are to be implemented with the software.

Speed and Efficiency

The digitisation of transport execution processes will help Falcon Pack to improve speed, accuracy and efficiencies in its fast-growing ecommerce operations in Dubai. The state-of-the-art technology also enables the packaging experts to introduce same-day delivery to customers, alongside enhanced documentation control and shipment monitoring via an easy-to-use intuitive interface.

“Investing in EPG’s TMS was an easy decision for us to make,” comments Syed Ehtisham, Executive Director IT, Falcon Pack. “We have enjoyed a productive relationship with EPG’s expert engineers and on-the-spot field teams since we installed LFS five years ago. We have great trust in their portfolio, and we expect the TMS to provide us with valuable savings in terms of both time and money as well as clear transparency of our day-to-day operations and, consequently, even better relationships with customers. It is also a bonus for our hard-working staff that the system they have supplied us is so easy to get used to.”

Niels Meinken, EPG Logistics Consultant, is delighted with Falcon Pack’s decision to invest once more in EPG’s product expertise. “Our suite approach means that our customers can source all of their supply chain software needs from a single source, which results in smoother transitions and fewer pinch points, as well as a single contact. At the moment we are fully focused on implementing our TMS with them, and we look forward to expanding our relationship with Falcon Pack still further in the future.”

Climate Change Will Lead to More Disruptions

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Delivery delays, bottlenecks, bigger safety stocks, growing logistics costs: In future, climate change will lead to more supply chain disruptions and negative effects on the economy than ever before. This is the prediction of the SCM experts at the Bochum-based software company Setlog on the occasion of the current passage restrictions for ships in the Panama Canal.

Even if the situation in Central America does not have a noticeable impact on the German economy, the experts advise politicians and companies to take precautions for the future-for example, for the transport of raw materials and goods on waterways during low water.

Currently, dozens of cargo ships are jammed on both sides of the Panama Canal due to a lack of water for the lock processes of waiting ships caused by a long drought in Central America. The responsible authority therefore limited the daily transits to 32 ships from the end of July to the beginning of September.

Normally, 36 ships are allowed to go on the waterway each day. The ship draft is limited to 13.41m. As a result, traffic jams are forming, and the media report waiting times of up to three weeks.

According to experts, a total of 200 million litres of water are needed for each passage of a ship through the 12 locks in the 80km-long canal. However, because the region around Lake Gatun, which among other lakes feeds water to the locks, only has had half as much rainfall this year as normal, the Panama Canal Authority decided to take those measures.

The waterway plays an important role in supplying the US economy. Therefore, some companies already sounded the alarm about rising prices for containers as well as transport rates for certain relations on the spot market. Setlog’s cooperation partner Shippeo can also confirm this. Since there is no peak season and enough capacity is available, the Paris-based transport tracking experts assume that many companies that still have time for deliveries will work around the problem. They are changing transport routes and modes.

Setlog board member Ralf Duester can also confirm this after evaluating the flow of goods from US customers in Setlog’s SCM software OSCA: Around 20% of the volume that was originally to be unloaded on the East Coast has been rebooked to the West Coast – primarily to the major ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. From there, the shipments are transported by rail or truck or, if there is flexibility, to other distribution warehouses. These are mainly consumer goods. For Germany, on the other hand, the Panama Canal congestion and its consequences have virtually no impact, according to Duester: “Not even 2% of exports from German ports are destined for the Pacific coast in North and South America,” he says.

However, he takes the stress test for logistics chains in Panama as an opportunity to draw the attention of politicians and companies to the fact that extreme weather events such as droughts or storms will disrupt supply chains more often and more violently in the future. “Climate change has arrived in logistics. The forecasts of climate researchers show that it is high time for politicians and companies to take precautions,” emphasises Duester.

According to Duester, Germany must increasingly prepare for low-water situations in inland navigation. The Rhine, for example, must be a particular focus of political attention. In Duisburg alone, Europe’s largest inland port, around 42 million tonnes of freight were handled in 2022. In this context, Duester recalls the difficult situation in the Rhine in the summers of 2018 and 2022. Admittedly, only 5% of goods are transported by inland waterway vessel in this country. “But analyses by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy on the consequences of low Rhine levels have shown that industrial production in Germany falls by around 1% with 30 days of low water in a month. For some sectors, such as the chemical industry, supply by barge is critical,” he says.

He advises companies, on the one hand, to focus on the digitisation of supply chains and, on the other hand, to organise transport alternatives such as land bridges, i.e. the transshipment of goods from ship to rail or truck. In his view, innovative ships must also be used. In this context, he refers to the “Stolt Ludwigshafen” ship, which was bought by BASF in May 2023 and will be able to pass the Rhine even at extremely low water.

As the economy without a doubt should continue to rely on inland waterway ships, politicians need to turn the demands from the industry into reality, according to Duester. They need to consider multiple topics – above all the improvement of water level forecasts as well as the provision of current depth data, the search for hydraulic engineering alternatives and the optimisation of unloading points on the Middle and Lower Rhine.

 

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