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Tag: logistics

Qimarox automates unloading of containers

Posted on by David Priestman

Qimarox, a leading manufacturer of components for material handling systems, has launched a new palletiser machine dedicated for the logistics market. As a manufacturer of, among other things, palletisers, product lifts, pallet lifts, packaging machines and shielding systems, Qimarox says it distinguishes itself by its contemporary vision and approach, in which innovation, quality and added value are of paramount importance.

Thanks to the pandemic, the ever-rising e-commerce business has seen a massive growth. It is one of the most rapidly growing markets in the world economy. The transportation trends in 2021 shows this as well, the biggest trend is the necessity to deliver more products in less time. The most of these products are shipped in containers, which brings challenges for companies.

Unloading a container is a process that requires maximum expertise to make the entire process a success. Usually, ships are packed to full capacity to ensure that there is maximum utilisation of the available space. Unpacking such containers not only poses a risk to the workforce involved but also damages to the contents. Once the container arrives and is received, container handlers carefully unload it using cranes, forklifts, or through manual handling.

These tasks requires manual labour and can become quite expensive. Also finding the right people to do the manual unloading is getting harder. Qimarox claims to have found a better solution.

Automation can be a solution

Qimarox noticed this trend and wants to provide a solution. One of the solutions can be to automate the unloading process. The Qimarox Highrunner HR9 palletiser is designed exactly for this purpose. It is designed for logistic operations where many different products needs to be handled in short batches. Of course it is able to do longer batches of the same product as well. The automation of this process has a lot of benefits for companies.

The unique and patented layer-formation system of the Highrunner HR9 palletiser can generate a large variety of layer patterns that can be selected automatically or generated with the state-of-the-art pattern generator. The specially designed pattern generator can generate a large variety of layer patterns that can be selected automatically from the interface. The generator even recommends the best to use pattern, this way anyone can operate the machine. If the installation is equipped with a full 3D product scanner it is even possible to have the system working fully autonomously.

The highrunner HR9 palletizer enables companies to automate their unloading processes. Which brings a number of benefits:

  • No more costly and time-consuming manual handling
  • No more risks of repetitive strain injuries of the workforce
  • No more risks of being hit by falling objects
  • No more risks of falls from heights
  • No more risks of slips, trips and/or falls

The Qimarox Highrunner HR9 is already successfully integrated and in use at OMS International, a Dutch logistics company that unloads approximately one hundred containers with non-food items every day for one of Europe’s largest supermarket chains. With the palletiser including pattern generator, OMS is able to process 10,000 boxes per day, saving multiple FTEs results.

CLICK HERE to view an animation of the palletiser.

 

 

Shippeo and Everysens form strategic partnership

Posted on by David Priestman

Shippeo, a leading provider of global and multimodal shipment visibility, has partnered with Everysens, a leader in rail and intermodal transport management systems, to enhance their multimodal transport visibility offering. Everysens will provide Shippeo with the most reliable rail ETA available on the market, based on real-time data from satellite tracking and rail operators.

The two-way partnership allows Everysens to also benefit from Shippeo’s large network of road and ocean carriers, providing high quality shipment tracking data to rail and intermodal shippers and their customers. By sharing container events for ocean shipments, as well as highly accurate and reliable road freight ETAs, Everysens can better anticipate impacts on rail logistics.

In turn, Shippeo receives a stream of rail events from Everysens, including ETAs, GPS positions and loading statuses. Everysens provides ETAs for both full trains and single wagons; a unique capability within the market. The improved visibility across all types of rail transport will be available globally for Shippeo customers. In addition, Everysens covers the full transport processes, including tendering, collaborative smart planning, freight letters and CO2 emissions.

By integrating their respective shipment ETAs, both companies are able to offer their customers improved end-to-end visibility in a single offering, creating new opportunities for supply chain convergence and benefitting shippers with a higher level of supply chain transparency and optimised logistics flows.

“As shippers face more and more supply chain challenges around the world as a result of disruptive global events, they want to know when their shipments will reach their final destination,” explains Lucien Besse, COO and Co-founder at Shippeo. “With sustainability playing an increasingly important role in transportation management, rail is becoming a popular means of intermodal transport. However, visibility over rail shipments has not been easy for shippers to achieve. The partnership between Shippeo and Everysens increases shippers’ trust in rail and multimodal deliveries, providing them with critical monitoring milestones, as well as the ability to measure and improve their processes.”

“Rail is already an important part of multimodal logistics. Effects of the EU Green Deal are quickly positioning rail further as the future of freight,” says Dr. Youness Lemrabet, CEO and Founder of Everysens. “The target is clear: 30% modal share for rail by 2030, with an estimated impact of 290 million tonnes CO2 saved. To reach this, rail needs newcomers, for whom intermodal is the primary entry point. With this partnership, we can connect the dots between rail and first- and last-mile transport modes, to make modal shift truly happen.”

 

 

Start-ups selected to join Wincanton’s W² Labs programme

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Wincanton, a leading supply chain partner for UK business, has announced the five finalists from around the world to take part in its 2022 W² Labs programme. Those selected following the recent Pitch Day will receive mentorship from Wincanton’s Senior Management Team, with the chance to trial their solution in a live environment.

First launched in 2017, the W² Labs programme is open to early-stage businesses who are invited to pitch proposals which use digitalisation to drive change across supply chains. The programme is designed to accelerate innovation, discover emerging ideas and tackle some of the industry’s toughest challenges and is an example of Wincanton’s ambition to deliver truly innovative supply chain solutions.

This year’s programme invited 15 start-ups to pitch with a range of forward looking technologies and solutions in the following areas:

  • Digital Fulfilment: solutions to revolutionise modern-day fulfilment
  • Environment, social and governance (ESG): long-term sustainable supply chain solutions
  • Wildcard: technology and robotics to transform supply chains

As decided by the judging panel, the final 5 are:

Find & Order (digital fulfilment): Find & Order, based in France, uses its interactive mapping editor and algorithms to optimise picking operations in warehouses and stores, achieving increased product collection efficiency of up to 20%.

Nomagic (digital fulfilment): Nomagic, based in Poland, provides smart pick and place robots to eliminate labour intensive tasks in eCommerce and retail warehouses, while reducing cost per pick.

Automedi (ESG): Automedi, based in Manchester, UK, makes functional products and services out of waste plastics, cutting out up to 98% of the CO2 of conventional supply chains by radically reducing the energy needed to manufacture and transport goods long haul.

Navflex Inc (Wildcard – technology and robotics): Navflex, based in the US, has developed technology that autonomously loads and unloads any trailer, container or box truck with plug-and-play autonomous mobile robot (AMR) technology that do not require infrastructure changes. The US-based business promises to increase safety and productivity while reducing product damage.

Pick8ship Technology AG (Wildcard – technology and robotics): Pick8ship Technology AG, based in Switzerland, has developed a robotics fulfilment solution for managing storage, picking, sorting and shipping, using a single, fast, modular system. The technology reduces operating costs by 40-60%. Read more:

Paul Durkin, Chief Customer and Innovation Officer at Wincanton, and member of the judging panel, commented: “This year’s event was one of Wincanton’s most compelling W² Pitch Days to date. We saw a broad range of ideas and innovations which made judging the competition an exciting challenging.

“This was the first time we’ve hosted the event at our new W² Innovation Centre in The WEB, Wincanton’s eFulfilment centre in Rockingham. We were thrilled to host participants, customers and colleagues both in-person and remotely, making this year’s event a truly hybrid and inclusive experience.

“We look forward to collaborating with the start-ups, supporting them as they develop innovative supply chain solutions for the future.”

This year’s W² Labs is delivered in partnership with global corporation innovation specialist, L Marks.

Peli BioThermal innovation webinars available on demand

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Peli BioThermal, the life science industry’s partner from discovery to distribution, recently concluded its InnovationShare webinar series. Launched in March 2021, InnovationShare was designed to fill the in-person learning gap during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Webinars brought industry innovators together to share knowledge and address challenges in a quickly evolving global supply chain.

“Learning and growing together over the past two years was arguably more important than ever for the cold chain industry. The pace of change required quick innovation and grounding in best practices,” said Adam Tetz, Director of Worldwide Marketing at Peli BioThermal. “With a return to more traditional events, Peli BioThermal is excited to continue to deliver these industry-leading online learning modules.”

While InnovationShare webinars are complete, all ten webinars are available on demand through the Peli BioThermal website.

Sessions include:

  • Part 1: Outline and Justification for the QT Methodology
  • Part 2: A worked example of the methodology
  • GDP Update – The Importance of Self Auditing
  • Analysis of shipper performance using performance curves
  • Points to consider when selecting or creating thermal lane profiles
  • Clinical Trial Regulation (CTR) and the role of clinical supply chain transparency
  • Using AI to Predict Ambient Temperature Throughout a Pharmaceutical Shipping Lane
  • Integrating Real Time Track and Trace via IoT into the Cold Chain
  • Cell and Gene Therapies and the Cold Chain Logistics Necessary for Success
  • Single Use vs Reusable for Temperature Control Packaging

 

 

Helsingborg launches ”Paris Agreement” for logistics

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Helsingborg is one of Europe’s most innovative and climate-smart cities. Now Helsingborg, together with representatives for the entire logistics chain, is launching the Helsingborg Declaration – the logistics sector’s equivalent to the Paris Agreement with a view to becoming climate neutral by 2030. “We aim to be Europe’s most sustainable and fast-moving logistics hub. The Helsingborg Declaration is the answer to how we get there,” says Peter Danielsson, Mayor and Chairman of the Municipal Executive Committee in Helsingborg.

Helsingborg has the best logistics location in Sweden, according to the latest ranking from Intelligent Logistik. Now the city is taking the next step on its journey towards becoming Europe’s most sustainable and fast-moving logistics hub.

At H22 Arena during H22 City Expo, leading representatives for the logistics chain will sign the Helsingborg Declaration, the logistics sector’s equivalent to the Paris Agreement, with sights set on becoming climate neutral by 2030. Among the powerful stakeholders that are first to sign the declaration are Scania, Volvo Truck Center, Postnord TPL, Peab, Schenker, Skanska, Catena, Johnson & Johnson, Frigoscandia and the Port of Helsingborg. All signatories have a clear ambition to accelerate their green transition to achieve climate neutrality by 2030. Realising this goal requires collaboration between different industries, sectors, and organisations.

“This is a milestone for the logistics sector’s sustainability work. For the first time, representatives for the entire chain are now agreeing on common goals and guidelines with a view to achieving climate neutrality by 2030. This is historic,” says Peter Danielsson, Mayor of Helsingborg and initiator of the Helsingborg Declaration.

”We and other companies are already doing a lot to develop a climate-smart and sustainable logistics chain. But we work away in our own corners and there is a great need for coordination and joint commitments. It is here that the Helsingborg Declaration will play an important role for the future,” says Håkan Lindberg, Area Manager at PostNord TPL.

“Growth is strong in the industries within the logistics chain and the demand for these services will continue to increase, but the climate footprint does not have to. We therefore call on the chain’s various stakeholders in Sweden and Europe to join in signing the Helsingborg Declaration so that we can jointly set the framework for future climate commitments,” says Peter Danielsson.

The Helsingborg Declaration was signed on Tuesday 14 June at H22 Arena on Hamntorget square in Helsingborg.

Facts: The Helsingborg Declaration

The Helsingborg Declaration is an agreement that brings together the entire logistics chain and sets the framework for the sector’s joint climate work. All stakeholders that sign the declaration have a clear ambition to accelerate their green transition to achieve climate neutrality by 2030. The focus areas of the declaration are:

  • Fossil-free energy
  • Smart and efficient logistics with coordinated loading solutions
  • Technology and infrastructure
  • Packaging logistics
  • Circularity, reuse, recycling

 

PSI Logistics achieves “Excellent Brand” award

Posted on by Keith McKinley

PSI Logistics GmbH has been awarded with the German Brand Award as winner in the category “Excellent Brands – Logistics & Infrastructure” for the second time. The award was handed over recently to the company representatives, Janine Hellwig and Vanessa Schekalla, during a festive event in Berlin.

With the “Excellent Brand”, the German Brand Institute honours the best product and company brands of an industry. The jury is formed by independent, interdisciplinary experts from the worlds of business, science, consulting, services and agencies. Criteria such as independence and brand typology, brand distinctiveness and differentiation from the competition are evaluated. In addition, aspects such as sustainability, degree of innovation, continuity, future viability and economic success are taken into account in the assessment.

With this year’s award, PSI Logistics was named winner and leading industry company for the second time after 2018. “We are very pleased to receive this award again,” explains Dr. Giovanni Prestifilippo, Managing Director of PSI Logistics. “The honour underlines the substantial continuity of our work and our innovative strength. Thus, we will continue on this path.”

With around 1,200 entries from 19 countries, the German Brand Award 2022 achieved a great international response. The competitive process ensures the independence and excellence of this unique award for outstanding brand management.

The PSI Group develops its own software products for optimizing the flow of energy and materials for utilities (energy grids, energy trading, public transport) and industry (metals production, automotive, mechanical engineering, logistics). The industry-specific products, which are built from standard components, are sold both directly and via the multi-cloud PSI App Store and can also be customised by customers and partners themselves. PSI was founded in 1969 and employs more than 2,200 people worldwide.

Hoppecke batteries help make waterways greener

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Industrial battery specialist Hoppecke is widely acknowledged for its expertise in logistics. Increasingly, however, its batteries are powering an ever-broader range of machinery, equipment and vehicles, including narrowboats.

Hoppecke is partnering with Isle of Wight-based Hybrid Marine to develop diesel-electric hybrid boat engines that improve energy efficiency whilst also reducing emissions.

Hybrid Marine has been designing and manufacturing hybrid propulsion systems for canal boats, commercial barges and sailing boats, including fast offshore catamarans, since 2002. It sells its award-winning technology to boatbuilders, supplying a complete solution for new custom-built boats. Hoppecke recently collaborated on Hybrid Marine’s 100th system with diesel engine manufacturer Beta Marine, subsequently fitted to a canal boat designed and built by Braidbar Boats.

Hoppecke has created a 48V lead acid battery pack, comprising 24 cells with a  capacity of 775Ah. When no mains connection is available, the battery provides sufficient energy to power all typical domestic appliances through a large inverter. Consequently, most craft can eliminate gas and implement an electric galley. The large battery bank also provides the ability to cruise almost silently for prolonged periods. One customer observed that “when the engine is running you are in a boat; when using electric drive, you are in the countryside”.

Says Hoppecke’s General Manager Stuart Browne: “We’re all more conscious of our impact on the environment so it’s no surprise that the boating community, including key industry stakeholders, is keen to reduce pollution across our waterways. Innovative hybrid drive technology offers significant economic and environmental advantages without denigrating people’s enjoyment of the boating experience.”

Using cells and other components from stock, Hoppecke builds and installs these special batteries at the boatyard. Hybrid Marine first connects the diesel engine to its hybrid propulsion system and then links this to Hoppecke’s battery before commissioning the complete engine.

Graeme Hawksley, Managing Director at Hybrid Marine, says: “With a hybrid drive the boat’s propeller can be driven by the engine using fuel, such as diesel, or stored energy from the battery bank with the engine stopped. When the engine is running the extra load of the hybrid generator makes the engine operate with higher efficiency, providing better fuel economy and less emissions.

“Once the batteries are charged the hybrid switches to emission free electric drive. Partnering with Hoppecke and capitalising on its expertise means we can clearly demonstrate how energy efficiency is enhanced during low to mid-power cruising, when the hybrid is running on battery power.”

 

ZipLink belts help reduce downtime

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Working closely with OEMs and end users, Ammeraal Beltech – a leading manufacturer of process and conveyor belts with a well-earned reputation for developing innovative belting solutions for a wide range of applications across many industries – has developed a truly revolutionary concept in belting design, the ZipLink range of belts.

These belts feature a specially designed linking mesh carcass that can be fitted with a selection of different top-cover materials, including natural rubber, carboxylated rubber, Silam, Teflon, Nitrile, SBR and cotton/felt fabric – the choice of top-cover material depends on the application.

The greatest benefit from the ZipLink belt is less downtime. Thanks to the belt’s innovative linking mesh, it can be quickly and easily spliced without the need for special tools, presses or other equipment, without lengthy production stoppages or the need to call in specialist services. After installing ZipLink belts, many end users found that the time and the personnel they required to change belts was less than half of what they’d had to devote in the past.

Furthermore, the special ZipLink construction eliminates points of weakness after repair. There’s no loss of strength at all in the “splice” area because the mesh carcass has simply been linked up again. This means a reconnected ZipLink belt is as strong as it ever was, and will last longer than belts that have been seamed or fused when spliced.

The logistics industry is one of the main sectors to benefit from this breakthrough. Parcel sortation facilities often have many short belts installed in awkward places where it’s often very tricky or even dangerous (in the case of hot-splicing) to carry out a splice or install a new belt. In many cases, time-costly disassembly is required.

ZipLink belts can be replaced in minutes, and that’s not all. The ZipLink range was designed to meet just the requirements present in a number of sortation belting applications, including general and inclined transport, gapping, live roller, strip merge, and high-speed merging.

Logistics Hall of Fame appoints new jurors

Posted on by Keith McKinley

The Logistics Hall of Fame has announced the appointment of six new jury members for the start of the new voting phase in 2022. Logistics Business has once again been honoured by the appointment of its News Editor, Peter MacLeod, to the jury panel.

For the first time, the following jurors will cast their vote in 2022:

  • Prof. Dr Christian Grotemeier, Professor of Mobility Management and Business Administration at RheinMain University of Applied Sciences, Germany
  • Prof. Dr Julia Hartmann, Professor of Sustainability Management at the EBS University of Economics and Law, Oestrich-Winkel, Germany
  • Maj-Britt Pohlmann, Director Operational Excellence FIEGE Group, Germany
  • Martin Schwemmer, Managing Director of Bundesvereinigung Logistik e.V., Germany
  • Oliver Luksic, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Digital Affairs and Transport, Germany
  • Peter MacLeod, Logistics Business News Editor, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

In total, more than 70 jury members from numerous countries will vote on who will enter the Logistics Hall of Fame at the end of 2022 and who will be allowed to carry the “TRATON Logistics Leader of the Year” award in the future. The jurors come from business, media, associations and politics or are active as scientists. Both awards are presented at the annual gala reception at the end of the year in Berlin.

 

Freightline’s multilingual team enhances service

Posted on by David Priestman

With 11 different languages spoken amongst its team, logistics specialist Freightline has been helping its clients ensure language barriers don’t get in the way when shipping goods across Europe and beyond.

The majority of Freightline’s employees are multilingual, with 80% of staff speaking at least two languages including Ukrainian, Spanish, Mandarin and Czech.

Language barriers can be a significant challenge for logistics companies, especially for businesses like Freightline which operate across a variety of different countries.

“Being multilingual makes it easier to break down language barriers to understand our clients, to read documents of all kinds and to find information more quickly,” says Rafal Poplawski, Logistics Co-ordinator at Freightline.

Not being able to understand someone can lead to breakdowns of communication which can have long-term effects including delivery errors and delays – particularly risky for time-critical deliveries.

Speaking the language of its international customers has many benefits for Freightline, including a much simpler and speedier process through bypassing a translator.

“I had a time-critical air charter collection from Portugal and the driver was Polish. By communicating directly with the drivers in their own language, the process was much faster and more convenient than asking for translation,” says Martina Cunderlikova, European Operations Team Leader at Freightline.

Freightline specialises in urgent time-critical deliveries which heavily rely on clear communication between the different parties involved. With smooth processes critical for on-time deliveries, commanding almost a dozen foreign languages gives Freightline a clear advantage for its day-to-day operations.

“Communication with our carriers and clients in Poland is definitely easier because we are multilingual,” adds Kamil Potrec, European Operations Coordinator at Freightline.

 

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