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Tag: logistics

Successful project moves silos from Tunisia to UK

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Specialist Logistics Services (SLS), a specialist in the movement of out-of-gauge and abnormal project cargo, recently successfully executed one of its largest projects – the movement of seven silos and associated equipment from Sfax in Tunisia to the Wheelabrator Kemsley waste-to-energy plant in Kent, UK.

Moving project cargo requires coordination of stakeholders in multiple locations to ensure smooth and timely delivery of vital equipment. It is a complex business, involving much more than simply moving an item from A to B – though that, in itself, is a challenging task when it comes to heavy or outsize shipments.

It took two years to plan the move down to the smallest detail. In cooperation with the client and manufacturer, SLS also worked with landowners, government authorities, other transport companies and crane hire providers to ensure the delivery took place on time and on budget.

The support of Ridham Dock at Sittingbourne in the UK was also crucial. The key to the project’s success was finding a small port that was willing to make many infrastructure changes (for example  levelling yards, allowing SLS to make a new exit gate) to accommodate the sheer size of the silos. Consideration also then had to be taken of the overhead power lines and a transformer located near the exit point. The trucks carrying the huge silos had to comply with safety clearances specified by the National Grid.

SLS ensured that all cargo arrived in the UK on a weekend to avoid any disruption to local businesses and the surrounding area. SLS worked closely with local contractors to organise the removal of street furniture such as bollards and signage in order to pass unhindered and replaced it by the following morning along the private road between Ridham Docks and the job site at Kemsley, whilst ensuring minimal disruption to local businesses and residents.

SLS engaged many expert parties, including marine surveyors and customs clearance agents, to deliver this project safely and economically. On top of that, it is perhaps fitting that environmental considerations were of great importance in the logistics supporting this renewable energy project.

It was imperative that the largest silos, at 7.2m in diameter and 16m long, could be shipped to the job site in one piece without using public roads in order to minimise the amount of truck movements that would have been required if the cargo had been delivered as smaller units. SLS obtained special permission to use a privately-owned road for the final leg of the silos’ journey.

Detailed planning even helped to minimise the carbon footprint of the journey, making it as efficient and direct as possible.

Logistics Business Show Spring 2022

Posted on by David Priestman

The three-day Logistics Business Show got underway online on Tuesday March 15th. As well as a chance to explore products and solutions from a broad range of exhibitors, visitors can also network with the 5,000+ industry professionals who have already registered.

As in previous events, the Panel Discussions for the conference are attracting considerable interest. Once again they will be expertly hosted by Logistics Business Magazine’s Editor Paul Hamblin, and reflect the broad variety of exhibitors signed up to attend.

The industry experts speaking on the first day (Tuesday March 15th) of the Logistics Business Show virtual event will cover subjects ranging from sustainability and automation to road transport and inventory management, the panel debates have again attracted high-level speakers from sector-leading European and global businesses.

The provisional timetable for TUESDAY MARCH 15th is as follows:

Road Transport Challenges – 10.00 UTC/11.00 CET

Panellists: Stefan Van Doorslaer, CEO of Belgian logistics expert Ahlers; experienced New Zealand-based editor and journalist Nigel Parry from ontherack.news; and Tom Southall, policy director at the UK’s Cold Chain Federation.

Delivery WISMO & Inventory Management – 11.00 UTC/12.00 CET

Panellists: Craig Summers, UKI managing director at supply chain solutions leader Manhattan Associates; Mike Becker, managing director & co-founder of intralogistics automation company doks.innovation GmbH; and Cedric Mollon, co-founder and CEO of barcode scanning start-up VIZIOTIX.

Automation Systems in the DC – 12.00 UTC/13.00 CET

Panellists: Wouter Loomans, sales manager at US industrial automation leader Material Handling Systems Inc (MHS); Oana Jinga, CCO and co-founder of British robotics and AI company BotsAndUs; and Gianni Girolami, key account manager of advanced robotics maker HAI Robotics.

Sustainable, Low-Carbon Supply Chains – 14.00 UTC/15.00 CET

Panellists: Kevin Onderbeke, director of business development at Ahlers; Paul Williams, executive director of global logistic, freight forwarding & supply chain specialist Woodland Group; and Oliver Chapman, CEO of supply chain procurement partner OCI.

Putting Your Data to Work – 15.00 UTC/16.00 CET

Panellists: Robert Jordan, CEO of The Information Factory, an independent software vendor; Graeme Aitken, VP strategic customer pricing at DHL Global Forwarding; and Ulrik Topp, independent director of transport services reseller World Options.

On the second day (Wednesday March 16th) subjects being covered range from forklift innovation through health & safety to the latest robotics solutions.

The provisional timetable for WEDNESDAY MARCH 16th is as follows:

Forklift Innovation & Components – 10.00 UTC/11.00 CET

Panellists: Adam Dudas-Smith, Export Area Manager at industrial tyre specialist Marangoni; serial entrepreneur Louise Inglese, Founder & CEO of GenieGrips; Jean-Francois Marchand, Marketing Director for Canadian Li-ion battery manufacturer UgoWork; and Pete Wooding, Manager Technology & VNA at global forklift maker Crown Lift Trucks.

Robotics: Affordability & AI – 11.00 UTC/12.00 CET

Panellists: Adam Fox, Business Development Manager for logistics automation leader Swisslog; Jason Dyche, Division Director of logistics solution provider Big Box Group UK; and Kevin Heath, Senior Manager in the Dematic Global Robotics Center of Excellence (CoE).

Software for Real Time Visibility – 12.00 UTC/13.00 CET

Panellists: Jorge Lopera, Vice President and Head of Global Strategy for FarEye; and Tony Dobson, CEO at Snapfulfil EMEA.

Warehouse Worker Health & Safety – 14.00 UTC/15.00 CET

Panellists: James Ryan, Owner at safety equipment manufacturer Sentry Protection Products; Kevin Antony, Chief Executive Officer at van accessory producer Safepul Ltd; and Abi Piper, Sales & Business Development for Scafftag at global safety leader Brady Corporation.

Track & Trace: Rugged Mobile – 15.00 UTC/16.00 CET

Panellists: Rogier de Klein, Senior Account Executive at FarEye; Laurent Turmes, International sales manager at POST Telecom for Business; and Mike Willett, Retail, T&L, Manufacturing Lead at Panasonic TOUGHBOOK.

The organisers are delighted to announce that FarEye is the event’s principal sponsor. FarEye is a low-code, Intelligent Delivery Management Platform, enabling enterprises to orchestrate, track, and optimise their logistics operations. FarEye’s native SaaS products provide real-time visibility across transportation networks and logistics orchestration for the execution of deliveries across the first, mid and last mile.

David Priestman, Director of Logistics Business Publishing, the event’s organiser, said: “Our panel discussions have proved one of the most popular aspects of the Logistics Business Show. This time round, we announced our themes in advance in order to attract speakers with knowledge to impart from across the logistics sector.”

With a full programme of exclusive conferences and interviews running alongside the exhibition, please CLICK HERE to find out more about the must-visit third staging of the Logistics Business Show. Registered visitors can log-in early on Monday 14th March to finalise their and prepare their online profile.

As a taster, please CLICK HERE to view some of the conference sessions from the Autumn 2021 staging of the Logistics Business Show.

TPN equips forklifts with rugged tablets

Posted on by David Priestman

Technology has always played a huge part in staying competitive in the logistics industry, with mobile solutions forming a critical piece across depots, on-site and for managing vehicles. So, when The Pallet Network (TPN) was looking to replace the vehicle-mount mobile devices used by its forklift drivers at the company’s three UK depots it turned to IT services partner Jade Solutions to find the right replacement solution.

TPN is a leading UK pallet freight delivery network, last year shipping 4.6m pallets via its network of 119 regional transport partners and their 130+ depot locations. Their purpose-built main hub is in Sutton Coldfield and is Europe’s biggest cross dock, capable of unloading 57 trailers simultaneously and handling 20,000 pallets a night with workflows optimised using artificial intelligence. Its additional two regional hubs are in Preston and Northampton.

Continuous improvement

For Robert Haigh, IT Director at TPN, the problem was simple: “We had ageing Windows 7 devices mounted in our forklifts that were no longer supported and getting pretty tired. These devices are critical to our operations and used by the drivers constantly, so it was clear that they needed to be modernised. Our customers choose TPN because of our reliability, efficiency and transparency, which helps us deliver a successful logistics distribution service. Together with taking the opportunity to upgrade the old hardware, we also knew we could make further improvements by moving to the latest Android platform and deploying new software for our forklift operators to use.”

Working with trusted IT services partner Jade Solutions, the company set about evaluating options. It  looked at all the leading industry providers alongside Panasonic TOUGHBOOK and its rugged Android A3 tablet. TPN required 150 new devices, with 130 deployed on forklifts at any one time.

“The Panasonic device immediately stood out as different,” said Haigh. “It was a much more polished and complete package in terms of design and robustness. In our environment, we knew we needed a tough device, but it’s a bit of minefield selecting a product that is rugged, carries the right features and is future proof enough to last us at least five years. Although we were actively involved in the hardware selection process, we really relied on Jade’s team to help us navigate and choose the right solution for our business.”

The critical factors in choosing the new devices were their ruggedness and reliability in the challenging working environment and the ability to run TPN’s in-house developed software application for managing and moving the pallets. In addition, ease of management and long-term support for the devices were other important considerations.

“We knew that Panasonic TOUGHBOOK devices had a reputation for being rugged to a military-grade but operating on our forklifts they needed to be TPN-grade rugged,” joked Haigh. In the past most damage to the old devices had been caused by the buckles on the seatbelts of the forklifts springing back when unclipped and smashing the device screen.

“We tested the Panasonic device by lassoing the device with the belt and there wasn’t a scratch,” explained Haigh. The TOUGHBOOK A3 is designed to help mobile workers combat the toughest tasks. It is water and dust resistant (IP65) and drop tested to 1.5 metres.

Another important factor in the choice of device was the large 10.5-inch screen and bright outdoor readable display, which enables the drivers to see quickly and easily which pallets must be moved next and where.

The third critical element of the offering was Panasonic’s long-term and regular updates and support for the Android operating system through its COMPASS offering and its ProTect Warranty.

Panasonic COMPASS offers everything TPN needs to configure, deploy and manage their new tablets securely. It’s designed to give organisations the confidence to take advantage of the flexibility offered by the Android operating system with the reassurance that Panasonic’s devices are always business-ready for applications, management and security.

TPN also took advantage of Panasonic’s 5-year ProTect Warranty to provide complete peace of mind throughout the lifecycle of the devices. “When you rely on technology as much as we do in our business, you need to know that your hardware is reliable and that when things go wrong it is going to be taken care of immediately,” said Haigh. “That allows us to concentrate on developing our software and continuing to improve the efficiency of service we offer our customers.”

Lastly, TPN chose SOTI to secure, manage and support their mobile operations after seeing the close working relationship between Panasonic and SOTI partners and how intuitively the SOTI ONE Platform worked with Panasonic devices. SOTI Assist makes it easy and efficient for technicians to analyse, troubleshoot and resolve mobile device and app issues from anywhere, at any time. Rolling out regular application updates to the new devices is also much more efficient using SOTI MobiControl.

“Reducing downtime is critical for us,” explained Haigh. “Using SOTI as the deployment tool, we have updated our software four or five times with tweaks and improvements and it’s very simple. As soon as we decide to deploy the update, it is on the devices in minutes.

“In addition, we have never had visibility of our mobile assets in the past. Now we can log on and see exactly what’s happening with each device. It’s easy remote management, visibility and control. For example, we can see if a device battery is running low, or if the device hasn’t been switched on properly.”

Positive feedback

The new forklift devices have been positively received by the drivers. “The feedback has been really positive,” said Haigh. “They immediately noticed how quickly the new devices work and that the connectivity is much better than with the old devices. There are practically no connectivity blackspots any longer, which has really saved us time and increased the productivity of our drivers.

“Importantly, we also didn’t need to spend any time or money to train the drivers to use the devices. It is all very intuitive. They just went to the forklifts and started using the new solution straight away.”

Having a true partnership approach to tackling the problem was equally as important to the TPN team, as Haigh confirmed: “Because the deployment of technology is so important to our business, we can be quite particular about what we want and sometimes even come across as a bit stubborn, but I was impressed with the pragmatism and support offered by Jade and Panasonic from day one. It really felt like a three-way partnership where we were all going to benefit from getting it right.

“We want to work with organisations that are creative with their solutions, deliver on their promises and that go above and beyond to meet our needs. I can say without doubt that Jade Solutions do that.”

Moving forward, TPN plans to extend the use of the devices for additional purposes at the hub, by undocking the devices from the forklifts and using them for supervisor checks, yard management and door control.

“Ultimately, we now have a solution that is ideal for our working environment and that we can rely upon to do the job, allowing us to concentrate on delivering and fast, transparent and competitive service to our customers,” concluded Haigh.

New vision brand launched

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Industrial automation is based on detecting the presence, position or quality of an object in any part of the production or logistics process.

The DATASENSING brand has been launched to innovate in this area and facilitate the transition to industry 4.0. It will combine the Sensor & Safety and Machine Vision Business unit of Datalogic, a world leader in automatic data acquisition, with M.D Micro Detectors, a company operating in the design, production and sale of industrial sensors.

DATASENSING will strengthen its presence in industrial automation through a complete offering of sensors in various technologies, optoelectronic devices for the safety of machines and production plants, automated vehicles guidance and machine vision for Smart Manufacturing.

CEO Cosimo Capuzzello said: “DATASENSING starts from solid foundations and I am sure it will reach important milestones as early as 2021, with an expected turnover of €76m. Thanks to the agreement with Datalogic, we will create an industrial player with a hundred years of experience, merging two realities that have made the history of sensors in our country since the early 1970s: M.D. Micro Detectors with its pioneering product and production process technology, and Datalogic with an innovative product portfolio and a consolidated presence on a global level.”

DHL makes senior management changes

Posted on by David Priestman

DHL Supply Chain has made significant changes to its senior leadership team as part of its future growth strategy. Current Chief Executive Officer DHL Supply Chain UK & Ireland, José F. Nava, moves to a new global role as Head of Next Generation Services program, DHL Supply Chain. Saul Resnick, currently Chief Executive Officer DHL Supply Chain Australia & New Zealand, replaces him as CEO, DHL Supply Chain, UK & Ireland.

The changes will be effective from 1st January 2022, with both reporting directly to Oscar de Bok, CEO, DHL Supply Chain and member of the global DHL Supply Chain Board.

Nava was appointed CEO, DHL Supply Chain UK&I in 2018 and in this time has been responsible for refocusing the business, strengthening core operations and achieving considerable productivity and profit growth. In his new role, Nava will take on responsibility for seeking out future growth opportunities and helping define the business strategy beyond 2025.

His successor, Resnick, joined DHL Supply Chain in 2005 as Director, Healthcare Australia. In 2016 he stepped into his current role as CEO Australia & New Zealand and also assumed responsibility for the Life Sciences & Healthcare business within the APAC region.

In this role, Resnick was responsible for the impressive growth of both revenue and profitability for the Australian and New Zealand businesses for the past 5+ years.

Nava said: “Over the past three-and-a-half years we have accelerated our investment on a number of fronts to consolidate our leadership position in the UK&I. These include cutting edge warehousing and fleet that lead the way in sustainability and technology, to the latest warehouse and transportation management systems.

“I’ve also learned a lot from our customers and built some great relationships; but what I’m most proud of is our expert team of colleagues who are all committed to go the extra mile for our customers while keeping each other safe day in and day out.  It’s been an amazing experience that will stay with me forever, with many great memories.”

Commenting on his appointment, Resnick added: “I’m excited to be taking on the role of CEO UK&I and building on the excellent platform created by José and his team. I look forward to the UK&I business growing its market share, and creating even more opportunities for our colleagues to develop into. We have a fantastic reputation, not just globally, but within the UK&I, and I consider it a great honour to lead our business at this time. I would like to thank José for all the effort he has put into the role, and for placing us in the strong position we find ourselves in today.”

Transporeon aims for carbon neutrality

Posted on by Keith McKinley

On 23rd November 2021, Transporeon announced that it will become carbon neutral within three months. The company offers technology with a purpose that enables its customers to operate more sustainably. For example, Transporeon can help them make their CO2 consumption more visible with the new ‘Transporeon Carbon Visibility’ dashboard. In this context, the European Union’s ‘Fit for 55’ climate policy will apply carbon certificate trading to the transport sector from 2026 and require companies to set up an objective and efficient reporting system.

“It is only logical that we do our utmost to operate sustainably ourselves as the leading digital freight platform in Europe, where our customers together manage more than 100,000 transports per day and tender about 20bn freight volume per year,” said Transporeon CEO Stephan Sieber. “Becoming carbon neutral is the first step, but the journey has only just begun.”

Already beginning of this year, Transporeon launched the internal technology incubator ‘Transporeon4Future’ with the goal to innovate for decarbonisation and sustainable logistics. From this initiative Transporeon is launching in early 2022 the new Carbon Visibility dashboard that will enable shippers, carriers, and freight forwarders to precisely measure and report on their logistics emissions across the entire supply chain and all transport modalities and to provide tools to steer and reduce their future emissions.

More solutions will follow. For example, Transporeon is working on green tendering and assignment solutions, which will go live in 2022.

Transporeon´s own carbon footprint in 2020 falls more than 40% short compared to 2019, which was both impacted by the pandemic and own efforts which leave room for further science-based decarbonisation targets. Transporeon has therefore partnered with South Pole to undertake its decarbonisation strategy, the setting of future targets and also the selection of emission reduction projects to offset its remaining carbon emissions.

South Pole is a leading climate solutions provider and developer of emission reduction projects. Transporeon will be awarded the “Carbon Neutral Company” label by South Pole for its efforts in the first quarter of 2022.

“We applaud Transporeon for taking important steps on their climate journey, first by assessing their carbon footprint and then by taking meaningful action towards reducing their emissions,” said Renat Heuberger, CEO South Pole. “We are proud to help them on this journey and eager to see how their actions encourage other companies to take similar actions.”

“We are committed to bring transportation in sync with the world – with a sustainable world,” added Sieber. “Collaboration is the most promising way to achieve decarbonisation. That is why not only Transporeon as a company will become carbon neutral, but we also guide our network to lower their emissions in transportation. Together, we can make a difference.”

Dunelm ready for DIRFT move

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Dunelm Group Plc is set to move into its new Daventry (UK) warehouse at Prologis RFI DIRFT this December, creating up to 70 new jobs in the local area by the end of January 2022.  The new site will be helping the retailer meet customer demand ahead of the festive period and then from January will be become a key element in the growth of Dunelm’s furniture business and providing better delivery service levels.

The move supports Dunelm’s focus on innovating and improving its customer proposition, as well as the growth in home delivery and click & collect operations that resulted from the pandemic.

Dunelm is one of the country’s leading homeware retailers, operating 175 shops across the UK. The company has taken a 10-year lease on the new logistics building at Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal (DIRFT) in the East Midlands, the leading rail served logistics park in the UK, which will be home to the Dunelm Home Delivery network and furniture range.

Classed as a nationally significant infrastructure project, DIRFT is one of the most successful intermodal (road/rail) logistics parks in the UK. From its location in the logistics ‘golden triangle’, at the heart of the UK’s motorway and rail network, the site has excellent road links to the M1 and M6 motorways, and to the West Coast Main Line. Home to household names such as Sainsbury’s and Tesco, the site’s transport links have played a significant role in keeping goods and services flowing around the country during the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to do so during the current supply chain crisis.

“We’ve worked with Dunelm for a long time, and seeing this project come to completion is testament to the strength of our relationship,” said Tom Price, capital deployment and leasing director at Prologis UK. “The new facility will be pivotal in helping the business further grow its online retail operations and create a significant number of jobs for the local area. DIRFT continues to be an incredibly popular prospect for businesses looking to harness the power of multimodal freight and further extensions to the site will provide even more opportunities for businesses which want to strengthen their presence in the golden triangle.”

Dunelm’s new building will also reflect the company’s ambitious targets around sustainability and carbon reduction, with an EPC ‘A24’ rating, a BREEAM rating of ‘excellent’ and features such as 15% roof lights, rainwater harvesting, and LED lighting. The building has also had its environmental credentials certified by The Planet Mark and is mitigating 100% of the embodied carbon involved in its construction. Thanks to Prologis’ partnership with climate action charity, Cool Earth, the construction of DIRFT III DC4 will help protect 136 acres of rainforest, over 30,000 trees, and support 652 people in Sololo, Southern Papua New Guinea.

Richard Street, Supply Chain Development Director, Dunelm Group PLC, said: “Our new DIRFT warehouse facility is an important move for Dunelm – not only is the location excellent for better serving our customer needs but the new site will make a significant contribution to our improving our environmental footprint.”

FM Logistic expands Bauhaus contract

Posted on by David Priestman

Third-party logistics company FM Logistic has renewed and expanded its e-commerce logistics contract with the German DIY retailer Bauhaus. The new contract has led to doubling the size of the Lovosice fulfilment centre, in the Czech Republic, from 30,000 to 60,000 sq m.

FM Logistic is managing Bauhaus’ online orders and distribution to consumers in Austria and Germany from Lovosice, a Czech town located near the German border. The cooperation started in 2018. Under the new contract, FM Logistic will handle a broader range of Bauhaus products. Bauhaus is indeed planning to bring the range of products stored in Lovosice from 30,000 to 100,000 SKU by 2030.

“In 2020, we handled 66% more orders than the year before. In 2021, we expect volume to increase by another 34%, which brings us to more than one million orders per year. To support this growth, we have been closely cooperating with Bauhaus to co-design and automate warehouse processes,” says Guilhem Vicaire, Business Solutions Director Central Europe at FM Logistic.

The contract covers further investments in automation. FM Logistic and Bauhaus have set up an on-demand packaging machine to produce the right size box for non-conveyable items. They have also invested in automated sorters and a goods-to-person picking system to improve order processing.

The additional warehousing space was delivered by P3 Logistic Parks. It was inaugurated in October 2021 by Johannes Wechsler, SVP E-Commerce & Digital at Bauhaus, and Jean-Christophe Machet, FM Logistic’s CEO.

“We decided to work with FM Logistic in 2018. Together we have succeeded in setting up an important link in our e-commerce logistics chain. We see FM Logistic as a strategic partner. That is why we have decided to extend our partnership by investing heavily in this fulfilment facility,” said Jérôme Biencourt, head of e-commerce logistics at Bauhaus.

ZeKat launches logistics platform

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Pursuing its growth and development, ZeKat Group has launched a €4m investment project over two years to develop a multi-protocol mobile logistic platform. This gateway will integrate an open software architecture allowing remote management of embedded algorithms to ensure globalised logistics monitoring.

Since its creation in 2015, ZeKat Group has continuously grown to become a reference in IoT technologies and a leading mechatronics equipment manufacturer. The Group promotes French sovereignty in terms of design and production, particularly in the Defence, Industry and Agriculture sectors. For this last sector, the group has created a dedicated brand, IoF (for Internet of Fields), and launched a collaborative research project to develop an open and innovative technological ecosystem. With an investment of €1.2m, this project is dedicated to locally embedded artificial intelligence applications for the deployment of à la carte decision support tools in agriculture, as close to the data as possible (edge computing).

During the past few months, the Covid-19 crisis has brought to light a new paradigm: global demand is becoming unpredictable with changes in consumer behaviour, the activity of manufacturers is sometimes slowed down by health measures, and warehouses can be quickly congested or underused. Supply chain players therefore need, more than ever, visibility into pending orders, the state of production or stocks. In the meantime IoT paves the way for unprecedented levels of visibility, control and business intelligence which help to improve productivity and profitability.

Pursuing its commitment to create open and specialised ecosystems in specific sectors, ZeKat Group has decided to step up its presence in the logistics sector by developing a first dedicated brand, IoL (Internet of Logistics), which will combine all its knowledges and build specific offers. By associating the expertise of four of its subsidiaries, the group will develop a universal mobile IoT platform for logistics monitoring based on an intelligent gateway – a modular and open hardware and software platform allowing the integration of specific intelligence to support logistics decisions – and a device management platform.

This one will allow to manage the deployment of new services, remotely, by creating a digital twin and to deploy distributed intelligence models. The IoT platform must be able to combine several long-range (5G, LTE-M1 / NB-IoT, satellite IoT) and short-range (BLE, WiFi) communication networks and provide a guarantee of non-alteration based on the integration of blockchain elements.

This project, supported by the French Stimulus Plan, should enable France to position itself as a Global ecosystem in the development of secure IoT solutions to support major changes in the global supply chain. To do this, it wants to work with several major players in logistics and create a consortium of manufacturers. Its objectives will be to test, develop and promote the solution as soon as the pre-series are produced. This consortium will have to share a certain number of communication and data exchange requirements and validate them through the publication of a repository to promote a sovereign French solution that can be used by multiple actors.

These developments will be based on Ercogener’s 40 years of experience, a subsidiary of the ZeKat Group active in accurate geolocation (centimetre guidance), in the management of vehicle fleets (optimisation of fuel consumption) or in global logistics monitoring but also on the expertise of another subsidiary of the group, eRTOSgener, a specialist in embedded intelligence. The solution will be industrialised in France within AZKEDIA, which has an electronic solutions production site in Saumur.

Finally, this solution will be directly applied to the group’s new activity. Its subsidiary ZK-Systems produces containers that must travel from Saumur to their place of installation in Mali, without suffering major shocks under penalty of equipment breakage or theft of equipment during their journey. The containers are sent by truck to the port of Le Havre then by boat to Tanger then Dakar and finally by truck to Bamako.

Forto marks sustainability milestones

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Forto, a leading provider of digitised freight forwarding and supply chain solutions, has announced the latest milestone achievement in its sustainability roadmap with more than 50% of Sea Freight Full Container Load (FCL) volumes booked with Forto’s carbon offset offering in the third quarter of 2021. In this period, 65% of Forto sea freight booking customers committed to offset the CO₂e emissions of their Sea Freight shipments, representing the highest percentage of customers to-date. The adoption rate was achieved well ahead of the company’s targeted forecast originally set for 2023.

The achievement signals an acceleration in customer adoption of climate-driven solutions and marks an important next step in the company’s long term goal to drive transformation towards sustainable supply chains. “We see these metrics as positive indicators of a significant market shift. Sustainability topics are moving to the forefront of customer agendas more than ever before,” explained Michael Wax (pictured), CEO and co-founder of Forto. “This is a pivotal point for the logistics sector and there is a huge opportunity for industry to drive innovation and new programmes forward that will dramatically impact trade, and of course, all people, our planet and future generations.”

Climate neutrality

In April 2021, Forto announced its goal to make its transports 100% climate neutral by 2025. A commitment to addressing the global impact of shipping and transport on people and planet is built into the Forto DNA and strategy. The Forto programme starts by providing customers with emissions visibility and information that empowers them to make impactful data-based decisions. The goal is for sustainable choices to become the default, which can be achieved by making climate action easy. The company reinforces this with its own investments on top of those of the customers.

Current Forto programmes and initiatives focus on:

  • Transparency and visibility of climate impact. Forto believes that the first step towards action is knowledge. The company works with independent third parties to continually monitor and analyze the carbon footprint of the transports booked by its customers in order to identify inefficiencies and reduce emissions. This information is available for customers through emissions reporting on a shipment level.
  • CO₂e Offsetting for All Transport Modes. Forto offers CO₂e offsets for all modes of transport, with offsetting being part of sea freight shipments by default. Taking climate action is easy with customers being able to set their offsetting preferences directly on the Forto platform on a global & shipment level. Leading brands in fashion, furniture and electronics are among the customers participating in the programme as part of their own sustainability initiatives.
  • Forto’s own CO₂e Offsetting Commitment and 1+1 Matching. To further drive positive climate impact, Forto doubles each customer’s CO₂e offsets. In addition, Forto invests in automatically offsetting all Sea Freight Less than Container Load (LCL) shipments, so that they are 100% climate neutral at no additional cost to the customer.
  • Alternative energy transport. Keeping in mind that offsetting is just a first step towards sustainable logistics, Forto is committed to exploring greener transport modes. For example, 90% of German-based Rail Pre- and On-Carriage intermodal volumes are transported using trains powered by renewable energy.
  • Continual education and consultation. The company works to empower people to take climate action by listening, discussing, learning and innovating together. All Forto teams are trained by the company’s growing sustainability team to work together strategically with partners, customers and other stakeholders to explore sustainability options and find solutions that fit their needs.

Forto is also working to build a network of partners and collaborators on a global level to jointly achieve sustainability and climate goals. “Sustainability should become an integral part of any corporate philosophy,” added Dr. ing. Michael Ardelt, COO at Forto. “We hope to not only have an impact on our business, but that of the entire industry. That means working together with our customers, our partners, and a variety of companies to bring these sustainability initiatives forward together.”

The company strongly believes in a world of free and fair trade and connects the benefits of global trade with a sustainable way of transporting goods. Few other industries or achievements in human history had a similar effect on advancing people’s life standards across the globe like trade did. Beyond reducing environmental impact and improving social conditions – a sustainable and balanced company is also a future-proof company. Forto’s goal is to make supply chains future-proof while preparing the industry for the challenges of the next century.

Forto also strives to live sustainability from the inside out. Since its foundation, the company calculates, reduces and compensates its internal emissions footprint with the goal of CO₂e neutrality for internal operations. Forto also works each day towards building an inspiring and sustainable environment for their employees with initiatives such as green energy, organic food and a climate friendly travel policy. The company offers additional programmes such as planting trees instead of gifting products as employee rewards, and ongoing education and inspiration as well as training on sustainability topics.

 

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