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Tag: logistics

Report: only 12% of companies have resilient supply chain

Posted on by Keith McKinley

A new report by global consultancy partnership Kearney and the World Economic Forum has found that only a minority (12%) of leading companies globally are sufficiently protected against future supply chain and operational disruptions. The remaining 88% urgently require additional measures aimed at building resilience, with 52% of businesses in this group considered mainstream players while 36% are ‘resilience laggards’.

A variety of drivers are affecting companies’ resilience. Around three-quarters of executives globally (76%) indicate COVID-19 as a significant disruptor, though this was less felt by executives at UK companies (40%).

Meanwhile, emerging technologies, geopolitical tensions, trade barriers, political uncertainties, social injustice and the implications of climate change are also acting as barriers to resilience building for many firms globally. For example, among UK companies in particular, the majority (84%) of executives believe geopolitical tensions will be disruptive to their company’s value chain within the next five years. Furthermore, executives globally expect the impact of disruption on corporate value to increase by 15-25% over the next five years.

Despite its challenges, COVID-19 is helping to prompt change in this area, with 60% of executives surveyed in this report saying that the crisis has encouraged them to pursue long-term resilience and prepare for future disruptions. Additionally, 75% see the pandemic as a dress rehearsal for further disruptions to come.

However, the majority of companies will require support when it comes to building long-term resilience in a variety of key areas. Consultations with senior executives in operations and supply chain suggest that resilience in product portfolio, customer orientation, financial viability and go-to-market channels is needed if businesses are to satisfy customer demand. Furthermore, resilience in logistics, manufacturing, suppliers and planning is also necessary so that companies can secure the supply to be able to run production.

Only 12% of those surveyed by Kearney said they have heavily invested in their customer orientation, while a mere 14% have mastered the development of a robust logistics system, for example.

12% of companies representing a healthy mix of industries and regions were classed as ‘resilience leaders’ in this report, who consistently outperformed the remaining 88% across all areas of resilience, further indicating the importance of resilience in securing a strong and future-proof business model. No company in any single sector or region is insulated from supply chain disruptions and, as such, every business needs to adopt the relevant strategies that will help them tackle this.

Per Hong, Strategic Operations Partner and leader of the study at Kearney, comments: “Though the world is opening up, the challenges from COVID-19 are far from over, from ensuring safety and security on the shop floor and facing supply and demand disruptions, to accelerating digital transformation and reskilling to build resilience.

“So far, we have explored where resilience leaders are excelling and observed how companies can chart their own path; however, no company can manage the repercussions of large-scale disruptions alone. This is where collaboration between different players in the ecosystem becomes vital to enabling a rapid response.

“Organisations need clear and accessible support to identify priorities, manage risks and confidently define sustainable strategies to navigate disruption and uncertainty. Next generation operations and supply chain leaders will be defined by their ability to withstand and quickly adapt to increasingly disruptive headwinds, and the priority for many businesses now should be accelerating the resilience-building process so they can best respond to future disruption.”

The World Economic Forum’s Platform for Advanced Manufacturing and Production and Kearney, will continue engaging leaders across different industry sectors such as healthcare, automotive, consumer goods, and transport and logistics, as well as government, academia, and civil society, to jointly design globally-coordinated responses and build resilient value chains for the future. Forthcoming work will offer in-depth archetypes of resilience leaders to further the mission of building global resiliency and identify priority areas and actions for organisations.

Antwerp sees growth despite pandemic

Posted on by Keith McKinley

During the first six months of 2021, 120 million tonnes were transhipped through the Port of Antwerp, an increase of 5% compared with the same period last year, despite the impact of the ongoing pandemic. Transhipments with the UK and Ireland also show positive figures; the expanded shortsea connections in response to Brexit are proving effective.

Containers are the only cargo type that has continuously grown since 2014, up by 4.3% in the first half of the year compared to 2020, and by 3.9% compared to 2019 (in tonnes). Conventional breakbulk has grown by 41.2% compared to 2020 and equals the throughput of the first 6 months of 2019. The throughput of iron and steel, the main goods group in this segment, increased by 37.8% due to a peak in the supply of steel. RoRo also did very well in 2021 and increased by 22% compared to the first half of 2020.

Dry bulk transhipment increased by 7.5% but there are fluctuations because some products, such as fertilisers, are seasonal. Liquid bulk grew slightly by 1.2% compared to 2020 but decreased by 6.1% compared to 2019. In May, the volume of fuels was the highest since October last year, while the transhipment of chemicals increased by 8.9% compared to 2020. Demand for chemicals is booming globally due to the recovery in industrial production and is exceeding pre-pandemic levels.

Brexit: growth in declining market

With an annual cargo flow of around 15 million tonnes, the UK is the third-largest maritime trading partner for the Port of Antwerp. The start of Brexit at the beginning of this year therefore created major challenges due to increased administrative complexities and more controls, which resulted in congestion, longer transit times and higher costs. As a result, the flow of goods between the EU and the UK is decreasing. Despite these difficult conditions, however, the Port of Antwerp recorded growth in total throughput of 11.1% with the UK and 12.1% with Ireland in the first half of the year compared with the same period in 2020.

In preparation for Brexit, Port of Antwerp put all its efforts into further expanding short sea connections with the UK and Ireland in order to achieve the modal shift from ferry to container transport. Five years after the Brexit referendum, the port of Antwerp is now connected with 12 British and Irish ports. In fact, Irish importers and exporters are increasingly abandoning the land bridge over the UK and are instead opting for a direct maritime connection. This way, cargo remains within the European Union and British customs formalities and duties are bypassed. For example, Eucon, an Irish shipper, has expanded its shortsea sailings from Antwerp to Ireland with an additional ship, mainly between Antwerp and Dublin.

Step towards CO2 reduction

The Antwerp@C consortium is taking important steps forward in the transition to a sustainable, low-carbon port. The feasibility studies have been completed and the consortium is preparing to enter the design phase. The project, an initiative by Air Liquide, BASF, Borealis, ExxonMobil, INEOS, TotalEnergies, Fluxys and Port of Antwerp, has the potential to reduce CO2 emissions in the Port of Antwerp by half by 2030. It will do this by capturing CO2 and using it or storing it permanently.

Serge Amorgaste, Sales Manager at Eucon, said: “The strategic location of Antwerp and the reliability and flexibility of the network offered from and to Antwerp, ensure the right transit time to meet the growing demand of our customers. Multimodal transport is the right tool for this door-to-door concept.”

Jacques Vandermeiren, CEO Port of Antwerp: “We knew that Brexit would have major consequences for the transport of goods between Europe and the UK. By preparing ourselves well and focusing on short sea connections and LoLo cargo, we can convert the challenges into opportunities. The positive half-year figures for transhipment with the UK and Ireland confirm this. After Brexit, Antwerp wants more than ever to be the gateway between Europe and the UK and Ireland.”

Annick De Ridder, Port Alderman: “Despite the difficult circumstances in which we started 2021, we can show that the port is holding its own and is once again even recording growth in container handling. The economic urgency for extra container capacity is clearly demonstrated, more than ever. The figures are a confirmation of the resilience of our port and of the flexibility of all employees who ensure that everything keeps running.”

Logistics company ships 20,000,000 tea bags annually

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Liverpool-based warehouse and logistics company, Brunswick International, is bringing in more than 20,000,000 tea bags through the docks every year. It imports a 100-container shipment full of tea annually, before distributing the extraordinary number of tea bags inside to locations around the UK.

Brunswick deals with around 20,000 containers, making the Hunts Cross company one of the biggest import and export firms in the UK.

On average the UK  drinks more than 100 million cups of tea every single day, so to keep up with demand Brunswick International distributes the tea bags as part of its major shipping operation by allocating 100 containers exclusively to them every 12 months.

Brunswick International managing director Steve Crane said: “We deal with more than 20,000 containers every year and at any time 100 of these will contain boxes of tea. Each container contains 2,000 boxes of tea, holding 100 tea bags, amounting to 20 million tea bags being shipped by us.

“The tea bags are just one part of a major operation we run out of the dockyards in Liverpool and Salford. We have an excellent customs facility and clear shipments – whether it comes via air or sea – at every port and airport in the UK while our fleet of vehicles and huge 60,000 sq ft warehouse facilities simply mean our operation has been able to hugely grow since the Brexit vote.”

Brunswick International has operated in the shipping industry for more than two decades and has a stellar track record throughout its time operating from Liverpool Docks before the expansion to Salford.

It recently opened a 50,000 sq ft HQ and customs bond facility in Hunts Cross, following extra demand for its services post-Brexit. The new site, which also includes 15,000 sq ft of external storage, follows a surge in demand from growing numbers of domestic and international clients since the UK left the European Union.

IAG launches Madrid-Maldives cargo route

Posted on by Keith McKinley

IAG Cargo has launched a new direct service from Madrid, Spain to Male, capital of the Maldives, starting from July. The service will run three times per week from Madrid-Barajas.

The new service will strengthen IAG Cargo’s existing presence in South Asia, which already includes regular services into Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi in India. IAG Cargo’s extensive global network will allow customers in the Maldives and nearby Sri Lanka seeking to transport essential goods, such as textiles and perishables, access to key markets in Europe, Latin America, United States and elsewhere. The new route will be operated by Iberia A330-200 and A330-300 wide-body aircraft.

Fernando Terol Armas, Director of Spanish Hub and Operations at IAG Cargo, said: “South Asia is an important market for IAG Cargo, and we are very excited to open this new service for our customers in both regions. This route will not only support Maldivian exporters get essential and time-sensitive perishable products to global markets, but also support Sri Lankan exporters using Male as a gateway to Europe and beyond.

“With our hub in Madrid one of the largest in Southern Europe, this connection opens up opportunities for further import and export growth from Europe and beyond into South Asia.”

Rob Wiemerink, Regional Commercial Manager for Asia Pacific and Middle East at IAG Cargo, said: “I am delighted to be able to provide our customers with a further route between South Asia and Europe. Male is an important trade link for Sri Lanka, where garments, automotive goods and perishables such as fish are among the principal exports.

“Exporters in the region will be able to benefit from our Constant Fresh product, ensuring produce arrives on supermarket shelves in peak condition. This will also be welcome news for exporters into the Maldives – in 2019, goods worth around US$2.89 billion were imported to the Maldives.”

Eligible customers seeking to use IAG Cargo’s services into Maldives will be able to benefit from IAG Cargo’s loyalty programmes.

Austrian logistics company serves Mars mission

Posted on by Keith McKinley

As the official logistics partner of the Austrian Space Forum (OeWF), Gebrüder Weiss is transporting the globally unique mission equipment as well as 16 international science experiments to the test site in Israel.

After the date had to be postponed last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, preparations for the transport from Austria to the Israeli Negev Desert are now officially underway. From 4th-31st October 2021, the OeWF and international research partners will carry out the simulated astronautical Mars mission, Amadee-20.

Young professionals at Gebrüder Weiss are taking an active role in organising the transport. Under supervision, four trainees will be taking over all logistic tasks, customs clearance and the transport of mission equipment. Under the hashtag #marsmonday, they will be regularly providing personal insights into this extraordinary project on social media.

From 4th-31st October, the OeWF will be leading the international Mars Analog Mission, Amadee-20. Experiments from Austria, Germany, France, Israel, Italy, Portugal, Sweden, UK and USA will be carried out by six specially trained OeWF analog astronauts. The mission equipment will fill two sea freight containers that Gebrüder Weiss will then transport from Innsbruck, Austria to the mission site in the Negev Desert in Israel – a site closely resembling the surface of Mars.

During the mission, the experts wear the Aouda space suit simulator, which was developed by OeWF. Currently, only five organisations worldwide are working on an equally complex space suit simulator. The analog astronauts (field crew) in Israel will be supported by the Mission Support Centre in Innsbruck, where several teams will be responsible for supporting the field crew with conducting scientific research, preparing the mission schedule, securing the collected data, and monitoring the health of the field crew.

Amadee-20 is the 13th Mars Analog Mission of the OeWF – find out more at: https://oewf.org/en/portfolio/amadee-20/

DHL to manage Lotus Cars supply chain

Posted on by Keith McKinley

DHL Supply Chain has been appointed by Lotus Cars to manage the iconic car maker’s inbound-to-manufacturing warehousing and transport operations for the next five years.

Commencing operations in August 2021, DHL is responsible for planning all logistics movements, worldwide collection and tracking of parts, inventory management, picking, kitting and sequencing of products, and shunting from the DHL warehouse to the Lotus Advanced Performance Centre and headquarters in Hethel. This will support production of the newly revealed Emira sports car, in the all-new Lotus manufacturing facilities.

DHL’s expertise in designing Auto-Mobility supply chains and optimising ongoing operations were capabilities key to the award.

Mike Bristow, Managing Director, Manufacturing Logistics UKI at DHL Supply Chain (pictured with Lotus Cars MD Mike Bristow at the world debut of the Lotus Emira last week at Goodwood), added: “Lotus Cars is an iconic British brand with a strong heritage and an exciting future ahead. We’re proud to be working in close partnership to develop an agile and resilient supply chain, delivered by a passionate team who are committed to its long-term success.”

Kroger expands Great Lakes DC

Posted on by David Priestman

The Kroger Co., America’s largest grocery retailer, is working with KNAPP to expand the capacity and enhance the capabilities of its Great Lakes Distribution Centre in Delaware, Ohio.

In order to supply stores in the region efficiently and quickly with fresh food, the Great Lakes DC is currently being renovated to add state-of-the-art technology – including KNAPP’s OSR Shuttle Evo and RUNPICK systems – and is expected to be complete this summer.

Improved efficiency for store replenishment

The Great Lakes facility – which opened in 2003 and currently services 115 stores in central and northwest Ohio, southeast Michigan and the Ohio River Valley region – will be expanded by 130,000 sq ft during the renovation.

Tony Lucchino, Kroger’s Vice President of Supply Chain and Network Strategy, said of the agreement, “Kroger’s investment in KNAPP’s latest technology allows the Great Lakes Distribution Centre to improve efficiency in replenishing our stores, enabling us to quickly deliver fresh food to our customers. The expansion of the facility is part of the ongoing transformation of our supply chain network, and this project will more than double our capacity while delivering innovation and scalability that can grow with demand. This collaborative project will allow us to better serve customers in the region.”

Innovative combination of technologies

The site will feature a unique combination of two KNAPP technologies: the OSR Shuttle Evo storage and picking system and the Robotic Universal Picker (known as RUNPICK). The OSR Shuttle Evo store delivers groceries in an exact sequence to the RUNPICK picking and palletizing robot, which uses an intelligent algorithm to build mixed loads of full cases, packs and trays fully automatically. Specially designed for the food retail sector, the RUNPICK system relies on KNAPP’s KiSoft Pack Master software to ensure load stability, shop-friendly delivery sequencing and optimum packing density on the load carrier.

Within a single cycle of movement, the robot moves and deposits several items at the same time, thereby increasing performance. Together, the OSR Shuttle Evo and RUNPICK technologies will deliver next-generation efficiency and performance increases for Kroger’s supply chain network.

According to the CEO of KNAPP Inc., Josef Mentzer: “The technology investment in the Great Lakes Distribution Centre has been designed to add a new level of flexibility to the Kroger supply chain network and deliver a resilient approach to investments in automation.”

CLICK HERE to see the RUNPICK solution in action.

JV formed to develop UK’s largest logistics site

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Oxford Properties Group, a leading global real estate investor, asset manager and business builder, and Logistics Capital Partners, a best-in-class developer and asset manager of logistics real estate across Europe, have formed a new co investment joint venture, to acquire a 734-acre site near Birmingham which they will develop into a major new logistics hub with associated rail freight terminal known as West Midlands Interchange.

Oxford and LCP will jointly invest c.£1bn to bring forward the project over a number of years, with Oxford providing the majority of the capital and working alongside LCP’s highly experienced and professional team as development manager. West Midlands Interchange will be a technologically advanced and environmentally sustainable development which meets modern occupiers’ efficient operational and environmental requirements.

Planning consent has already been secured by the vendors, which allows for the delivery of around 8 million sq ft of prime logistics space and provides flexibility around the project timeline and scale of units. Infrastructure works are expected to commence in the first half of next year with the first buildings starting on site in 2022 ready for occupation in 2023.

The site can accommodate new warehouses ranging in size from 200,000 sq ft to over 1 million sq ft, with building heights up to 30m. This scale and flexibility will create space for some of the most efficient operations in the country, maximising cubic storage capacity and the possibility for occupiers to deploy the latest technology.

West Midlands Interchange is centrally located in the UK, northwest of Birmingham in the key West Midlands logistics corridor and will deliver significant economic benefit to the region through the creation of 8,500 jobs and a further 8,100 indirect jobs. It is also expected to generate around £430m of local economic activity each year, and, through the supply chain, create over £900m of economic activity each year nationally.

It benefits from excellent transport connectivity to the UK’s major cities, ports and airports, with immediate access to the M6 motorway allowing 88% of the population to be reached within a four-hour drive, well inside the HGV single trip limit. As part of wider infrastructure improvements, Oxford and LCP will build a new link road to connect the A5 and A449, enhancing the resilience of the local road network to improve access to the site and achieve additional public benefit.

In addition, the project will create a new Strategic Rail Freight Interchange, which will provide intermodal access for occupiers. This gives the site a significant competitive advantage, with rail transport a cheaper and more environmentally sustainable option while also reducing congestion on the roads. The West Coast Main Line is already one of the most important freight routes in the UK, used by 90% of all intermodal trains, and its capacity likely to be transformed by High Speed 2, the next phase of the UK’s high speed rail network linking London with the North, currently due to open between London and Birmingham in 2026.

Sustainability sits at the heart of the site’s masterplan, which includes the creation and maintenance of two new country parks of a combined 109 acres that will achieve a net biodiversity gain across the development, 36% of which will comprise green infrastructure. Warehouse roofs will be built to accommodate installation of photovoltaic panels, enabling the generation of renewable energy.

In 2020, Oxford announced its intention to deploy £3 billion of capital in the European logistics sector over the next five years in platforms, developments and portfolios of scale. The company made its first direct European investment in 2020, with the acquisition of a 15-acre site in Heathrow alongside LCP.

James Boadle, Head of Logistics and Residential, Europe at Oxford Properties, commented: “In recent years we have significantly increased our exposure to the logistics sector globally through several major transactions, including making our first direct investment into European logistics last year with LCP. Logistics remains one of our highest conviction calls globally, benefitting from substantial undersupply of prime new space while the growth of e-commerce and demand for expedited supply chains continues unabated, accelerated by the effects of Covid-19.

“The transaction represents a rare opportunity to gain significant exposure at attractive risk-adjusted returns in an increasingly competitive landscape. We are pleased to be again working alongside LCP’s highly experienced and professional team as we deliver a best-in-class logistics park with occupier demand, technological advancements and environmental, social and governance principles at its core.”

Pierre Leocadio, Head of Investment, Europe at Oxford Properties, added, “This transaction presents an exciting opportunity to develop a market leading, prime logistics hub, alongside our trusted partner, LCP. Oxford is renowned for its ability to deliver major large-scale projects, and this aligns with our strategy to deploy capital at scale into the logistics sector. The inclusion of a new rail terminal in the masterplan allows us to create a site that has strong appeal to potential occupiers, while also helping reduce the environmental impact of its supply chain by reducing lorry traffic. The project will also create economic impact to the region through the creation of a significant number of local jobs.”

John Pagdin, Head of UK Logistics Capital Partners, commented: “We have been tracking this particular site for some time and are delighted to have secured the park alongside Oxford Properties. West Midlands Interchange is a fantastic opportunity to build out a uniquely positioned development scheme, allowing us to offer occupiers every possible size, scale, configuration and specification of unit with none of the usual planning delays or uncertainties often associated with schemes of this nature. We look forward to progressing first stage preparatory works and welcoming occupiers to this exciting project.”

The site was acquired from the shareholders of Four Ashes Ltd, a three way partnership including Kilbride Holdings and Grosvenor Group’s Indirect Investment business (Grosvenor).

Peter Frost, Director of Kilbride Holdings on behalf of Four Ashes commented: “Having successfully guided the development from its inception and earliest stages to development consent, we are pleased that partners Oxford Properties and LCP will bring funding and specialist expertise to enable the project to now fulfil its huge potential.”

Bosch relocates to Czech logistics facility

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Leading European industrial developer CTP has provided tailor-made logistics space to international technology and services provider Bosch. The company has leased a distribution centre in one of the largest and most sought-after industrial parks in the Czech Republic. Bosch will move its operations from the Netherlands to CTPark Bor in western Bohemia, where it will have over 15,000 sq m of lettable area.

CTP will provide Bosch with a cross-dock, which has the advantage of improved logistics, receipt and expedition of goods. The space can be expanded in the future. Bosch will use its 15,688 sq m primarily for the storage of electronic components and camera systems but the plan also includes offices for local management and employees.

“We are very happy to have been selected by this globally renowned company with a history of well over a century,” commented Jakub Kodr, Senior Business Developer at CTP. “We believe their decision was significantly influenced by the readiness of our buildings, fast, tailor-made space solutions and the location, which will help the company to streamline its delivery process from Germany to other European countries. Bosch and CTP also share a vision of doing business sustainably.”

Bosch’s decision to relocate to CTPark Bor was further supported by the high-quality facilities of the industrial warehouse and the use of the latest technologies, including charging points for electric vehicles. In addition, CTP provides its clients with sports facilities, canteens, accommodation, accessible medical care and support in finding new workforce. Bosch will now employ around 100 people in its warehouses.

The German engineering and technology company Bosch operates in more than 60 countries, its products are sold in 125 locations around the world and its workforce amounts to 500,000 employees. Besides Bosch, CTP’s portfolio includes other hi-tech tenants, such as Autoneum, ABB, Thermo Fischer Scientific, Honeywell and Garrett Motion.

CTPark Bor

The Bor park is one of the largest industrial parks in the Czech Republic, with a total area of 135 hectares. It is located on a highway near Tachov, around 15km from the German border and 50km from the city of Pilsen. The park offers facilities for manufacturing, storage and logistics as well as accommodation for the employees of local companies.

In total, the Bor park provides approximately 3,500 jobs. Construction having started in 2005, the park is being continuously expanded with both additional industrial properties and residential and service facilities. Employees can already benefit from several restaurants, a medical centre, training and meeting rooms as well as sports and recreational facilities.

Current tenants of the park include Primark, DHL and TechData. The largest tenant of the Bor complex is LOXXESS Bor, which leased 60,500 sq m of space in autumn 2020. It was the largest transaction of last year.

Descartes strengthens last-mile with acquisition

Posted on by David Priestman

Descartes Systems Group, a global leader in uniting logistics-intensive businesses in commerce, has acquired GreenMile, a leading provider of cloud-based mobile route execution solutions for food, beverage, and broader distribution verticals.

GreenMile’s highly scalable mobile route execution solutions have been built with unique capabilities to serve the global distribution industry. Customers benefit from a next-generation platform that incorporates machine-learning to continually improve service and travel time standards. GreenMile’s innovative solutions are used by some of the world’s largest food and beverage companies to digitize final-mile delivery processes, thereby eliminating paper from the supply chain, increasing efficiencies and improving customer satisfaction.

“GreenMile has built a great business by focusing on the unique challenges faced by retail food and beverage distribution companies,” said Andrew Roszko, EVP Commercial Operations at Descartes. “Their mobile applications are used by drivers around the world to improve their productivity and provide real-time delivery visibility to enhance customer service.

“The platform is complemented with advanced analytics and delivery performance management tools to provide managers in the field and corporate leadership with a comprehensive view of field operations. When combined with Descartes’ advanced route optimization tools, we believe it presents a compelling proposition to help distributors improve their final-mile delivery operations.”

“We continue to invest in a broader set of capabilities to help our customers across diverse industry verticals solve their final-mile challenges,” added Edward J Ryan, Descartes’ CEO. “The GreenMile combination helps us by adding a team with deep domain expertise in retail food and beverage distribution, extending our operational footprint and presence in Latin America, and adding to our community of truly global distribution companies. We’re thrilled to welcome the GreenMile employees, customers and partners into the Descartes family.”

GreenMile is headquartered in Orlando, Florida. Descartes acquired GreenMile for up-front cash consideration of US$30m (c.€25m) plus potential performance-based consideration. The maximum amount payable under the all-cash performance-based earn-out is US$10m (c. €8.5m), based on GreenMile achieving revenue-based targets over the first two years post-acquisition.

 

 

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