SCM Logistics

The online journal of the International Federation of Warehousing and Logistics Associations
WAREHOUSING
& LOGISTICS
INTERNATIONAL
Yal e t akes Mat eri al s
Handl i ng t o t he next l evel
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www.warehousinglogisticsinternational.com
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technology to the logistics industry. Our ediEnterprise
platform delivers simple, scalable WMS solutions to
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Let CargoWise show you how to grow with the
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TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS TO HELP
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marketing@cargowise.com
www.cargowise.com
Summer 2 0 1 1
Cont ent s 1
2 NEWS
6 COUNTRY PROFI LE: I NDI A: I ndi a has much
cat chi ng- up t o do i n l ogi st i cs t erms before i t can reach
t he same l evel as t he worl d s l eadi ng i ndust ri al
nat i ons, but massi ve i nvest ment i s underway
10 I NFORMATI ON TECHNOLOGY: Usi ng t echnol o-
gy t o orchest rat e t he suppl y chai n
14 RESEARCH: I n i t s l at est publ i shed research,
West ern European Logi st i cs 2 0 1 1 , Anal yt i qa forecast s
a re- bound i n growt h for out sourced l ogi st i cs expendi -
t ure across fi ve key sect ors
20 HONG KONG: Hong Kong s l ogi st i cs sect or i s an
area marked by change, and whi l e chal l enges exi st
for t hi s worl d- cl ass command and cont rol cent re,
opport uni t i es are al so present .
22 WHI TE PAPER: Suppl y chai ns are becomi ng far
more ext ended, compl ex and under i ncreasi ng ri sk
from di srupt i on. Ul ri ke Rowbot t om, Cl yde Bunt rock
and Haukur Hannesson set out t hree st eps t o bui l di ng
t he resi l i ent suppl y chai n.
26 WMS: St eve Cross of ATMS has some advi ce for
Thi rd Part y Logi st i cs Provi ders who want t o rai se t hei r
growt h and profi t abi l i t y
I am delighted to say that the first issue of the
International Federation of Warehousing and Logistics
Federations new digital magazine has been very well
received and I am grateful to all of those who have been in
touch with kind comments about the publication and, indeed,
the supporting website.
We believe that this new venture will provide a valuable
means of communicating best practice around the global
logistics industry.
Since our last publication the IFWLA has held a very suc-
cessful conference in Taiwan and we are now looking ahead
to next years convention which takes place in Italy. It promis-
es to be a special event with a gala dinner in the Vatican just
one of the attractions. More details will be made available as
and when we have them.
The global logistics industry continues to develop at great
pace and in this issue you will find a number of stories that
highlight the changing nature of our industry.
For example, we focus on India which with its rapidly
growing economy, is presenting a number of challenges for
our industry.
Of course, the logistics sector relies heavily on technology
and this issue also features a number of stories that highlight
how the latest developments in both IT and more traditional
hardware such as lift trucks are helping logistics companies
provide the optimum service for their clients.
Please send your contributions to me via email at:
RWilliams@ukwa.org.uk
Roger Williams, Secretary General, IFWLA
The IFWLA Secretariat is based at the offices of the: United
Kingdom Warehousing Association, Walter House, 418-422
Strand, London WC2R 0PT England www.ifwla.com
Warehousing and Logistics International is an official publication of
the International Federation of Warehousing and Logistics
Associations It is published by Quad Publications
Publisher: Daren Thomas; T: 0044 [0]771 9740736
E: daren@warehousinglogisticsinternational.com
Business Development Director: Richard Davies
T:0044 [0]7970101515
E:richard@warehousinglogisticsinternational.com
Ser vi ng t he
logistics
communi t y
2 Internati onal Newsfeed
Summer 2011
Menlo Worldwide Logistics, a sub-
sidiary of Con-way, has started con-
struction on a new 400,000 sq ft
warehousing and retail distribution
management centre on Sunview
Way in Singapore.
The new centre will feature
advanced building design and con-
struction materials emphasizing
environmental sustainability and
high levels of energy and water effi-
ciency to achieve the Singapore
Building & Construction Authority's
(BCA) Green Mark environmental
initiative.
The new Sunview Way facility will
serve as the company's new base
for storage and distribution, high-
velocity picking and packing opera-
tions, customised labelling and
return management services.
The company said that the new
four-storey facility will join its exist-
ing network of seven facilities locat-
ed across Singapore.
The new facility will offer cus-
tomers a more sustainable tenure of
space, the ability to share and
leverage existing IT platforms, an
experienced management and
labor infrastructure, automated
product and freight-handling equip-
ment and warehouse management
assets.
Menlo managing director of
South Asia Desmond Chan said the
company started in Singapore 15
years ago with one facility and 25
employees.
"This expansion marks an impor-
tant milestone which speaks to our
commitment to Singapore and our
focus on providing customers with
best-in-class facilities, tools and
services to increase efficiency and
drives value into a wide spectrum of
logistics operations and supply
chain solutions," Chan said.
Menlo also operates additional
multi-client facilities in Southeast
Asia, as well as China, India,
Australia, North America and
Europe.
SINGAPORE
New cent re opens i n Si ngapore
Agility has introduced a sched-
uled air freighter service to con-
nect China via Shanghai to
Kaunas, Lithuania.
The freighter has a capacity of
107 tonnes and will initially
operate on a weekly basis. Space
is guaranteed, with reduced
transit times of between one and
four days, depending on destina-
tion.
The service forms part of a
comprehensive logistics offering
featuring additional supply chain
services: pick-up and warehous-
ing in China, customs clearance
in Kaunas and warehousing in
Lithuania.
The service is intended to help
customers move goods from
China into the rapidly growing
markets of Northern Europe, the
Nordics, Russia and the Baltics.
John Klompers, Agilitys chief
commercial officer, said: This
new service underlines Agilitys
commitment to our customers in
fast developing markets. This
service will help them build
robust and reliable transporta-
tion links that in turn connect
their customers and operations
around the world.
KAZAKHSTAN
GEFCO open
Kazakhst an of f i ce
The GEFCO Group has
announced the opening of its first
subsidiary in the Republic of
Kazakhstan. The subsidiary, which is
based in Almaty and was registered
on the 27th of J une 2011, is part of
its wider international expan-
sion program and reinforces
its position in Central Asia.
Kazakhstans growing geopolitical
role and increasing number of
global logistics flows will allow
GEFCO to respond to its customers
needs more effectively
Sultan Zhassybay, GEFCO
Kazakhstans new Managing
Director, said: Kazakhstans favor-
able geographic location, at the
very centre of the Eurasian conti-
nent, makes it the principal transit
bridge between Europe and Asia.
Kazakhstan connects Central Asian
countries such as Uzbekistan,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and
Turkmenistan, with Europe and
routes through our territory provide
China with access to the Russian
and European markets.
Furthermore, we are experiencing
extensive growth in Kazakhstans
levels of industrial manufacturing
and foreign trade, which creates an
advantageous environment for the
development of transportation and
logistics infrastructure.
By taking into account GEFCOs
expertise and top quality services,
as well as meeting the highest
European standards, we hope to
contribute to the development of the
transportation and logistics cluster
in Kazakhstan..
GEFCO Kazakhstan will primarily
support corporate clients through
the optimisation of their supply
chain processes. However, it will
also seek to expand its client portfo-
lio by offering a full range of logis-
tics services for customers operating
in various sectors ranging from
FMCG to industrial equipment.
GEFCO Kazakhstans team will
consist of 10 employees by the end
of 2011.
Summer 2011
Interntati onal Newsfeed 3
Kerry Logistics has been
appointed by Marks & Spencer
(M&S) as its logistics partner in
Greater China. The contract
incorporates logistics serv-
ices across the supply chain
for M&S, from suppliers' pick-
up through to direct delivery
to retail stores across the
region.
Under the new contract,
Kerry Logistics manages and
operates both M&S's National
Distribution Centre (NDC) in
Mainland China as well as its
Regional Distribution Centre
in Hong Kong (HKRDC).
Under the direction of the
M&S regional sourcing hub,
Kerry Logistics manages
M&S's inbound and outbound
supply chains and a wide
range of value-added services
including packing and unpack-
ing, re-labeling and steaming.
In order for Kerry Logistics
to align with M&S's environ-
mental and ethical policy,
called Plan A, the HKRDC is
located within Kerry Logistics'
Product Customisation and
Consolidation Centre (PC3) in
Tai Po, Hong Kong. With the
aim to be LEED (Gold) and HK-
BEAM (Gold) compliant, this
purpose-built facility has incor-
porated green technology into
the design and construction of
the building.
With a total area of 25,700
m2, PC3 is equipped with a
Garment-On-Hanger (GOH)
Centre, the largest facility of its
kind in Hong Kong in terms of
scale and capacity. The PC3
centre supports the daily
replenishment of all M&S retail
stores in Hong Kong, covering
hanging and boxed garments
as well as accessories,
footwear and home products,
whilst food merchandise is
serviced from Kerry Logistics'
cold store facility located in
Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong.
One of the factors in award-
ing the contract was that
Kerry Logistics specialises
in both fashion retail and
cold chain logistics, meeting
M&S different needs on cloth-
ing and food merchandise
under one roof.
Geodis Wilson is opening an 8,500
m2 distribution centre in J ebel Ali
South within the free zone of Dubai,
extending the company's freight for-
warding services to a full-service
contract logistics model in the
Middle East region.
Geodis Wilson invested heavily
in the J ebel Ali distribution centre,
which offers ambient and tempera-
ture-controlled accommodation,
configurable racking up to an eaves
height of 13 metres, and four
adjustable loading bays.
The facility also has the benefit of
Geodis Wilson's global in-house
warehouse management system -
which is being configured for local
operating requirements.
The entire premises are wi-fi
enabled with RDT scanners, and
mobile docking stations can be
moved to the point of cargo recep-
tion for immediate capturing.
Geodis Wilson runs its own
freight network, including trucking
services between the various coun-
tries and a 24-hour on-line customs
service.
Geodis Wilson has also strength-
ened its position in the US market
with the acquisition of One Source
Logistics, a domestic transportation
provider for an undisclosed amount.
The company said that the acqui-
sition will accelerate the growth of
its US domestic product offerings
and also cross-border trucking
throughout North America.
The acquisition will enhannce
company's inland and final mile
delivery services with the access to a
wide local distribution network.
Geodis Wilson EVP Philippe
Gilbert said with the extended link
to domestic services in North
America the company is able to sat-
isfy the needs of a wide range of its
today's air freight and ocean freight
clients.
"We can offer them a better sin-
gle source solution for end-to-end
supply chain management into and
from the US and at the same time
we connect the domestic customer
base of One Source Logistics to
Geodis Wilson's global freight serv-
ices," Gilbert said.
Geodis Group CEO J ean-Louis
Demeulenaere said the group is
planning to double its freight for-
warding business in the US over the
coming 5 years, based on external
and organic growth.
One Source Logistics based in
Minneapolis, Minnesota, offers
domestic transportation services
with a focus on FTL and LTL, backed
by a transport management system,
it currently supports a nationwide
network of transportation, logistics
and distribution services throughout
the US.ilable on the route in addi-
tion to Geodis Calberson's standard
groupage.
CHINA
MIDDLE EAST & USA
M&S hand Kerry Chi na l ogi st i cs rol e
Dubai move and US acqui si t i on announced
4 Count ry Focus: I ndi a
Summer 2 0 1 1
I
ndia is bordered on the
north by the Himalaya
Mountains. For this reason,
creating road and rail con-
nections from this direction is
a major undertaking. In the
south, though, the Indian
peninsula is well suited for
sea harbors. India is indeed
the country with the worlds
second-largest population.
But the population is unequal-
ly distributed, creating a
major challenge for logistics
service providers.
Core countries for trade
The most important export
countries for Indian products
are the United States, the United Arab Emirates,
China, Singapore and Great Britain. The biggest
import trading partners are China, the United States,
Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates and Belgium
Indian infrastructure
A vital step in Indias further development is expanding
the road and rail networks, and modernizing harbors
and airports. In the process of globalization
Globalization , which is expanding Indias position in
world trade, transport volume has climbed rapidly in
recent years. The expansion of the logistics infrastruc-
ture has been unable to keep up with this pace. For this
reason, transport capacities have already reached their
limits.
The transshipping times for ships in Indian harbors
are three to four times longer than the average time in
the West. Logistics costs are also very high in interna-
tional comparison because of the poor infrastructure.
For this reason, India will have difficulties positioning
itself as a global logistics hub in years ahead.
Road transport is especially important for Indias
transport system. After all, India has one of the worlds
largest road networks, with a total length of 3.3 million
kilometers. But much of this network does not meet
Western standards. For instance, a truck takes five to
six days to cover the 2,061-kilometer-long route
between Bangalore and Delhi. The government is
indeed trying to introduce counter-measures and shift
freight transports from the roads to the rails. But, first,
the rail infrastructure must be expanded and the con-
nections to harbors and airports improved.
Many sub-areas of the 63,000-kilometer-long rail
network still use the technology of 1947, the year that
British colonialists left. Only about one-quarter of the
routes are electrified. One other challenge is the four
gauge widths used in the rail network.
Logistics requirements and service areas
Road transports are characterized by small forwarders
who frequently use antiquated technology. In addition,
the splintered political structure requires an excellent
understanding of local conditions.
As national highways in India are built and road
transports Road transport are increasingly liberalized,
the productivity of road shipping will rise in years
ahead. The network business with LTL [Less than truck
load] in India has excellent potential. The Indian road-
transport market is forecast to rise to $40 billion by
2012 - it is currently $28 billion.
The CEP market Courier, express and parcel servic-
es on the subcontinent is growing rapidly. In the last
five years, revenue has experienced double-digit
growth, climbing to about $650 million. Its share of the
entire logistics market totals only about 3 percent.
International service providers are working to set up or
acquire domestic networks in India.
Logistics service providers have been focusing more
I ndi a has much cat chi ng- up t o do i n l ogi st i cs t erms before i t can reach t he same l evel as t he worl d s
l eadi ng i ndust ri al nat i ons, but massi ve i nvest ment i s underway
Land of oppor t uni t y
Summer 2 0 1 1
Count ry Focus: I ndi a 5
extensively on traditional storage functions and distri-
bution. But the number of high-bay warehouses that
meet European standards is extremely small. Typical
added-value services that meet Western standards also
are hardly offered. For this reason, the contract logistics
market Contract logistics in India has a share of only
about 6 percent of the entire logistics market.
Logistics centers in India
In terms of logistics, India remains a developing coun-
try in many areas. For instance, it has hardly any multi-
modal logistics centers. Despite its good geographic
position, India has also been unable to evolve into a
hub for international freight transports, like Dubai.
In regional terms, India lags behind logistics centers
like Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong. Currently,
India is moving forward with a plan to turn the coun-
trys 12 main harbors into integrated freight hubs.
Many of these harbors do not have the rail and road
connections needed to handle the transport volume of
ships. Containers Container frequently sit for weeks in
the harbor before they can be transported.
Important logistics service providers
The largest Indian logistics service providers are
Shipping Corporation of India, Container Corporation
of India, Great Eastern Shipping, Reliance Ports /
Terminals, Essar Shipping, Transport Corporation of
India, Reliance Logistics, Blue Dart Express, Varun
Shipping Company and BLR India. International service
providers are Schenker, DHL, Arvato, Khne & Nagel
and TNT.
Summer 2 0 1 1
T
he Indian logistics market is poised to gather
greater momentum with the emergence of India as
a manufacturing hub and improving multimodal
transportation infrastructure. India is seeing significant
growth in the logistics sector due to rise in manufactur-
ing sector. Inspired by the economic boom and the
massive investment on infrastructure, the logistics mar-
ket in the country is set to double by 2012.
The markets that have been responsible for the
rapid growth of Indian logistics include the growth of
organized retail industry, commodity markets, and
growth in manufacturing and development of Special
Economic Zones (SEZ). Indian logistics industry is
expected to grow annually at the rate of 15 to 20 per-
cent reaching revenues of approximately $385 billion
by 2015.
There are about 110 logistics parks, spread over
approximately 3500 acres. The estimated cost of these
logistics parks is about $1 billion and an estimate of 45
million sq. ft of warehousing space with an investment
of $500 million is expected to be developed by various
logistics companies by 2012.
Many SEZs have necessitated the development of
logistics for the development of logistics for the domes-
tic market as well as for global trade. Mumbai, Kolkata,
Chennai and Hyderabad have become preferred loca-
tions for logistics parks. These locations are character-
ized by excellent port, rail, and road connectivity and
are witnessing significant investment in infrastructure.
Eight logistic parks with an approximate investment of
$200 million are 600 acres of land around Mumbai.
Seeing the rate of development, there are plans for
4 logistics parks spread across approximately 400
acres. Centers like Haldia, Falta, Pargana, Dankuni,
Kharagpur, Bantala and Durgapur are expected to wit-
ness substantial logistics activities in the near future.
Five logistics parks are being set up in Hyderabad,
spread across 220 acres and approximately 10 million
sq. ft of warehouse space coming up by 2012.
Dedicated freight corridors by the railways and
improvements in coastal shipping facilities along with
the construction of massive state-of-the-art logistics
parks at key distribution hubs are helping to meet the
specialized warehousing needs of freight forwarders
and industry players. The non-major ports are driving
the traffic growth with the traffic at these ports growing
at a very healthy rate. This strong growth is expected to
continue, with the share of the non-major ports increas-
ing further.
After analyzing the future prospects of the logistics
market in India, Manch communications, a business to
business exhibition and conference organizer based in
Delhi/NCR launched India Warehousing Show in April
2011. The show received great response from all atten-
dees having about 6714 visitors and 210 conference
delegates who attended the technical session. The con-
ference focused on Developing Effective Strategies to
Build Profitability in Warehousing and Supply Chain
Logistic Operations. Topics like the present scenario of
the Indian Warehousing Industry, overview of Asian
industry and Indias role and growth inhibitors of the
sector, how leveraging regulatory frameworks can help
sector maximize growth and how Mobility Accelerates
the Adaptive Supply Chain etc. were discussed.
Encouraged by the success of the show in 2011,
Manch decided to make it an annual event based in
Delhi/NCR. India Warehousing Show 2012 will see a
larger number of participants with more exhibit area.
The show visitors will get a chance to know the latest
developments and innovations in the area of warehous-
ing and supply chain sector. The ones seeking some
information to improve their knowledge of logistics,
supply chain, material handling, cold storage etc., India
Warehousing Show 2012 is the most appropriate plat-
form for them. Further, concurrently India Warehousing
Conference 2012 would give an insight into the various
aspects of modern warehousing, logistics, cold storage,
and material handling. Like it 2011 edition it will again
a two days program.
www.indiawarehousingshow.com
Indi an Warehousi ng
Show 2012
A t wo day event i n Del hi wi l l gi ve exhi bi t ors t he chance t o reach t he I ndi an l ogi st i cs i ndust ry
Summer 2 0 1 1
Count ry Focus: I ndi a 7
India has experienced a consistent GDP growth of over
6% in the last decade and a 7% growth in 2010.
Currently India ranks only 17th in terms of importing
world products and consuming just over 2% of globally
produced merchandise but it is growing at 35%. India
ranks only 26th in terms of exporting products which
contributes just over 1.3% of globally consumed mer-
chandise, but it is growing at 22% p.a.
It has enormous potential; consumption is expected
to grow four-fold in real terms from the present US
$378 billion to US $1.56 trillion by 2025. By 2020,
India is projected to have an additional 47 million
working population, with an average age of 29 which
will enable India to become a manufacturing hub of the
world. Comparatively the average age of other
economies at that time will be 37 in China, 45 in
Western Europe and the USA and 48 in J apan.
66% of Indias 1.1billion population is currently
under the age of 35 and is expected to outpace China
by 2030.
The Challenges
The biggest challenge the Indian economy faces today
is the need for specific infrastructure in the logistics field
including roads, rail, ports and world class logistics
parks to support the fast pace of growth.
Infrastructure has led to success stories for economies
such as Singapore, Dubai and China over the last few
decades but India has been comparatively slow in real-
ising the benefits. Entrepreneurship has been a key driv-
ing force in India, and also for the growth of industries
and companies, including in the logistics and supply
chain space. The average time taken to clear import
and export cargo at ports is about 19 days in India
compared with 3 to 4 days in Singapore.
It is not helped by the fact that the World Banks
2010 survey ranked India 134th amongst 183
economies in terms of Ease of doing business cou-
pled with a complex tax structure and archaic labour
and property laws.
The issues
The logistics cost for most developed nations is about 9-
10% whereas in India it is approximately 14% of GDP.
Why is it so high? It is partly due to the enormous size
of the country, partly the poor road infrastructure and
partly the disorganised trucking network in the country.
Approximately 65% of the total Indian freight transport
is through the road network while only about 30% trav-
els by rail. It is estimated that India burns nearly US
$2.5 billion worth of fuel as a result of trucks standing
idle on inter state check-posts.
Chal l enges, i ssues,
oppor t uni t i es
and devel opment s
Derek Bel l provi des an overvi ew of t he I ndi an economy t oget her wi t h t he chal l enges and i ssues i t
faces. I t al so exami nes t he opport uni t i es and devel opment s i n t he l ogi st i cs fi el d and t he support t he
UK s CI LT can gi ve
Summer 2 0 1 1
Opportunities
Although India has a unique geography with over
7,000 kms of coastline, a diverse demography and
huge domestic market, the country still only processed
just over 7.7 million containers last year, as against
Dubai (12 million), Singapore (24 million) and China
(over 186 million). Global companies selling their
products in India are using these economies as trans-
shipment hubs and regional distribution centres. These
hubs have excellent road and port infrastructures. It
is their logistics parks known as Free Trade Zones (FTZs)
which help to attract this container movement. In
order to compete India needs Free Trade and
Warehousing Zones (FTWZ) and Domestic Distribution
Centres which are supported by a Rail Infrastructure
with Rail as the preferred mode of transportation rather
than road.
Developments
The Government of India introduced the Free Trade and
Warehousing Zones (FTWZ) Policy, as a part of Foreign
Trade Policy (FTP) 2004-2009, governed by the SEZ
ACT 2005 and SEZ Rules 2006. It is a deemed for-
eign territory within Indian soil. The FTWZ regulatory
framework should provide India with the much needed
impetus to drive its economic growth to the next level,
while truly leveraging the nation's vast domestic market
and purchasing power parity.
With FTWZ India can emerge as a major economic
hub for companies importing, exporting and providing
value added services for distribution in India or other
regional countries. The need for FTWZ in a vibrant
economy is substantiated by the fact that India is the
worlds second largest developing and fastest growing
economy just behind China. With a population of
approx 1.1 billion, its domestic consumption is 58% of
the GDP.
One company in India, Arshiya, is currently investing
heavily by building 5 FTWZs coupled with 5 Domestic
Distriparks including those in Mumbai (165 acres)
which was operational in 2010, Delhi (315 acres) in
2011 and the others to be completed by 2012. All of
these are being built to best in class standards and are
being linked by a Pan-India Rail network.
India and CILT
The provision of an education and professional devel-
opment infrastructure is essential for the success of a
network of hubs; both for the initial design and efficient
operation. CILT India has a vital role to play in this.
In order to contribute effectively CILT India will need
to develop a network of branches throughout the coun-
try as have other successful CILT territories.
Two of the top 5 most populous cities in the world
are in India; Mumbai 13 million and New Delhi 12.56
million. Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata,
Ahmadabad and Pune have populations in excess of 4
million. In addition to this there are 48 agglomera-
tions with a population of more than 1 million. The
opportunities are huge and CILT India needs regional
champions to take this forward.
* Derek Bell FCILT is the Chief Executive of Bisham
Consulting (www.bishamconsulting.com), a member of
the Council of Trustees and a Vice President of CILT
International (www.ciltinternational.org)
Invest i ng i n t echnol ogy
Buoyed by the economic boom and massive invest-
ment in infrastructure, the logistics market in India is
widely considered to be set to double by 2012.
Across the country logistics hubs and warehouses
are going up and ports are being developed to serve
the consumer needs of Indias growing middle-class.
And Indias logistics services providers are
embracing the latest
technology to keep
pace with their over-
seas counterparts.
For example, articu-
lated forklift trucks
from Flexi Narrow Aisle
Ltd have recently been
supplied to Kiswock
Industries and Dorf
Ketal metal casting
manufacturers and
chemical specialists
respectively.
Flexi articulated
trucks are ideal for the
Indian logistics market
they enable the small-
est aisle widths to be
used and can operate
both inside and outside
the warehouse, says John Maguire, sales director of
Flexi Narrow Aisle Ltd.
As part of its commitment to the Indian market,
Flexi Narrow Aisle Ltd recently announced a compre-
hensive partnership agreement for the distribution
and support of its range of Flexi articulated forklift
trucks in India.
The partner company, Voltas, is one of the world's
premier engineering solutions providers and a lead-
ing manufacturer and supplier of forklifts and other
materials handling equipment in India. It is part of
the Tata Group the largest industrial group in India.
Tata has interests a number of industry sectors and in
recent years has acquired Jaguar Land Rover, Corus
Steel (now Tata Steel Europe) and Tetley Tea.
The Flexi AC range takes
the art of storing more to a
new level. Articulated action
means it can work in very
narrow aisles - increasing
warehouse capacity by up
to 50%.
And with its ability to load
and unload vehicles and
deliver to racking in one
operation, Flexi eliminates
double handling, reducing
costs by up to 50%!
Add its industry-leading
features, designed to increase
safety and enhance
performance, and its easy to
see how Flexis productivity
is able to ensure you achieve
optimum protability in your
warehouse!
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10 I nformati on Technol ogy
Summer 2011
UK-based Proteus Software has got together with Psion,
Varlink and Imtech Logistics to provide technologies that
will aid in the orchestration of the supply chain.
The comprehensive partnership gives logistics and
supply chain companies the ability to pull together all
aspects of their supply chain and control the processes
in the moving, managing, storing and shipping of
stock.
Proteus has over twenty years experience in supply-
ing warehouse management systems, whilst Imtech
Logistics has been providing transport management
solutions for over 15 years. Both suites of software are
functionally rich, are highly flexible and scalable, ensur-
ing that the end-to-end solution fits all sizes of organi-
sations from the small to medium enterprise through to
major blue chip organisations.
Psion has an extensive range of Scanners and PDAs
that can be used in the warehouse, and on the road.
They have recently released their new EP10, which
utilises GPS, POD and Mobile Phone technology in one
single PDA. This can be used in the warehouse as a
scanner, for InCab technology purposes, Proof of
Delivery or in the field for Service Engineers.
Varlinks comprehensive portfolio of mobile comput-
ing and data capture products includes Zebra and
Brother printers, (static and mobile). Stock is held for
immediate despatch from their UK distribution centre
allowing them to offer economical next business day
delivery as a standard service.
Linda Rodway Market Development Manager of
Proteus Software says, We are delighted to be partner-
ing with such well known branded companies. The
partnership has given us the ability for all of us to offer
a complete technology solution to companies operating
in the Logistics industry, all of whom are under pressure
to achieve supply chain perfection in order to meet the
ever growing demands of todays consumer. Our com-
bined solution gives operations professionals the tools
to achieve year on year operational growth, lean inven-
tory management, make bottom line cost savings, and
sustain customer satisfaction throughout their supply
chain.
The companies involved in the partnership are host-
ing a special seminar in October, where not only you
will be able to see the product offerings on display, but
there will also be an exciting agenda of presentations
by the companies involved. The seminar will be held in
the Planetarium Suite at Millennium Point in
Birmingham on 18th October 2011. If you are interest-
ed in attending the event please contact Linda Rodway
on + 44 121 717 7474 for details on how to register.
Usi ng t echnol ogy t o
orchest rat e t he Suppl y
Chai n
Risk assessments and rack
inspections
Segregation and protection
systems
Floor marking, barriers / handrails and
safety signage all designed and
installed by Warehouse Safety.
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Call 01925 710923 or Click www.warehousesafety.co.uk
A unique range of products and services to keep your warehouse staf safe!
12 Case St udy
Summer 2011
P
almer and Harvey is the specialist nationwide dis-
tribution service for the independent and multiple
convenience, forecourt and CTN (convenience,
tobacco, news) retail arena. With their 1,000 strong
vehicle fleet, they can provide a complete supply of all
goods needed for a successful store ambient goods
(including tobacco, confectionery and soft drinks) as
well as fresh, chilled and frozen produce. From small
independent retailers, through fuel forecourt sites to
large multiple retailers a very wide range of different
retail outlets are supplied through the P & H organisa-
tion. Their well known brand name Mace is seen on
many stores across the country. The companys head-
quarters are in Hove and they distribute from ten multi-
temperature centres on the United Kingdom mainland -
with one ambient centre in Northern Ireland.
As with any distribution company handling products
with a wide temperature range, P & H have continued
to improve their operation in recent years. Having been
using refrigerated vehicles for many years, they decided
to examine whether portable insulated containers would
complement their resources. Following a series of
detailed tests, P & H discovered that they had more
consistent temperature control for sensitive produce
with Olivo containers. This, together with the contain-
ers reliability, meant P & H thought they would fit well
into their system. In addition, they have achieved better
space optimisation on their vehicles, reduced CO2
emissions, lowered their fuel consumption and have
lower energy costs. They have also managed to reduce
their vehicle fleet and reduced the number of staff thus
making even greater cost savings.
P & H opted to use the Siber System which injects
liquid carbon dioxide into a special compartment at the
top of each container to create snow for temperature
control. The tanks are charged with special computer-
controlled guns with the liquid gas from a refrigerat-
ed pressure tank owned, maintained and supplied by
Air Liquide. An important aspect of the Siber System
is that the dry ice injection station computer automati-
cally adjusts the injected amount to specific operational
parameters thus making a considerable cost saving.
The carbon dioxide is green as it is a recovered and
purified product. If it had not been processed for fur-
ther use, it would have been discharged to atmosphere
as an unwanted product in the chemical industry.
Logistics and Development Director, Richard Slater,
has been with P & H for 3 years and has a wealth of
previous experience with Exel. He said recently: We
deliver to every UK postcode area every day and we
couldnt do that without our integrated network operat-
ing with flexibility. Using the Olivo containers provides
us with distribution efficiency and customer satisfac-
tion.
Olivo is a family owned business based near St
Etienne in France and has been developing and pro-
ducing portable insulated containers for over fifty years.
The current production capacity is 50,000 containers
per year and these are supplied worldwide through
sales offices in the UK, Spain and Singapore plus a
range of distributors in many countries. The containers
can be used for many different types of temperature
sensitive products but are predominant in the distribu-
tion of chilled and frozen food customers include
such well know names as Boots, Aldi, Netto, Colruyt,
Carrefour, Casino, Tesco, Londis, Compass, Ocado.
Ol i vo cont ai ners are hel pi ng a maj or di st ri but i on company
Ti me i s money
A-Safe (UK) Ltd, Shay Lane, Halifax, W. Yorkshire, England HX3 6RL
t: +44 (0)1422 344402 f: +44 (0)1422 323533 e: sales@asafe.com
www.asafe.com
Property
Profits
Our flexibility is our strength
Protecting
People
And the
environment
On impact
Barrier bends as vehicle hits it.
After impact
Barrier returns to original shape,
thanks to built-in memory.
Thats exactly what A-Safe barrier protection systems can provide.
Because, unlike steel barriers which bend or crumple, A-Safe products are
made from polymer with a built-in memory which springs back into shape
after being hit. This means that A-Safe can provide effective protection in so
many different areas:
A Safe Environment
14 Research
Summer 2011
A
nalytiqas latest research, Western European
Logistics 2011, reveals that spending on logistics
services by manufacturers and retailers, both in-
house and outsourced, is set to increase by almost 32
billion over the next five years as the size of the out-
sourced logistics market grows by 26%.
However, Analytiqas research warns those third
party logistics providers (3PLs) managing the out-
sourced element of the market, who may be expecting
a smooth growth path, that country markets will each
recover at their own pace. Whilst some markets will
recover to pre-recession levels in 2011, others will take
until 2013.
Recovering lost ground
Whilst Analytiqa forecasts significant growth in logistics
spend in Western Europe over the next five years, a sig-
nificant share of this is attributable to the recovery of
momentum lost during the recent global economic
downturn.
At a macro level, growth in logistics markets will be
driven by the performance of individual country
economies, levels of government spending and con-
sumer confidence within those economies. The chang-
ing dynamics of globalisation will also feature promi-
nently, as economies elsewhere across the globe grow
at faster rates than Western Europe and the location of
low-cost manufacturing locations is challenged.
Automotive and hi-tech lead growth trends
Analytiqas research identified that, whilst retail logistics
will continue to dominate as the largest sector of the
Western European logistics market, it is not forecast to
grow most quickly. The sector will be increasingly
impacted by changing consumer habits and multi-
channel retailing, as click and collect and online
shopping / home delivery change the traditional logistic
models.
The FMCG logistics market will continue to be close-
ly aligned to growth in the retail sector. FMCG logistics
I n i ts l atest publ i shed research, Western European Logi sti cs 2011, Anal yti qa forecasts a re- bound i n
growth for outsourced l ogi sti cs expendi ture across fi ve key sectors
Bounci ng back
Working around the clock
We know managing a large logistics
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And neither do we.
Kewill provides a range of TMS, WMS and Freight
Forwarding sofware solutions to simplify global
trade and logistics. With over 40,000 worldwide
users, its no wonder people trust Kewill.
Kewill plc 2011. All rights reserved. Kewill and the Kewill logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Kewill plc.
www.kewill.com uk.info@kewill.com tel: +44 (0)161 905 5530
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www.clarktheforklift.com
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Summer 2011
Research 17
markets are set to grow by around 15% in the period to
2015 as manufacturers across the sector continue to
merge and / or consolidate as they seek the advan-
tages of scale at a global level.
Growth in pharmaceutical logistics markets will con-
tinue to be driven by the increasing demands of ageing
populations across Western Europe, together with leg-
islative requirements, and the pressures that manufac-
turers face to bring products to market more quickly.
The outsourced contract logistics element of this market
is set to grow by almost 24% up to 2015.
The Automotive and hi-tech logistics sectors suffered
most from the economic downturn and, as a conse-
quence, will likely see the largest growth rates over the
next five years as the markets recover. However, as
these sectors rely to a greater extent on consumer confi-
dence, growth may be somewhat unpredictable, or
uneven, especially at a pan-European level, as recovery
in markets such as Spain will not align with growth in
Germany, for example.
At a country level, logistics markets in the UK, Italy
and Germany are set to grow fastest in the years to
2015, partly as a consequence of those markets also
seeing the largest decreases in revenues over the 2007-
2010 period.
In outsourced logistics, the market in Spain will grow
by the least amount over the 2010-2015 period, regis-
tering growth of over 15%. In France, Belgium and the
Netherlands, contract logistics markets will grow at a
significantly higher rate.
Changing dynamics of logistics outsourcing
During the economic downturn, many manufacturers
and retailers evaluated their logistics models as they
sought moves away from fixed cost operations to more
flexible alternatives based on variable costs, aiming to
achieve cost savings and greater efficiencies. As a
result, the level of outsourcing was boosted.
At the same time, however, prices and contract nego-
tiations in outsourced markets were made increasingly
challenging for 3PLs, not least as a result of the overca-
pacity of warehouse space seen across many markets.
Whilst this boost to outsourcing rates fell back some-
what as shorter term contracts came to an end, levels
are expected to continue growing, and at faster rates in
the less mature logistics markets. Across the more
developed markets, growth in outsourcing rates will be
harder to achieve in the near term, and particularly in
the retail and FMCG sectors, as the rationale for out-
sourcing becomes less compelling, as markets and
economies recover.
Mark OBornick, Research Director, Analytiqa com-
mented: Whilst logistics markets are set for growth, for
3PLs, managing the outsourced elements of the market,
this lies largely outside of their control as wider macro-
economic factors combine to determine which industry
sectors and geographic markets will grow more quickly.
Analytiqas research identifies that growth opportuni-
ties are there for 3PLs to seize, given careful targeting
of both customer and country markets. However, 3PLs
face challenging times. Whilst they are able to exert
greater influence over growth in the outsourced ele-
ments of the logistics market, increasingly sophisticated
customers, tighter stricter security and environmental
standards and the changing dynamics of globalisation
require that they constantly evaluate their service propo-
sitions, the value they add to supply chains and their
role in helping their customers meet their strategic and
commercial objectives.
As a business information provider, Analytiqa is posi-
tioned between the logistics providers and their cus-
tomers to provide the supply chain sector with commer-
cially relevant business intelligence. Analytiqa works
closely with logistics providers to source new customers
and to better help them understand their existing clients.
Similarly, retailers and manufacturers use Analytiqas
supply chain profiles, databases and research services
to analyse the operational and service capabilities of
service providers and to benchmark the services they
receive against those of their own competitors.
Analytiqa works closely with its clients, building part-
ner relationships based on trust and the delivery of high
quality and commercially relevant research. Analytiqas
services correspond to clients demanding requirements,
assisting with their business development and profitabil-
ity objectives.
www.analytiqa-interactive.com
18 Advertori al
Summer 2011
Established since 1989, the CoGri Group are ware-
house floor solutions specialists. The Group are a
world renowned leader and experts in their industry,
particularly in the grinding and measuring of Superflat
floors.
Key services include:
Design consultancy
On-site training
QA
Flatness testing
Due diligence surveys
Floor performance testing
Superflat Laser Grinding
Bespoke tolerance grinding
Floor joint repairs
Floor joint stabilising
Screed systems
Re-surfacing of worn out floors
Laser Screed floor construction
Superflat floor construction
Wire guidance
The Groups passion and commitment in warehouse
flooring began in 1987 when the Groups
MD was first involved in the design and construction
of a very narrow aisle warehouse floor in
the UK. He then went on to form a small concrete
floor grinding business. During the early
1990s he saw a gap in the market for a more effec-
tive way to grind and measure floors and subsequently
invented the Laser Grinder, one of a number of prod-
ucts that are innovative and unique to the Group.
The Laser Grinder
The patented Laser Grinder uses laser guided tech-
nology which enables aisles on new and existing floors
to be upgraded to the flatness standards required to
operate VNA forklift trucks safely and at their optimum
efficiency. It is a clean, quick and a very effective way
of achieving the desired level of floor flatness, while
offering little or no disruption to the ongoing warehouse
activities. The Laser Grinder is designed to grind
either the individual wheel tracks of a forklift truck or
the whole aisle width, for complete flexibility.
The Laser Grinder
can easily achieve all
international industry floor
flatness standards to TR34,
TR34 Appendix C, DIN
15185, The European
Standard and ACI
Fmin100.
The Group currently has
a fleer of Laser Grinders
in operation globally.
The FACE Digital Profilegraph
The FACE Digital Profilegraph is exclusively operated
by one of the Groups companies, Face Consultants Ltd.
The FACE Digital Profileograph has attachments
which make it adaptable to meet with varying floor flat-
ness specifications for defined traffic floors. More
recently, the Group are now able to offer floor surveys
Exper t s i n
warehouse f l oori ng:
Summer 2011
Advertori al 19
to the newly introduced VDMA guidelines with the intro-
duction of the Face Fx-meter as an attachment to its
current Face Digital DIN 15185 Profileograph. This
now enhances the family of Face Digital floor surveying
equipment which already covers TR34 (FM and DM),
The American F number system (including F min), EN
15620, DIN 18202 and Din 15185.
Face Consultants has also been instrumental in the
development of flooring standards used throughout the
construction industry in the UK and overseas and are
also independently assessed by United Kingdom
Accreditation Service (UKAS) which helps to maintain &
verify its high standards.
Growing Strong
In the past few decades, the Group has grown from
strength to strength.
A joint venture company was set up in Singapore in
1994 and the Group has also been trading in South
Korea for over 10 years, setting up a joint venture com-
pany there in 2006. These companies are recognised
in the industry as CoGri Asia Ltd, CoGri Asia Pacific Pte
Ltd and CoGri Korea Co., Ltd.
In 2007, FACE Middle East Fzc was established in
the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to accommodate the
flooring market and build a stronger brand presence in
the Gulf region.
To date, the Group has set up a number of corpora-
tions to meet the growing concrete flooring market in
various regions which include CoGri Malaysia Sdn Bhd
in Malaysia, CoGri Australia Pty Ltd and Face
Consultants Pty Ltd in Australia, CoGri Middle East LLC
in UAE and Face Floor Consultants (Shanghai) Co., Ltd
in China.
In addition, the Group actively works with its over-
seas partners to serve the flooring market in mainland
Europe and other continents around the world.
The CoGri Group of companies are members
of many reputable Trade Associations
The Groups M.D. is a founder member and on the
board of governors of the Association of Concrete
Industrial Flooring Contractors and CoGri is a member
of The Concrete Society, the British Standards Institute,
the British Industrial Truck Association (BITA), Storage
Equipment and Manufacturers Association, UK
Warehouse Association (UKWA), the Chartered Institute
of Logistics and Transport and the Resin Flooring
Association (FeRFA).
Today, the Group is regarded as the link between
the Logistics Industry and the Construction Industry,
understanding the requirements of one and the capa-
bilities of the other. The knowledge and experience of
the Group come from the best people in the industry it
employs. With a range of expertise, the Group are
able to provide a total package solution for any ware-
house flooring problems.
Head Office,
Dene House, North Road, Kirkburton, Huddersfield,
HD8 0RW, United Kingdom.
Tel: +44 (0) 1484 600080
Fax: +44 (0) 1484 600095
Email: info@cogrigroup.com
Website: www.cogrigroup.com
International Offices:
Australia, China, France, Germany, Greece, Italy,
Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, South
Africa, South Korea, United Arab Emirates and United
Kingdom.
20 Asi a
Summer 2011
H
ong Kong is the worlds busiest air cargo centre,
and one of the worlds busiest container ports,
handling 23.7 million TEU in 2010, represent-
ing a 12.6 per cent increase over 2009. Its container
terminal is connected by about 400 weekly sailings to
around 500 destinations worldwide. In all, nine con-
tainer terminals are operated by five companies.
That is not to say, however, that it will be nothing but
smooth sailing for Hong Kong to remain as Asias pre-
mier regional distribution hub.
According to a 2009 report entitled Hong Kong as a
Preferred Logistics Hub: User Survey-cum-Strategic
Forum, commissioned by the Hong Kong Trade
Development Council and the Hong Kong Logistics
Development Council, costs are a factor that many in
the industry are watching.
Hong Kongs competitive future would need to
rest on superior levels of efficiency and reliability, said
the report.
Other concerns centre around the rise of neighbour-
ing sea ports and the challenges that Hong Kong faces
in entering the mainland market due to its vast size.
In spite of the increasing cost and competition, Hong
Kongs leading position as a regional logistics hub
remains strong, thanks to its strategic location and
world-class efficiencies.
From its envious location on the southern tip of
China, Hong Kong logistics companies can access the
fast-growing logistics sector on the Chinese mainland.
Kerry Logistics, for example, has been expanding on
the Chinese mainland at a tremendous rate in the last
five years. Goods handled by Kerry on the mainland
have increased by 20 times in that period. The compa-
ny now has more than 140 distribution centres, 2,000
trucks and 8,000 staff on the mainland.
As well, according to the report, Hong Kong retains
the potential to provide a natural channel for satisfying
the Chinese demand for imported luxury items, though
Hong Kong logistics operators will need to readjust
services to match the rebalancing process.
That has proved to be no problem for J ames
Thompson, Founder and Chairman of Crown
Worldwide Group, which includes Crown Logistics.
Businesses dealing in luxury goods have recognized
that Hong Kong is the best location in Asia to serve as
a distribution point for their fashion and cosmetics
products, said Mr Thompson.
Mr Thompson will be a speaker at seminar entitled
Spanning Asia Hong Kongs Logistics and Maritime
Advantages, that is part of a large-scale promotion
called Think Asia, Think Hong Kong, which will take
place in London 12-16 September.
The event will feature a symposium and a range of
seminars led by high-profile speakers from Hong Kong
and the UK. Business leaders, senior government offi-
cials and international celebrities will take part, under-
lining Hong Kongs role as the services centre of Asia.
In all, Hong Kongs efficiencies have enabled the
free port, ranked as the worlds 10th largest trading
economy, to claim its competitive edge in the air cargo
sector.
Hong Kong is the global leader when it comes to air
cargo tonnage, handling some 4.1 million tonnes in
2010, which was a 23.4 per cent increase over 2009,
making it the busiest air cargo centre in the world.
Hong Kongs advantageous location certainly helps,
enabling its connectivity with most urban centres in Asia
within five hours of flight time. Currently, over 80 air-
lines operate about 5,800 flights weekly, linking Hong
Kong International Airport to more than 150 destina-
tions worldwide including 40 cities of the Chinese
mainland.
Hong Kong also has a pool of international and
highly experienced logistics companies that enable
smooth logistic flows. Many of them are represented in
the Hong Kong Association of Freight Forwarding and
Logistics, with members including: UPS, Expeditors,
Panalpina, the aforementioned Kerry Logistics,
Schenker and DHL.
Regarding DHL, in September 2008, DHL completed
its expansion of Central Asian Hub facilities in Hong
Kong, more than doubling its handling capacity to
75,000 pieces per hour from 35,000 previously.
Australian-listed Goodman is investing more than
HK$4 billion in a new Interlink facility in Hong Kong.
Interlink is the first major new Hong Kong warehouse
project in nearly a decade. The 2.4 million-square-foot
development is being built in the Tsing Yi port district, a
strategically important air, road and sea cargo location.
It is scheduled to open in 2012.
Hong Kong s l ogi sti cs sector i s an area marked by change, and whi l e chal l enges exi st for thi s
worl d- cl ass command and control centre, opportuni ti es are al so present.
Hong Kong - Asi a s premi er
di st ri but i on hub
Summer 2011
Asi a 21
DHL Supply Chain will invest HK$360 million to cre-
ate a multi-use facility at Interlink. Paul Graham, CEO
of DHL Supply Chain Asia Pacific, told the Hong Kong
Trader in April 2010 that Hong Kong is one of the
groups key markets in Asia Pacific and we remain
confident in our growth potential here. As a high-quali-
ty facility, Interlink will enhance our operational efficien-
cy and capabilities in offering best-in-class supply-chain
solutions for our customers.
Along with Hong Kongs continued dedication to
operational efficiencies, the citys logistics sector
received a further boost recently from the mainland
government.
In the 12th Five-Year Plan, the Central government
has stated that it supports Hong Kong to be a centre
for high-value inventory management and regional dis-
tribution. When placed against the expectation that
China will further promote domestic consumption over
the next few years, this is a promising signal to this sec-
tor.
One thing that Hong Kong has never lacked is confi-
dence. Based on its clear advantages as a free port, its
lead in the high-tech air cargo sector and its growing
recognition as Asias Central Business District, prospects
look good. Perhaps Crowns J ames Thompson sums
Hong Kongs value as a logistical hub best:
"In the 40 years that my company has been estab-
lished as a packing and logistics company, Ive found
Hong Kong to be the most efficient location in Asia in
which to move and distribute goods," he said.
For more information and pre-registration for free
admission of Think Asia Think Hong Kong, visit
http://www.thinkasiathinkhk.com.
2 2 Whi t e Paper
Summer 2 0 1 1
R
ecent tragic events in J apan graphically illustrate
the vulnerability of modern supply chains. The dis-
ruption in the supply of automotive components
has been felt worldwide, halting assembly lines conti-
nents apart. The electronics sector has been equally hit
with the closure of numerous sites around Tokyo, push-
ing up the price of components and chips as manufac-
turers seek new sources of supply. These problems are
not uncommon, only last year air traffic was severely
disrupted by volcanic ash over Europe and unusually
large heavy snowfalls hampered transport in late
autumn.
These may be regarded as Blue Moon events, but
as supply chains have extended to distant locations in
search of lower manufacturing costs, the risk of supply
disruption has grown significantly - exacerbated by
techniques such as just-in-time inventory management,
outsourcing, and lean supply chain philosophies.
Understanding supply chain risk is now critical to the
success of every enterprise operating in a global mar-
ket.
However, risks come in many varied forms and the
more complex the supply chain the greater the risks.
So, risk assessment and mitigation must be planned
with a high degree of skill. The consequences of a lack
of adequate planning can extend well beyond the cost
of remedial action and include loss of sales, negative
publicity, devalued brand image, loss of market share
and eroded shareholder value.
In this White Paper we look at three key steps to mit-
igating risk and ensuring supply to the customer. They
are:
1. Mitigating supplier risk
2. Managing global flows
3. Demand forecasting to avoid stock-outs
Step 1 - Mitigating supplier risk
All too often, a disruption in supply may be the
result of a failure in a suppliers supply chain, beyond
a buyers sphere of control. The situation is frequently
exacerbated by a lack of visibility.
New supply chain strategies, such as horizontal col-
laboration - which is attracting huge interest from man-
ufacturers and suppliers alike - is further increasing
reliance on partner organisations and their supply
chains. Although these collaborative initiatives may
deliver benefits in terms of increased profitability,
reduced carbon footprint and improved customer serv-
ice, it may also add greater complexity with less direct
control. Therefore, it is essential to recognise the risk of
disruption to the business from any potential supply
chain glitches occurring at first, second and even third
tier supplier level.
At a macro level, it is very likely that at least one
core supplier will have off-shore dependencies with
ensuing socio-political and economic constraints - and
environmental scanning is no longer a nicety, but
rather a must.
In October last year, a survey of resilience profes-
sionals conducted by The Business Continuity Institute
found that almost three quarters of supply chains had
experienced significant disruption in the 12 months
prior to the study. With 28 per cent of those occur-
rences attributed to supplier insolvency and 20 per cent
due to failure of outsource service provision, almost
half of these supply chain disruptions were down to
supplier or service provider failure - in other words, cir-
cumstances outside ones own immediate control.
This raises some key questions: How secure is your
suppliers supply chain? What visibility do you have of
their risk management and continuity policy, if indeed,
they even exist? What processes and audits are in place
and who is responsible for what at any given juncture?
Systematic risk assessment evaluation and modelling
will not only highlight your own companys inherent
weaknesses and ensuing break points, but will also
throw light on those of your suppliers. In so doing, one
often identifies processes that can be fixed almost
immediately, making your supply chain more secure.
For more complex processes, a rigorous risk manage-
ment programme using risk minimisation tools, tech-
niques and applications should be employed.
Three st eps t o suppl y
chai n resi l i ence
Suppl y chai ns are becomi ng far more ext ended, compl ex and under i ncreasi ng ri sk from di srupt i on.
Ul ri ke Rowbot t om, Cl yde Bunt rock and Haukur Hannesson set out t hree st eps t o bui l di ng t he resi l i ent
suppl y chai n.
Summer 2 0 1 1
Whi t e Paper 2 3
One example of best practice business continuity
management is the coupling of demand forecasts with
an intelligent supplier management function, enabling
automated visibility, monitoring and control of a suppli-
ers quality and delivery promise.
This process can also serve as a catalyst for chang-
ing suppliers through adopting a set of rigorous suppli-
er selection criteria which rewards those who collabo-
rate in mitigating risk, whilst moving away from those
that under perform and therefore constitute a higher
risk.
In summation, an organisations dependency on its
suppliers supply chains should not be underestimated -
the risk of doing so can result in a substantial adverse
impact to the bottom line. Any supplier collaboration
initiatives should encompass a formalised and struc-
tured risk resilience programme that not only identifies
risk, but also pro-actively strives to minimise and elimi-
nate risk factors wherever possible.
Step 2 - Managing global flows
In addition to managing suppliers, supply chain
resilience requires the close management of operations
and global flows. This must involve the logistics service
providers who need to, firstly, link their incentives and
objectives to those of the ultimate consumer - so that
they understand when change is required quickly in
response to the unforeseen - and, secondly, have the
agility to action a contingency plan to maintain product
and cash-flows.
With complex flows and a network of trade lanes,
international service providers often see expediting
shipments as simply moving a box. However, it is
imperative that it is seen as an operation built around a
consumer in a store who wants product on a shelf at a
certain date, and at a particular level of quality and
price. The provider needs a workforce that is attuned to
the needs of the end customer.
Resilience also comes from prescience of potential
disruption to global flows. Short-to- medium term hori-
zon scanning will, by sifting through the calendar for
potential disruptions across the globe, allow time to
mitigate risk by establishing how forthcoming events
will affect the supply chain, plan for it, and even identi-
fy any opportunities to be gained.
J oint activity planning allows the service provider
and the customer to create a shared calendar around
the companys key pinch points. A collaborative
approach will provide both parties with a common view
of where overlaps and pinch points occur, and is an
important element in a service providers ability to align
its operation to the objectives of the customer.
This should be backed up by technology - for exam-
ple, a global visibility system showing the stock keeping
2 4 Whi t e Paper
Summer 2 0 1 1
units (SKUs) and purchase orders (POs) which must be
shipped and when, in order to meet customer demand.
So, when an order is raised on a supplier in a location
such as Chongqing, 1000 miles up the Yangtze in
China, the service providers local office will get an
alert. The alert will show the order and the fact that it
needs to be shipped in two weeks time or it will miss its
required-by date in the UK.
Systemisation and a degree of automation is critical
for developing scale and requires managing the
process by exception. When placing thousands of
orders a year across a shifting supply base in multiple
locations, it becomes impossible to micro-manage the
process. A system is required that highlights only where
problems are occurring, issuing alerts for failures and
missed targets, and so enabling preventative action to
be taken.
A system offering visibility of the key milestones can
manage the entire process against those milestones -
raising an order, order confirmation, acceptance, quali-
ty control checks, dispatch, shipping and receipt of
goods. This will ensure the order is on-track and, if it
goes off-track, such a system can identify where and
why, and then deal with it at source.
Slack in the critical path can be removed by per-
forming total lead time compression. This will often find
that time is wasted upstream within the supply chain,
which then puts a huge amount of pressure on the
physical transport of the goods. Too often the focus is
placed on the seen lead time such as physical move-
ment, rather than the unseen lead time, which is most
often the enabling process. A system can then be
deployed to manage the process in the compressed
environment.
Having gained this agility a company can find the
optimum way of moving product to match the nature of
the demand and deal with a product that is running
late. It is a thermostat for the supply chain that can be
turned up or down based on the required demand. This
allows an organisation to make savings on freight by,
for example, putting an order on a ship sailing out of
China to Korea and then air-freighting it to Europe at a
30 per cent cost saving over direct air freight from
China. Product may move in 7-10 days rather than 3-4
days, but direct airfreight incurs a price premium but
may also cause a problem by arriving too early.
By utilising a system that is capable of delivering full
visibility across a supply chain, a network can become
pro-active, identifying errors early on and consequently,
being able to take immediate action to resolve the situ-
ation.
Step 3 - Demand Forecasting to prevent stock-
outs
Managing flows and suppliers in a way outlined in the
first two steps will help create supply chain agility, but
the third important step to building supply chain
resilience is achieved through improving demand fore-
casting - optimum inventory investment whilst ensuring
product availability to the customer.
Exception management systems play an important
role in demand forecasting. Often they work on the
Pareto principle and focus mainly, or in some cases
only, on A items identified in an ABC analysis, which
account for 80 per cent of the turnover or units sold.
Some companies will list, for example, 50 of the most
vital products on which they will be alerted immediately
if a problem occurs. Perhaps, a further 2000 items will
be rated as important and an alert will be generated
on a daily basis in the event of a problem.
However, it is important to review the exception
rules. It may be that, having divided stock into A, B & C
categories, in practice a number of A items might
behave like C items or vice versa. For example, an
automated ABC analysis carried out by a carpet manu-
facturer might classify a carpet glue as a C item
because the low-cost product is given away free, so it
may not seem important. However, because a carpet
cannot be despatched without the glue, a stock-out of
glue will prevent sales of an A item.
A two-dimensional ABC analysis will classify items
simultaneously based on turnover value and sold units
giving, for example, AA, AC, BA items and enabling
companies to prioritise their efforts in terms of the
importance of each product.
The key to having a good forecast is to have the
right data, the ability to cleanse the data and a set of
automated rules that take into account issues, such as
dealing with peaks. A simulator module can be used to
answer various what if questions to evaluate the
impact of change. Finally, having some estimate of how
accurate a forecast is can be even more important than
the actual forecast.
In conclusion, accurate real-time information on all
aspects of purchasing, inventory and sales will give
greater visibility into the supply chain and will have a
positive impact on decision making, responsiveness and
efficiency. These process improvements will help deliver
more accurate forecasting decisions that can, in turn,
reduce inventory, whilst meeting high customer service
requirements. Together, these are the steps that will
build supply chain resilience.
Ulrike Rowbottom is Partner at Agnus
Consultancy. Phone: +44(0)1235 550449 Email:
urowbottom@agnusconsult.com Clyde Buntrock
is Business Solutions Director at Allport Phone:
+44(0)1895 206150 Email: clyde.buntrock@all-
port.co.uk and Haukur Hannesson is Managing
Director at AGR. Please contact Melissa Cupis at
AGR Uk Phone: +44(0)1483 243575 Email:
m.cupis@agrinventory.com
Are you looking
for the right contacts
to find out
right relations
in the Italian
logistics?
Call ASSOLOGISTICA!
ASSOLOGISTICA is the national
association of logistics entreprises, general
stores and refrigerators, port terminal
operators, interportual and airport
operators.
The main purpose of the association is
to promote and to protect, both in Italy and
to the foreign countries, the effectiveness
and the quality of enterprises belonging the
association, as well as the image of the
national logistics system in its complex.
The peculiarity of Assologistica is
constituted by the meeting among
managers of the logistics infrastrutures with
operators exploiting them.
For all those foreign firms that intend
to develop logistic activity in Italy, or to
develop the correct contacts with people
responsible for the biggest Italian logistic
operators, Assologistica is the right answer.
The association counts on a net of
contacts and relationships, able to open the
doors of the Italian market easier and
favour your entry in the logistic sector
"made in Italy".
For every information, call us to the followings numbers and addresses:
MILANO: Via Cornalia, 19 - 20124 Milan - Tel: +39 02 669 15 67 / +39 02 669 03 19
Fax: +39 02 66 71 42 45 - Email: milano@assologistica.it
ROMA: Via Panama, 62 - 00198 Roma - Tel : +39 06 84 128 97
Fax : +39 06 88 448 24 - Email: roma@assologistica.it
Assologistica web site: http:// www.assologistica.it
Euromerci web site: http:// www.euromerci.it
2 6 Warehouse Management Syst ems
Summer 2 0 1 1
Third Party Logistics providers have a tough time, for
instance in the retail supply chain theyre squeezed in
both directions by the mighty retailers and by the cost
conscious importers.
Traditionally such 3PLs have provided a storage
and haulage service storage prices based on basic
charging of handling and storage, and haulage prices
based on distance and quantity. This of course is a
difficult way to make money the service becomes a
commodity and the barriers of entry are low. Low
barriers to entry mean that competition for both new
contracts and contract renewal is stiff, and even if cus-
tomers prefer to stay with a 3PL they know and trust
there will be ongoing reductions in profit margins in
most cases.
The 3PL provider is often working to arduous serv-
ice levels agreements where often their performance is
highly dependent on external factors including the time-
ly arrival of deliveries and the keeping of delivery
schedules - despite inevitable traffic problems. All of
this in a climate where the provider is often financially
responsible for the clients stock.
So what is the answer? The old phrase business is
simple, but its not easy comes to mind. The simple
answer is to add more value and to carve a niche in the
market. The not easy is that it needs a lot of think-
ing through, a lot of determination, greater attention
to detail, the drive and persistence to implement and
improve , and no doubt some trial and error. Buzz
phrases like thinking outside the box, pushing the enve-
lope and moving outside ones comfort zone all come
to mind.
Adding value; that all comes down to working
with companies or people and doing things that you
can do better than they can, better being a combina-
tion of faster, cheaper, smarter. Continual innova-
tion and careful change management is all part of the
equation. By adding value the 3PL significantly
improves their potential to make better margins. The
more services he or she offers to the clients, and the
more intricate these services are, then the greater the
potential to develop a really strong and symbiotic part-
nership a partnership where both parties have a
greater commitment and are less likely to part ways.
If you look at a typical importer or retailer what are
they good at? or at least what should they be good at
? Essentially the really important things, the things
that make the retailer stand out, are down to sourcing,
and perhaps designing, the right product - at the right
price, then marketing and selling it. The rest is impor-
tant but is a bit of a distraction; the rest being the
admin of sourcing and importing, stock management
and storage, admin of order processing and despatch,
the fulfilment process of picking and despatch.
These are all areas that are, or can be, the core com-
petence of the 3PL. These extra services give the 3PL a
lot more to go for than the traditional receipt of pallets
and despatch of pallets and cases.
Well explore some case studies to see how some
3PLs are succeeding. For reasons of confidentiality
weve anonymised the exact nature of the businesses
and processes, the elements described are based on
real world clients of ATMS plc in the UK, Middle East
and Far East.
Case Study 1 - the 3PL and the importer of
tableware
This is a classic example of companies playing to their
strengths. The importer is typical of those compa-
nies that have seized the opportunity of low cost product
sourcing from the Far East based on superb product
designs from their own in house UK team. By design-
ing products with a great market appeal and by sourc-
ing at low cost and by carefully cultivating relationships
with key wholesalers and retailers their business has
boomed. This has recently been supplemented by a
direct to consumer web shop they have developed.
Design, sourcing, marketing and key account man-
agement is what they focus on, and excel at. The rest
they leave to their Third Party Logistics provider. The
3PL looks after order taking and order processing, also
takes a direct despatch requirements feed from their
shopping web site. The 3PL then takes care of order
picking and despatch. Direct to home deliveries are
undertaken using major parcel carriers. The 3PL uses
the most economic carrier for each shipment, based on
delivery date, delivery location, weight and cube. The
3PL generates all the labelling and electronic manifest
Addi ng more val ue
maki ng more prof i t
St eve Cross of ATMS has some advi ce for Thi rd Part y Logi st i cs Provi ders
who want t o rai se t hei r growt h and profi t abi l i t y
Summer 2 0 1 1
Warehouse Management Syst ems 2 7
data required automatically. Deliveries to retail
stores and warehouses are carried out with a combina-
tion of the 3PLs own trucks and sub-contract vehicles.
The 3PL also looks after invoicing and credit control on
behalf of their client.
So far so good for the downstream process. In
addition the 3PL looks after the upstream process as
well. The tableware client places bulk orders on
their Far East suppliers. The 3PL then manages call
offs in line with stock levels and sales forecasts.
The 3PL uses the global tracking module of its
warehouse management system to control and track
the production, despatch and importation process.
The module allows the Far East manufacturer to
uniquely label cartons of product as they come off the
production line; using this unique bar code, cartons
can be scanned and tracked into the shipping contain-
er. This provides almost real time visibility of produc-
tion and despatch, and provides an electronic manifest
of container contents.
The 3PL of course handles all the traditional activ-
ities such as container receipting and de-stuffing, cross
docking, put-away, pick face replenishment, kitting,
assembly and packing. Receipting productivity and
accuracy is increased by an order of magnitude
through the use of the uniquely bar coded cartons,
combined with the electronic manifest.
The use of a comprehensive warehouse manage-
ment system is essential for this operation; the WMS
provides the communications hub to the client and to
the outside world virtually eliminating data entry and
associated errors. The WMS is used to optimise all
the warehousing and logistics processes, and to record
the costs of these processes allowing improvements to
be identified, planned and measured. Importantly it
also by its very nature collects and reports the service
level information needed for when the client and the
3PL sit down to review performance.
So what about the money side of all this? Well it
is really quite straight-forward, the 3PL just agrees a fee
based on percentage of the clients sales turnover.
This is a very visible figure as the 3PL is administering
all sales anyway. The beauty of this simple arrange-
ment is, well, simplicity, but also because it incentivises
the 3PL to continually innovate and improve. It also
incentivises the 3PL to hold optimum stock, not too
much and not too little an incentive that isnt normally
associated with third party warehouses where the desire
is often to maximise stock holding.
The tableware importer can really focus on his core
business, this focus has enabled the company to
achieve solid year on year growth growth that has
also, of course, benefitted the 3PL provider. The
partnership can be seen as a genuine win-win partner-
ship. The commercial terms are reviewed periodically
of course but assuming professionalism, open ness and
good communication the chances of either party
defecting are low.
Case Study 2 the 3PL, the printer and the
retail bank
Printing companies are good at printing, banks are
2 8 Warehouse Management Syst ems
Summer 2 0 1 1
good at banking, so the theory goes. This leaves a
big void when it comes to ensuring all the brochures,
forms, booklets, point of sale material and stationery
are in the right place at the right time in this case not
too many and not too few at each of the banks 100
plus branches and its third party agencies. This void
also extends to managing the central buffer stock to
ensure branches can be replenished on a regular basis.
The 3PL in question again uses a comprehensive
warehouse management system to control its opera-
tion. This has a web portal which allows clients, and
clients of clients, to place orders, place delivery requests
and to view stock. Indeed, on an authorised basis,
users can view any warehousing and supply chain
activity, its status and its history. This allows all the
bank branches to call off their printed material require-
ments, within guidelines set by head office, for next day
delivery.
The 3PL communicates electronically with the print-
ing company communicating details of stock levels,
re-order recommendations and daily order and
despatch information. In turn the printing company
provides electronic advanced shipment notifications in
order that the 3PL can be prepared for the receipts,
and can simply scan in the stock on receipt. The
banks head office can also drive the call off process,
electronically, direct to the 3PL or via the printing com-
pany for instance requesting new point of sale materi-
al to be delivered to all or selected branches for arrival
ready for the launch of a new promotion.
Case Study 3 the 3PL and the maintenance
management company
Maintenance management is a complex job. The
strength of a maintenance management company is its
technical knowledge and its ability to cater for customer
needs in a profitable but cost effective manner. Good
logistics is a necessary evil and it is a mixed bag.
Material required by the field service staff ranges from
specialised spare parts through to every day consum-
able items, not forgetting personal protective equipment
and work-wear. To service its operation the mainte-
nance company has set up a number of remote stores
across the UK. Stores are often based in one of the
many self-store facilities that are springing up across
the UK, but can also be a unit at the premises of a
larger client or can be a lock box outside the home of
the field service technician.
The 3PL stores everything on behalf of the mainte-
nance company within its centralised multi client ware-
housing facility. Some stock, particularly fast moving
consumable stock, is held at each remote store in line
with an agreed stocking policy. The 3PL replenishes
stock and delivers parts and items to each store on a
daily or weekly basis. Use is made of the latest
hand held mobile computers by both the 3PL and its
client. The latest hand-helds have an inbuilt bar code
scanner, an option for an RF-ID tag reader, and GPS
for location recording and satellite navigation. Touch
screens are used for signature capture and information
entry. The units normally support both WiFi and 3G
communications, the latter normally working in con-
junction with a standard mobile phone SIM card also
allowing voice communications. The use of hand-
helds gives great potential for control of field based
logistics operations.
Using his or her hand held device, the 3PL opera-
tive can confirm his or her presence at the remote store
by scanning a location bar code inside the store; this
information can be combined for extra security with the
location as recorded from the inbuilt GPS sensor. The
operative can then place items and stock in the
required location, topping up parts bins as required
and recording all these activities with the inbuilt bar
code scanner. Inventory counts can also be carried
out.
Whilst at the store room the operative can also col-
lect parts and equipment for return to the central ware-
house. An in-built camera in the hand held unit can
be used to record any damaged or broken items before
their removal. All information collected is communi-
cated back in real time to the central warehouse man-
agement system. The 3PL and their client are looking
at further security measures such as CCTV and remote
electronic unlocking of the store using innovative RFID
techniques.
The clients field service staff in turn use their hand
held computers to record stock they take from the store
and return to the store. They can use their own per-
sonal hand held unit or in certain cases use a hand
held unit that is left permanently in the store for shared
usage. The hand-helds are also used to order
work-wear and personal protective equipment a bar
coded menu with photos of the items in question is
used for this purpose.
The 3PL is looking to extend its operations in simi-
lar sectors now that it has the expertise and technology
in place. It is looking at all markets that need vendor
managed inventory, consignment and indent stock and
control of remote stores. The technology they use
can work anywhere in the world with mobile phone
coverage meaning that they dont need to invest in any
infrastructure.
Case Study 4 facility rental
Some third party logistics providers are happy to rent
out their vacant or surplus warehouses on a conven-
tional landlord and tenant basis. Some however are
keen to innovate in search of a little bit more of the
action. One interesting approach to this, by a major
international 3PL, has been to rent out their warehous-
ing facility as a working warehouse, complete with nar-
To find out more call: +44(0)121 628 9000
email sales@atmsplc.com or visit www.atmsplc.com
ATMS plc, Birmingham Science Park - Aston, Birmingham, UK, B7 4EJ Offices in Dubai, Manila and Singapore
controlling youlogistics operations around the
world, around the country or around your yard
Warehouse
Management Systems
ATMS Global Track is the Internet
based remote labelling, tracking and
warehousing system that provides
you with visibility and control of your
supply chain wherever in the world
your stock might be global track
HELPING YOUR OVERSEAS
SOURCING EXPAND AND EVOLVE
Are you looking for ways to lower the landed cost of products already sourced overseas
or expand your direct sourcing into other product categories?
Damco manages logistics for many leading retailers sourcing directly overseas, including
from lower cost locations like inland China, India and Bangladesh.
We have global systems and a proven track-record helping retailers achieve unprecedented
levels of reliability, visibility and efciency in their supply chains.
All it takes to get started is a meeting with a specialist from our Retail Team.
Email us at retail@damco.com or visit www.damco.com/retail for more information.
DAMCO RETAIL DIRECT
The end-to-end logistics solution for retailers
sourcing directly overseas
Summer 2 0 1 1
Warehouse Management Syst ems 3 1
row aisle racking, core mechanical handling equipment
and, interestingly, complete with a blue collar work-
force. Additional labour and MHE can be rented
from the 3PL on an hourly basis.
The end client then manages the warehouse them-
selves . The advantage of this as far as the client is
concerned is that he can walk into a warehouse and
have it working for him from day one, with minimal
hassle. The advantage for the 3PL is that he can
attract good quality clients who will pay a premium to
use a modern, ready to use facility.
The systems that make this possible
Good systems are vital in most cases in enabling the
innovation we have discussed. They are not the most
important factor - the most important factor is good
people with creative, innovative minds and a commit-
ment to delivering the quality of service theyve agreed
with the client, and with an ability to communicate well
with the client. Systems though are the essential
tools that this team needs in order to deliver success.
A good warehouse management system, with the
features weve discussed that extend to cover the whole
supply chain, is normally the core business tool. The
WMS for most operations must also have the ability to
generate activity based charging and billing informa-
tion even if the client is not billed this way. The
potential for charging should include receipt, quality
and conformance check, storage, handling, picking,
pick and pack, kitting, despatch, inventory checking,
ad-hoc charging space rental and transport.
In most scenarios it is good practice to record the
operating costs of client specific operations using a
robust costing model even if the client is charged on a
fixed price basis, an open book basis or a percentage
of turnover basis. This helps with the costing of con-
tract renewals and new contracts. It also helps to pin-
point areas of high operating cost where savings could
potentially be made. The information provides
benchmarking data and can be used as the basis for
key performance indicator (KPI) reporting often using
graphical visual dashboards.
Another key function of the WMS is to report per-
formance against Service Level Agreements, SLAs.
SLAs are notoriously hard to police, the client will often
focus on the last few issues and problems even if per-
formance is generally exemplary. The 3PL will often
not have the facts and fingers at his fingertips to defend
and promote his position. A good WMS can collect
and report on the information needed, simply as a by
product of its core purpose in optimising and control-
ling the warehouse operation.
In Summary
In summary the more value a 3PL can add to its clients
operation, often through additional services and inno-
vative processes, then the more he is likely to retain that
client and the more profit he is likely to make from that
client. This is not a guaranteed road to riches but its
more likely to generate real and profitable growth than
the well trodden haulage and storage path still followed
by many 3PLs.
3 2 Advert ori al
Summer 2 0 1 1
Yal e t akes
Mat eri al s
handl i ng
t o
t he next
l evel
Despite the worldwide
economic crisis forklift
truck and warehouse
equipment manufacturer,
Yale Europe Materials
Handling, has continued
to invest in its product
development and
manufacturing facilities.
The company has recently
unveiled a range of new
class leading models that
take materials handling to
the next level, and
revealed details of
$2 million investment
at its Masate facility
in Italy.
3 3
Summer 2 0 1 1
Advert ori al
Masat e pl ant i nvest ment
Yale has made significant investment in its electric
warehouse production facility in Masate including the
introduction of a new product development centre, an
extensive testing area and a very narrow aisle (VNA)
production line serving the global market.
Huge importance is placed on innovation and product
design and the state of the art design centre allows the
Yale team to perform validation and testing of new fea-
tures and technology.
A new 50 metre test track means both current and new
or prototype products can be tested to their full capabili-
ties. Testing includes lift and travel speeds, productivity
testing, energy efficiency examinations and internal sta-
bility testing.
VNA for space opt i mi sat i on
Responding to one of the most significant current trends
in warehousing and materials movement, which is the
demand for space optimisation, Yales VNA equipment
allows customers to get the maximum storage capacity
from the minimum site footprint.
Offering lateral fork movement, Yales MTC VNA truck
is able to operate in aisles of only fractionally wider than
the size of the pallet. Productivity is increased as the truck
is able to travel and lift simultaneously. Further space
optimisation is possible as lift heights are significantly
higher than those of counterbalance or reach trucks.
The VNA production line at Masate has been
improved as part of the site investment and uses the
demand flow technology (DFT) assembly process where
each truck is built to the customers requirements and is
tested at each stage of assembly and manufacture.
Yales MTC series has been designed with AC technol-
ogy sealed motors, CANbus technology, and diagnostic
capability, which provide increased levels of reliability.
Low lifetime cost of ownership is achieved through min-
imised unscheduled repairs and maintenance.
Seei ng i s bel i evi ng MR Reach t ruck
Increased visibility and operator comfort upgrades
have been made to the MR series of reach trucks.
Reacting to research that highlighted visibility as a major
factor influencing an operators attitude towards ware-
house equipment, the reach trucks overhead guard has
been completely redesigned without any compromise to
its strength or security.
To enhance operator comfort, the MR series can be fit
ted with a full suspension ergonomic seat, designed to
drastically reduce whole body vibration. As well as offer-
ing benefits to the end user, the improved ergonomics of
the reach truck allow the operator to maintain optimum
productivity for longer as fatigue is reduced.
Productivity is further enhanced by an eight per cent
increase in travel speeds, particularly beneficial when
trucks need to operate over longer distances.
Ergonomics for increased picking productivity
Yales new MO20 low level order picker has been
designed to optimise picking speeds and ease of picking
when retrieving goods from both sides of a warehouse
aisle.
Combining ergonomics, efficiency and reliability, the
MO series is designed to assist the operator in achieving
increased pick rates and offers a large comfortable work
platform. This allows easier pass through with easy on
and off access helping to minimise operator movement,
saving valuable time when picking.
The easy to operate scooter control feature provides
fingertip control when on the platform. In addition, a
creep speed function allows the operator to move the pal-
let truck to the next pick location without having to access
the truck.
3 4 Advert ori al
Summer 2 0 1 1
Tow t ract or i s smoot h operat or
The new MO50T tow tractor from Yale has been devel-
oped specifically for applications in industries where in
line feed or milk run operations are prevalent. A com-
fortable work platform allows easy access and reduces
operator movement and the truck includes a universal
flange suitable for many types of hooks and tow pins.
The tow tractor features the same 2.6KW motor that
can be found on the MO20 low level order picker series
which delivers high performance acceleration and travel
speed leading to maximum productivity throughout the
full shift. Performance, regenerative braking and anti-roll
back on slopes are also standard features shared with
the MO20 order picker.
Cont i nued i nnovat i on and i nvest ment
Yale Area Business Director for the UK David Bunting
says that developing new features and continuously
updating current models as a result of the introduction of
new technology and research allows Yale to offer cus-
tomers even greater value for money as it results in more
productive equipment with lower cost of ownership and
service costs.
He says: Yale will continue to innovate and deliver a
wide range of materials handling equipment to cater for
the varying demands of customers. Through investment
made by our parent company NMHG in facilities like the
new VNA manufacturing, Test and Development centre in
Masate Italy and the new Engineering Concept centre in
Hampshire, UK Yale will be able to respond to the
increased demand for more sophisticated technological-
ly advanced equipment epitomised by the companies
MTC VNA series and deliver products that meet cus-
tomers individual requirements more exactly.
Yale will continue to ensure that people and new
products are priorities. The result will be people and
products focused on providing customers with practical
solutions to increase productivity, decrease operating
costs and provide a more comfortable environment for
operators of Yale materials handling equipment.
For more information on the new range of products
and the companys investment in the electric warehouse
and VNA equipment production facility, please log on to
www.yale-forklifts.eu.
AEB (Int ernat i onal )
Lt d announces
Management
Changes
Summer 2011
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Leamington Spa, 28th J uly 2011 As part of its latest
business growth strategy, AEB (International) Ltd has
announced changes within its leadership team. Mark
Brannan, General Manager, is moving on to the cor-
porate role of International Business Development
Director, while Claire Umney will assume responsibili-
ty for the management and continued development
of AEB (International) Ltd as the new General
Manager.
During his 11 years with the company, Mark
Brannan has gained considerable experience advis-
ing companies ranging from SMEs to major multi-
national corporations on solutions for optimising sup-
ply chain performance. In his new role, Mark reports
directly to AEBs CEO at the companys headquarters
in Stuttgart, and the key focus of his global responsi-
bilities is on developing new markets, key accounts
and partner networks worldwide.
Mark Brannan said: AEB's international expansion
programme is crucial to the future success of the
company, so Im very happy to be taking a key role
in this area. Our international presence has grown
significantly during the last ten years and we are keen
to expand into new markets and strengthen our posi-
tion in some of our existing markets.
As UK General Manager, Claire Umney is looking
to build on the growth of the company in recent years
and further develop the companys reputation as a
leading provider of software solutions and consultan-
cy in supply chain and logistics. Claires ambitious
business development plans include expansion of
current staff levels, a significant increase in UK mar-
ket share and further establishing local brand recog-
nition.
Claire has been working with AEB (International)
Ltd since 2008, when she joined as a Project
Manager. Her wealth of experience in the Logistics
and Supply Chain sector has been integral to the UK
business and its success. Claires responsibilities dur-
ing the past 12 years in industry include business
process consultancy, business development and soft-
ware solution implementations, ranging from ware-
house and transport management to carrier and cus-
toms management and regulatory compliance.
Claire Umney said: We are at a very exciting junc-
ture in AEBs development as a global company, and
I am happy to be leading the UK business into the
future. We have an excellent and expanding product
portfolio as well as an experienced and motivated
team to drive our success. I am looking forward to
the challenges ahead.
www.aeb-international.co.uk
36 Packagi ng
Summer 2011
A
utomated Packaging Solutions can be seen com-
monly in the central DC of High Street brands
but not much by Logistics Providers. A common
belief is that such investment takes time to pay back
and requires long term stability of the business.
On the time scale of the history of industry, packag-
ing automation in distribution is a very recent move. It
started approximately twenty years ago with the first
heat shrink solutions and was reserved for B2B applica-
tions. While it is popular in Europe today, it is still rare
in major countries like the US and J apan where mil-
lions of boxes are hand taped every day.
The major change in the fulfillment business of the
current time is that brands now outsource their logistics
including warehousing and that B2C is booming with
e-commerce. As a consequence, Logistics Providers are
now in charge of distributing the products of many
major brands. Besides, business stability is no longer a
specialty of High street brands as far as distribution is
concerned as competition gets harder and the peak
period is every year more intense. But automated pack-
aging solutions are still being selected by the brands,
and not much by Logistics Providers. The cautious
approach is still there while the reasons no longer.
Business stability has disappeared in almost every
sector but not the need to stay competitive. In these
times of changes, the typical pay back expected by
companies selecting packaging automation is eighteen
months maximum, which is compatible with typical
three years long logistics contracts. Contrary to a piece
of conveyor that saves purely on labour, a packaging
machine saves not only on labour, but on packaging
materials, on transport (with the cube reduction option),
on returns, on pilfering losses. Combined savings is the
clue to the attractiveness of packaging automation.
Concerning the capability of packaging automation
to reduce the height of the boxes to the height of the
products inside, all the brands selecting this option are
motivated by the positive consumer impact, but a few
get savings on transport costs because transport is
Packagi ng aut omat i on -
yes you can
Bernard Dominici from B+ Equi pment contends that
automated packagi ng make good busi ness sense for 3PLs
Summer 2011
Packagi ng 37
charges by the weight or more usually by the parcel.
Potential savings are missed here because reducing
boxes provides typically a global 15 to 25% global
transported cube reduction, which means approximately
the same reduction of the number of trucks. When a
Logistics Provider is in charge of both warehousing and
transport, the savings on transport becomes real.
While savings are proven, capital investment still
deter Logistics Providers. With the current development
of logistics outsourcing, packaging equipment vendors
like B+ Equipment adapt their offering and propose
leasing options, or more innovative, a cycle charge pro-
posal where the equipment is paid through a click
charge per box. With such option, the savings provided
by packaging automation is known and cashed from
day one.
Logistics Providers most frequently investigate auto-
mated packaging solutions when they have just been
appointed new business. The project runs over several
months and vanishes as the contract dead line gets
closer. If considered when in the tender phase, the
automated option keeps its full financial benefits over
the contract period. Besides, packaging automation is
an efficient way to win new business: besides the com-
petitive prices, it offers the customer a nicer and more
secured package.
Packaging automation puts also the Logistics
Provider in a good position to keep the business when it
is renegotiated. First, the customer is reluctant to move
back from a neat glued packaged to a hand taped
0201 case. Then, the Logistics Provider has significant
financial flexibility after the equipment has been paid
for during the initial contract.
Most Logistics Providers running multiple businesses
in the same warehouse keep these businesses separate
on bespoke systems. This makes sense as businesses
come one after the other, but when the decision is go
for a material handling system is taken, it should be
considered for multiple businesses, at least in the long
run. The usual belief is that orders could be mis-
matched and an order from business A could be
shipped to a customer of business B. With a license
plate printed on each box and automated data pro-
cessing, the probability to mix orders from different
businesses is no more important than the probability to
mix two orders from the same business.
It is also commonly believed that packaging automa-
tion stays as it is forever once it is there. While it is true
that it makes no sense to revamp any material handling
equipment every year, packaging equipment can be
moved over a week-end in the warehouse. Moreover,
such equipment can be revamped to different box sizes.
Changing the box height is really insignificant work,
and changing the box footprint is heavier job but defi-
nitely can be done.
It is true that packaging automation frightens a bit
because it is big pieces of hardware and big money.
However, the big hardware turns out to be flexible with
regards to the current business changes, and money
can be spend as boxes exit the warehouse with finan-
cial innovation like the Cycle Charge Option.
www.bplus-equip.fr
38 Technol ogy
Summer 2011
Warehouse One, based in Winsford, Cheshire, provide
warehouse and distribution services to clients through-
out UK and Ireland.
The company has recently invested the PODFather
suite of software, directly integrating it into one of their
major clients global freight forwarding systems to
ensure all UK road transport information is communi-
cated to their Import and Export staff electronically -
and in real-time - to help improve their audit trail and
reduce communication costs.
Warehouse One provides a range of warehousing
and trucking services to Expeditors International
Limited, one of the top five Global Logistics providers.
When originally tendering for the business, Warehouse
One were aware that Expeditors was seeking a partner
who could optimise management reporting and proof-
of-delivery notification.
Warehouse One Director, Liam Lee stated When we
began to explain that the PODFather system could be
linked into their freight management system to provide
PODs in real-time Expeditors became very interested in
this concept.
But the PODFather system is about more than just
proof of delivery. For example, Warehouse One trans-
port staff have access to the PODFather scheduling sys-
tems for load building and vehicle tracking, and all
drivers are equipped with a robust handheld running
the PODFather PDA software. This displays full mani-
fests to the drivers, allowing them to indicate to the cen-
tral system when goods have been collected and deliv-
ered, capturing customer signature, time and location
stamps at each critical point.
Another advantage of the PODFather PDA system is
its simplicity of use means operators do not require
extensive training. It's really no more complicated than
using a mobile phone or sending a text message, says
Liam Lee.
The PODFather system offers a number of other user
benefits. For instance, the backoffice system allows jobs
to be booked into the system, with tariffs and costs set
for each consignment. Traffic Planning facilities are
available to allocate jobs to your drivers and vehicles,
and calculate ETAs for multi-drop runs.
The Tracking module of the PODFather system runs
on the drivers PDA, and is fully integrated with the
backoffice booking and despatch systems to give both
Seeki ng proof
Warehouse One has recentl y i nvested the PODFather sui te of software, di rectl y i ntegrati ng i t i nto one of
thei r maj or cl i ents gl obal frei ght forwardi ng systems
Summer 2011
Technol ogy 39
staff and customers visibility of the location
of the drivers and jobs.
The PODFathers handheld system
allows drivers to download manifests, con-
firm when goods are collected and when
they are delivered. PODs can be cus-
tomised to match existing paperwork;
adding photographs, customer names and
signatures.
The system runs locally on the PDA, and
operates on any mobile network, anywhere
in the world. Users can sign off jobs out-
side network coverage and they sync when
drivers are back in range.
The Invoicing section of the PODFather
ensures all PODs are invoiced as soon as
they are complete. Uninvoiced PODs can
be processed either individually, or as a
batch. Processed invoices are generated in
PDF format, and a batch export file is
available for integration with third-party accounts sys-
tems, e.g. SAGE.
The PODFather system has also been designed with
systems integration in mind. It is purposefully simple to
link with existing systems and push jobs out to driver
PDAs. Completed PODs can then be downloaded back
into these systems within seconds of them being com-
pleted.
Liam Lee, concludes: "Integrating PODFather into the
business has been a great success and we now use the
system for both transport management, and helping us
secure new major contracts.
We have an excellent partnership with PODFather
who are very flexible and approach our business needs
with a can-do attitude.

Dore fo oufomofe pockoging l
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Cube reduction
for ZC fuIfiment or
non frugiIe products
Void contuinment
for Z fuIfiIment or
frugiIe products

www.bpIus-equip.com
4 0 Case St udy
Summer 2 0 1 1
German manufacturers of intralogistics products have
overcome the economic crises in a good condition. The
economic upswing is expected to continue throughout
2011. For 2011, industry experts of the Intralogistics
Forum expect an increase in sales of nine percent over
the previous year to 16.1 billion. The drop in sales of the
crisis year 2009 could be attenuated by the end of 2010
with only a slight decrease of eight percent over the pre-
vious year.
The logistics sector is a central area of growth for the
German economy and just as much for many of
Germanys neighbouring countries. The Federal
Government has recognized the importance of German
logistics for Germany and for Europe. The Federal
Transport Infrastructure Plan provides for the extension of
many existing as well as new and modern transport
routes and logistics locations to optimize transport flow
and to simplify passenger and freight transport. Large-
scale infrastructure projects are aimed at bringing
Germanys hinterland closer to the global marketplace.
These infrastructure projects are not always met with
approval, which can temporarily delay the direct benefit
for the location and the technical advancement of the
respective region. The extension of the transport network
aims to optimize the interconnection between individual
centres and increase the turnover speed of merchandise
while reducing standby times.
Products made in Germany enjoy a worldwide reputa-
tion, as they meet customer-specific quality criteria and
requests due to their sophisticated and elaborate design
and availability. The German manufacturers of engineer-
ing products, just like numerous manufacturers in other
sectors of the German economy, have been the worlds
undisputed champion exporters since many decades. In
addition to good products and services, well-organised
and reliable logistics have also contributed to that top
position.
However, logistics not only means transport by water,
air, rail and road. The technically most important part of
the logistic performance is in-house logistics with intralo-
gistics. Without any doubt, both sectors are closely inter-
connected and together form the logistics sector.
An upward trend is recognizable in the main sectors of
the German engineering industry. The industry sector
with the biggest volume, intralogistics, had to put up with
an unequalled decrease in sales of 24 percent to 16 bil-
lion. Industry experts of the Logistics Forum expect that
the sales level of 2008 will not be reached before 2013.
By the middle of 2010, the intralogistics industry saw a
significant increase in incoming orders and was, there-
fore, able to cushion the previous years blow with a
decrease by only eight percent to 14.8 billion. Similar to
the logistics sector, where in 2010 about 210 billion in
sales were generated with 2.7 million employees, the
intralogistics sector profited from a good global econom-
ic climate and, according to well-founded forecasts by
industry experts of the Intralogistics Forum, will slightly
exceed the nominal sales level of 2009.
Industry experts view this trend as a confirmation of the
global competitiveness of German intralogistics and of
the location Germany altogether. Almost half of the
employees in the German logistics sector operate or use
intralogistics products. A comparable ratio can be found
in other important sectors of the German economy, e.g.
in the automobile industry (sales volume 2010: 260 bil-
lion with 720,000 employees), in the German logistics
sector, as well as in the engineering industry (sales vol-
ume 2010: 174 billion with 912,000 employees). The
intralogistics sector serves all major German industries
with innovative equipment and products. It provides
operators all along the supply chain with a high degree
of availability as well as rationalisation and savings
potential without neglecting ecologic as well as econom-
ic sustainability and social responsibility. This is why no
other industry currently receives as much attention on a
global level as intralogistics.
With the new emerging logistics requirements, the sig-
nificance of intralogistics continues to grow both in
Germany and abroad. This is supported by the growing
number of incoming orders correlating with the sales
development of the industry, however, also by a bal-
anced ratio of domestic and foreign business. The export
rate of German manufacturers of intralogistics products is
just above 50 percent.
Due to its geopolitical location in the centre of Europe,
Germany is a transit country for transports of freight and
Int ral ogi st i cs Hi gh-t ech i ndust ry prof i t s
f rom economi c upswi ng

Jul y 2 0 0 6
Case St udy 4 1
raw
materials from West to East, North to South and vice
versa. This unrivalled central location inevitably increases
the significance of intralogistics. Almost 60 percent of the
customers of German intralogistics manufacturers are
located in the 27 EU countries.
With a share of approx. 15 percent in German intral-
ogistics exports to BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India,
and China), the importance of these threshold markets for
Germany is growing significantly. In addition, countries
such as Saudi Arabia have gained importance for
German manufacturers of intralogistics products due to
their constant and crisis-resistant import behaviour. The
increasing share of exports to these countries proves that
the German manufacturers continue towards a healthy
distribution structure, also to markets outside of Europe.
Hence, the German intralogistics industry was in a better
position for mastering the economic crisis of 2009 than
its international competitors.
China has become the most important market for
Germany. In 2010, the Peoples Republic became the
most important buyer of German intralogistics products.
German companies exported products and systems with
a value of 946m to China; which is 43 percent above
2009. This put China for the first time into the leading
position as a market for German intralogistics products;
in 2009 it was still in third place after the US (2010:
702m) and France (2010: 658m).
In 2010, the BRIC countries showed the highest growth
rates for intralogistics products from Germany. The
increase in German intralogistics exports to Brazil is also
remarkable; with a growth rate of 133 percent over
2009 to 414m. Exports of German intralogistics to
Russia increased by 39 percent and to India by 31 per-
cent. These numbers do not include the locally created
value by German intralogistics companies.
Despite the sales decline in 2009 and 2010, the num-
ber of employees in the intralogistics industry in Germany
has almost remained stable. This is attributable, in part,
to working-time accounts being made more flexible, to
short-time work and the instruments of temporary employ-
ment in Germany, as well as to company policies. With
these instruments, which were supported by the German
government and implemented by the industry, massive
layoffs in Germany could be avoided. And this is why, at
the first sign of an economic upswing, a qualified work-
force was available to react quickly to the demands of the
market. This helped to significantly cushion the crisis and
to strengthen Germanys competitiveness during and after
the crisis.
The author: Jens Karsten
Rohrbaech, Project Manager of the
Intralogistics Forum, a VDMA initia-
tive, and advisor for branch market-
ing, public relations and trade
shows in the VDMA Materials
Handling and Logistic Technology
Association, Frankfurt, Germany

42 Gi deon Hi l l man Consul t i ng l t d
Summer 2011
Whilst outsourcing has always been prevalent in the
logistics and supply chain sectors, there has been a
marked increase in the requirements for Warehouse
design and operational consultants over the last 12
months. This is the result of a number of factors all con-
tributing to this rise in demand for specialist and practi-
cal expertise. The recession forced many businesses to
reduce their logistics infrastructure and cost base whilst a
slowdown in product demand put additional constraints
on warehousing with slow moving and obsolete stock
taking up valuable space and resource.
Many companies, regardless of industry sector, have
survived the recession to date through drastic cost cutting
exercises frequently having reduced the workforce and
either closing or mothballing production and ware-
housing facilities. This strategy is often borne out of
necessity and has the immediate short term benefit in
terms of cost reduction however this raises two further
questions; What else can you do to improve your cost
base? and with evidence in some sectors that the worst
is behind us, How should you be planning not only to
recover but also to grow and become stronger than you
were before the economic downturn?.
There has been a noticeable increase in warehouse
and picking facilities within the internet retailer and
e-fulfilment sector as well as a number of business merg-
ers and acquisitions now seeking to benefit from ware-
house consolidation and economies of scale.
Planning how to react to economic recovery and capi-
talise on every opportunity as and when it arises is cru-
cial. Where measures have been taken to rationalise and
contract to combat recession, businesses need to be sure
that they can react to the inevitable recovery and upturn
in trade as and when needed and not be found wanting
or lacking in resource and strategy when the time comes.
Long term security will be highly dependent on a robust
and sustainable Logistics and Warehouse strategy within
your business and within that of your customers and sup-
pliers throughout the supply chain. In order to survive,
companies must endeavour to undertake the widest
review possible to ensure that all elements of their ware-
house processes, systems and facilities are not sub-opti-
mised and that inventory levels are minimised yet
remain effective.
The need for a consultant with operational and practical
management experience is essential and a good logistics
consultant should be highly expert in Logistics Network
design and reviewing current warehouse process and
operations. They should be able to successfully develop
and implement solutions for all areas of Materials
Handling, Procurement, Stores and Inventory
Management including Regional, National and Global
Distribution Strategy Development and implementation,
Tactical Stock locations, Handling and Picking processes,
Demand Forecasting, Integrated Inventory Control,
Vendor Management, Vendor Support Operations,
inbound and outbound Logistics Management and
Performance and Cost Measurement.
All of the analysis and solutions specific to the client
requirements must be presented with clear and concise
rationale, having been costed and tested.
Most importantly the costs of current warehouse and
inventory operations (per item or unit load despatched),
must be clearly identified and the on-going cost reduction
strategy must define requirements for flexibility in the
business over the next 3 to 5 years planning horizon.
The strategy must be tested to ensure Interface / interac-
tion between Warehousing and despatch and other
operations / departments within the business as well as
integration with existing ERP / MRP systems and WMS
modules.
What businesses dont need is a lengthy and unneces-
sarily costly outsourced consultancy project which deliv-
ers little or no practical benefit with no consultant / client
interaction, says Gideon Hillman FCILT MIC, What
companies rightly demand and subsequently should
receive are implementable solutions specific to their
requirements, costed, tested and presented with clear
and concise rationale, including a detailed implementa-
tion path. This can be achieved through a fixed cost and
logical approach which is effective and adds value to a
clients businesses with no additional or variable costs
over and above those agreed for the scope of the work.
F o r fu rth e r d e ta i ls C o n ta ct:
G i d e o n H i llm a n C o n su lti n g Ltd
Te l: +4 4 ( 0 ) 1 9 2 6 4 3 0 8 8 3
E m a i l: i n fo @ h i llm a n -co n su lti n g . co . u k
We b si te : www. h i llm a n -co n su lti n g . co . u k
What you shoul d expect f rom
your warehouse consul t ant
Advertori al
Summer 2011
June 2011---The Co-operative Electricals 230,000 square
foot Electrical warehousing and distribution operation has
picked warehouse performance management system
DeltaWMS with RF to support its UK wide distribution serv-
ice for E-commerce and store network.
James Holland, Managing Director of The Co-operative E
stores and Electrical buying group said: At a time when the
biggest electrical retailers in the UK have performed poorly,
we have increased both our profitability and market share.
We have done this primarily down to outstanding prices,
excellent customer service, and our rapid and very reliable
delivery service. To ensure the continuation of the latter we
needed a specialist warehouse management system that
was dedicated to logistics performance and designed to
support significant business growth. DeltaWMS ticks those
boxes".
David Butterfield, Head of Warehousing and Distribution
for The Co-operative Electrical said: The decision to deploy
Delta followed a tender involving a number of major WMS
businesses. We liked the ease of the Delta system, the qual-
ity of the people who would project manage its deployment
and the team that would support it over time.
A single DeltaWMS system will be networked across three
sites, which handle customer orders generated by The Co-
operative Electrical website and Co-operative stores, as well
as managing third party distribution for other commercial
customers. DeltaWMS will be integrated with the existing
transport management, business and e-commerce systems.
Our solutions allow warehouse operations to be continu-
ously and measurably improved - boosting supply chain per-
formance, said Delta Software Operations Director Lance
Bennett. DeltaWMS graphical warehouse map and KPI
dashboard manage and measure warehouse inventory
movement in real-time to optimise productivity, delivering
better business process performance for WMS users.
Delta Software: company background
Founded in 1990 and headquartered in Wakefield,
Yorkshire, Delta Software (www.deltawms.co.uk) is the UKs
fastest-growing supplier of interactive warehouse manage-
ment systems and a just-in-time technology innovator. The
companys DeltaWMS flagship single- and multi-site sys-
tems are open-database, feature a unique, user friendly
interactive warehouse management graphical map and
can be quickly and easily integrated into any ERP enterprise
or smaller business environment.
Delta Software deploys its solutions throughout the UK
and continental Europe, on-time and to-budget, providing
rigorous fixed-price guarantees. Delta clients include The
Co-op E-store, Eddie Stobart, Foulger Transport, Life Fitness,
Maximuscle, Toyota Tsusho, Edexcel, Condor Ferries,
Palletways and The Royal British Legion.
THE CO-OPERATIVE E-STORE PICKS Del t aWMS
WAREHOUSE PERFORMANCE SYSTEM
43
Damco unvei l s app f or al l maj or mobi l e pl at f orms
Damco - one of the worlds leading providers of freight
forwarding and supply chain management solutions - today
announced that it has released an app for all of the major
mobile platforms; iPhone/ iPad, Android and Blackberry.
The new app is aimed at providing customers a fast and sim-
ple way to get an overview on the status of the logistic serv-
ices being delivered to them by Damco.
Damco is the first logistic provider in the industry to offer
its customers apps on all important mobile platforms and the
launch is part of an overall effort to prepare for a future
where more business processes will need to be efficiently
supported on smartphones and tablets.
The proliferation of mobile devices is making it econom-
ical and scalable to reach customers with apps. During
recent years tremendous advances have been made, not
only in the capabilities of the devices, but also in their ease
of use, says Mark Scotland, Chief Information Officer at
Damco. As a result the screens and functionality of the
devices are more than sufficient to give customers mobile
access to the applications they access via our standard plat-
forms today.
According to market data made public by IT research
company Gartner 428 million mobile communication
devices were sold in Q1 2011, which represent a 19 per-
cent increase year-on-year. Smartphones continues to out-
pace the rest of the market and accounted for 23.6 percent
of overall sales in Q1 2011, an increase of 85 percent
year-on-year, according to Gartner.1
Even entry-level smartphones will be capable of running
business apps over the next years, especially in developing
countries. We need to meet customers on these platforms
and not only focus on targeting the conventional stationary
PC, which is what the logistics industry has done traditional-
ly, says Mark Scotland.
First step of a larger journey
The tracking app Damco has made available for
iPhone/ iPad, Android and Blackberry will make it possible
to track shipments quickly using a device that is available at
all times instead of being tied down by a normal PC. In
industries where secure and constant delivery of goods are
essential apparel and retail for example this flexibility is
valuable.
Initially Damcos apps will offer tracking of ocean freight
shipments, and the plan is to expand the functionality with
airfreight tracking and provide mobile access to a number
of the key customer facing applications that are currently
accessed by customers using myDamco; a portal on
www.damco.com where customers can fulfill all of their
booking, reporting, tracking and document handling
requirements in one easy-to-manage location.
In addition to launching mobile apps, Damco has also
launched a number of widgets, which are small stand-alone
applications that can be executed within a webpage when
customers access their applications on myDamco. The
widgets allow users to create individual content and have
constant access to them throughout their workday, explains
Mark Scotland.
In todays work environment getting information is rarely
a problem. However, structuring the flood of information
into a relevant view to create insight and be able to make
critical on-time decisions is a major issue. The widgets rep-
resent a simple to use solution to this because Damco cus-
tomers can easily design their own cockpit or dashboard
with the exact online information they need to do their job
efficiently. It is easily done with a simple drag and drop
functionality similar to iGoogle and other successful web
content providers, says Mark Scotland.
1 Gartner press release; 19 May 2011: Gartner Says
428 Million Mobile Communication Devices Sold Worldwide
in First Quarter 2011.
RedPrairie Warehouse Management has helped
streamline our warehouse processes and we now
have a real-time system giving us visibility across
our various terminals making planning much easier
than before.
Thomas Granberg,
System Owner, SCA Transforest
SCA TrAnSforeST
RedPrairie > Third Party Logistics > Case Study
The Customer
SCA Transforest is part of SCAs Forest Products
business area within the SCA Group, and the
company was originally established in 1967 to meet
the transportation needs of this multi-national forest
industry group. SCA Transforests terminals offer
stevedoring, warehousing, forwarding, customs
clearance, ships agency and other related services.
SCA Forest Products produces high quality
publication papers for newspapers, magazines and
catalogues, pulp, solid-wood products and forest
based biofuels. Products are transported by SCA
Transforest from mills in Sweden and onwards by
truck, barge, or train to SCA Transforest terminals
in Sweden, Finland, Germany, United Kingdom, The
Netherlands, Portugal, and Ireland. With this highly
developed European distribution network in place,
SCA Transforest saw the potential to expand the
business and solve transportation and logistics tasks
for companies outside the SCA group as well.
The Challenge
However, winning more business posed certain
IT challenges in order to successfully meet the
requirements of various new customers. For many
years, warehouse and distribution processes were
managed from custom-designed, home-grown
warehouse management systems specifcally built
to support forest products. These systems were not
fexible enough to process different types of goods
while taking individual customer requirements into
concern. Each terminal system worked individually
and offered no visibility across the organisation,
2
making it diffcult for logistics managers to make
well-informed decisions. Therefore it became clear
to SCA Transforest that with their ambition to
successfully attract new customers it was critical that
they invested in a functionally rich best-of-breed
warehouse management system.
After the decision to invest was made, the team at
SCA Transforest began a thorough selection process
to fnd the right WMS vendor. A dozen vendors
across Europe received the RFP. Four were selected
for a more detailed evaluation, and ultimately
RedPrairie was selected.

3
We selected the solution from
RedPrairie because we identifed that its
vast range of functionality would give us
the best long term cost effciency, and
more importantly it would give us the
fexibility we needed to run an agile and
modern logistics operation, now and in
the future.
Thomas Granberg,
The Solution
It was decided to implement the solution at the
largest and most complex terminals frst and at the
associated terminals afterwards. Together, SCA
Transforest and RedPrairie developed a system
template that would cover the complexity of each
of the terminals; that could be applied for each
implementation; and that would ensure that system
could be rolled out to new sites in a quick and cost
effective manner.
Of nine sites, the frst to go live was SCA
Transforests terminal in Ume, Sweden with
75,000 m
2
warehouse capacity, which successfully
went live on time in March 2007. Later the same
year the terminal in Sundsvall, Sweden (70,000 m
2

warehouse) went live and in 2008 the remaining two
main terminals went live in London, UK (50,000 m
2
warehouse) and Rotterdam, Netherlands (73,500 m
2
warehouse). Combined, these four main terminals
manage around 6.7 million tons of goods annually.
During the roll-out to the frst four sites several
enhancements were made after each of the go-lives,
making the following go-live smoother. Thomas
Granberg explains: Internally we all feared the
Rotterdam implementation. It was our most complex
site and everyone kept telling me that the problems
would come when we implemented in Rotterdam.
However because of the enhancements and
experiences learned from the frst three go-lives the
Rotterdam implementation was in fact the smoothest
of them all.
Since the go-live in Rotterdam, SCA Transforest
has continued the roll-out across Europe and has
now gone live at sites in Skvde, Sweden (February
2009), Vasa Finland (March 2009), and Dublin, Ireland
(April 2009). The eighth site is scheduled to go-live
in Lisbon, Portugal in May 2009 and the ninth and
fnal site in will be implemented in September 2009
in Lbeck, Germany. The fact that SCA Transforest
has the ability to go live with four sites in just four
months was very much due to the hard work put in to
develop the system template at the beginning of the
project.
The Results
Previously a warehouse planner allocated warehouse
locations for all inbound goods. Locations were
reserved and often empty for days before the goods
arrived. Today, warehouse operators just scan the
barcode of the received goods and the system
instantly directs him to the specifc stock location,
or carrier if direct loading is possible.

RedPrairie Warehouse Management
has helped streamline our warehouse
processes. The system also meant more
effcient use of our warehouse space
and we are now able to manage higher
volumes. The direct loading of goods
to the ships or trucks has been greatly
improved. Another huge beneft has
been that we now have a real-time
system giving us visibility across our
various terminals making planning
much easier than before.
Thomas Granberg,
4
RedPrairie Corporation has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information included in this document. This document is subject to change without notice. The information contained
in this document may not refect the fnal design in some instances.
Copyright 2010 RedPrairie Corporation. All rights reserved. This publication contains proprietary information of RedPrairie Corporation. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of RedPrairie Corporation.
RedPrairie and the RedPrairie logo are registered trademarks of RedPrairie Corporation. E
2
e is a trademark of RedPrairie Corporation.All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the
property of their respective holders.
For more information
RedPrairie Corporation
Beacon House
Ibstone Road, Stokenchurch
Buckinghamshire HP14 3AQ
+44 1494 486 500 info.emea@RedPrairie.com RedPrairie.com
Successfully attracting new customers
In the transportation business it is critical that all
transfers move quickly and smoothly while spending
as little time standing still as possible. Freight and
goods must be carefully coordinated and therefore it
is important that operators, managers, partners, and
customers all have access to the right information
at the right time. SCA Transforest has successfully
created this environment and has gained the agility
to take on new customers with diverse products and
logistics requirements.

We are proud to say that more and
more companies are now discovering the
benefts of working with us. Customers
choose us because they can easily
integrate their systems with ours and
gain maximum control. Our customers
can now track their goods all the way
from mill to end customer. We have
achieved the goals we set
Thomas Granberg,
The 2012 International Warehouse Logistics
Association Convention & Expo brings together
the brightest minds in the logistics industry
and the leaders of independent warehouses and
logistics companies.
Join us 18-20 March 2012 for the largest educational
and networking event exclusively targeted at the
North American logistics industry. The place to be
is the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, California,
U.S.A.
IWLA 2012 CONVENTION + EXPO
Bridging Generations for Success
Find out more about THE event: www.IWLA.com.
5
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A- Safe
Summer 2011
Few competitors in the safety barrier field test their
products to the extent that A-Safe does in order to
protect both its image of excellence and, the image of
British manufacturing at its very best. A recent filming
day at the A-Safe factory complex in Halifax most
visibly demonstrated this. Filming at the innovative
polymer safety barrier company took place to showcase
the importance that industry has always played in the
growth of the UK economy. At the heart of the pro-
gramme for A-Safe, was the demonstration depicting
the strength of the polymer barrier, set against the
equivalent barrier manufactured from steel.
All of the A-Safe product range is tested, but particular-
ly the barriers that segregate and protect pedestrians
from vehicles, or vehicles from ancillaries and vital
equipment within the working environment , be it a
factory floor, logistics warehouse, airport complex or a
car park and any other situation where the safety of
workers and assets is paramount. The testing is done
under rigorous conditions with results calibrated.
Certificated results can be simulated in the worst case
scenario of a 90o impact. There are only two official
standards for safety barriers and both refer to the
specification for car parks: BS 6399-1 and BS6180.
All A-Safe barriers including their own armco barrier
have passed this test.
In the A-Safe factory there are two impact calibration
rigs; one, a dynamic pendulum impact simulator and
one a static constant force simulator. The other very
visible and maybe unorthodox method is to erect
barriers and, under controlled safety conditions, bash
them with a fork lift truck (FLT).
On the day in review, all three tests were carried out as
well as filming in general to show the end-to-end
manufacturing process. This involved a direct
comparison between the A-Safe polymer barrier and its
steel counterpart.
The dynamic rig tested in turn the A-Safe Traffic Barrier
and steel armco. The polymer barrier took six hits in
succession without any real discernable damage. The
steel barrier lasted for three hits before Abdul Mukith,
A-Safes product Development Manager, also in charge
of health and safety, advised it too dangerous to allow
further impacts, as the barrier had buckled and the
bolts were failing. Similarly, the Pedestrian Barrier was
tested next. The A-Safe version was filmed with four
hits and just slightly bent, the steel handrail equivalent
snapped on immediate impact and went flying,
shocking everyone.
The static constant force showed an increasing heavy
load on the polymer Traffic Barrier; the equivalent of up
to 152 kN. On release this returned to its normal
condition. A steel barrier would buckle without
returning and would need replacing.
A run of A-Safe Traffic barrier was erected on a safe
part of the factory floor. Under stringent and controlled
conditions, several hits were made with a 3.5 tonne
Nissan FLT both at an angle and at 900 to try and
simulate real working conditions. There was a slight
bend to one of the legs only. In turn, the test was
repeated fitting a run of armco steel barrier, albeit
bolted to the floor with an A-Safe specification bolt
system. Similar hits showed severe damage to the steel
barrier, although it did not fail completely and the base
plate was badly distorted.
The day of filming was primarily about the excellence
of UK manufacturing, with A-Safe being deemed a
classic and shining example. What was clearly
demonstrated and documented, is the superiority of the
flexible A-Safe polymer barriers over rigid steel.
www.asafe.com
A-Saf e at t he f oref ront i n t est i ng
f or qual i t y i n barri er prot ect i on
49
Advertori al
Summer 2011
Torque and Red Prai ri e Provi de
a Seaml ess Servi ce
Warehouse management systems are a key part of any
supply chain, so it is vital to implement a market lead-
ing and intelligent system to ensure accuracy and effi-
ciency.
Torque is a long standing customer of RedPrairie, imple-
menting its warehouse management system (WMS)
successfully in 2004. With some 1,000,000 items dis-
patched weekly across numerous warehouse customers,
RedPrairie has helped optimise Torques every move
from dealing with unfinished bulk goods to gift-
wrapped customised home shopping parcels enabling
the most productive and transparent distribution opera-
tion possible.
Torque IT Director, Ed Friel explains how the system took
the companys already renowned service to a higher
level:
In 2004, we decided to purchase RedPrairies WMS to
service our largest contract and help improve our accu-
racy, efficiency and data visibility to this customer. The
system enabled real-time updates of stock and order
information via radio data terminals (RDTs). These not
only allowed the customer and our staff to know exactly
where stock was at all times, we were able to perform
multiple tasks including stock-taking whilst still picking.
The open architecture of the RedPrairie WMS also
helped us to produce improved management informa-
tion and automated exception alerts for this first cus-
tomer. RedPrairies WMS allowed us to interface all
warehouse data contained within the system to our cus-
tomers own systems or via our own web-based enquiry
and reporting services.
One of the most important key benefits of implementing
RedPrairies WMS is that it allowed us to consistently
keep well above our exacting accuracy targets and
overall, made the end to end service much slicker and
more efficient. To such a degree that following our ini-
tial implementation in 2004, we quickly expanded use
of the system to the majority of our other warehouse
customers.
We managed the migration of stock using proven and
tested data handling techniques and project planning.
Even if customers had unusual requirements or old
legacy systems with severe constraints, our IT specialists
worked with their data flows to ensure that real addi-
tional value was obtained.
We currently handle all our customers specialist
requirements via RedPrairies WMS such as clothing
alterations, repairs, steam tunnelling and quality control
checks. We cope with all types of customer and order,
including retail replenishment, wholesale, cross-dock-
ing, consolidation, home shopping and e-commerce
orders. Torque also has direct links to courier systems,
which ensure control is maintained all the way to a con-
sumers doorstep, as well as offering automated reports
that can be tailor-made for staff or business partners
via e-mail or SMS to prompt the next appropriate action
in the supply chain.
RedPrairies WMS is now fully integrated with our freight
forwarding and collaborative purchase order manage-
ment systems allowing our full service customers to
seamlessly view progress of their stock from creation in
overseas factories, across sea and air, through into our
warehouses and then out to their customers or own
stores a truly end-to-end offering.
Over the last seven years with the help of RedPrairie,
Torque has built on its knowledge and experience to
develop a seamless supply chain warehouse manage-
ment system. It allows customers to choose the service
options they need, when they need them there is no
one size fits all approach adopted, which is why so
many of our customers have been with us for years and
we have become a truly trusted business partner.
www.torque.eu
50
Driving Jaguars global
aftermarket support
Maintaining a leading position in
a demanding global automotive
market requires a heavy emphasis
on aftermarket and support. Jaguar
Cars and Unipart Logistics have
worked together for over 20 years
perfecting the process.
A Jaguar is an instantly recognisable
symbol of success, refected in its
reputation for quality and unsurpassed
customer service. Maintaining
its leading position and its
quality brand image demands
excellence in aftermarket and
service support, something the
Jaguar team delivers through a
long-standing partnership with
Unipart Logistics.
The two companies have
worked together for over 20
years, with Unipart Logistics
providing Jaguar with a full
automotive parts service,
which includes sourcing, storing,
processing and despatching of
parts from 16 warehouses -
located in the UK, USA, Canada, Germany,
Spain, Russia, China, Japan and South Africa
- to over 700 Jaguar dealers in over 60
countries. Unipart Logistics teams provide
dedicated customer service, procurement,
pricing, parts marketing and fnance
support. Their aim is to ensure that the
right part is in the right place at the right
time, 24 hours a day seven days a week.
In addition to delivering a global logistics
service, Unipart Logistics invests in the
creation and implementation of unique
processes and products, to maintain
continuous improvement to its service
for Jaguar. This is achieved through the
companys adherence to lean practices
which, through highly developed processes
and tools known as the Unipart Way,
deliver continuous
improvement to Jaguars
aftermarket supply chain
by removing waste at
every step.
The Unipart Way
encourages staff to
work in teams and to
constantly monitor and
question the effciency of
the tasks they perform. In
meeting areas known as
Communication Cells,
teams meet on a daily,
weekly and monthly basis
to review performance
against key performance indicators (KPIs)
set in accordance with customer goals.
A series of tools are used to examine
processes and drive performance,
delivering greater value to Jaguar. Staff
are encouraged to research solutions to
problems using modules available on the
companys intranet, enabling best practice
Industry Sector
Automotive Aftermarket
Issue
Jaguars reputation is highly
dependant on the aftermarket
support it provides to its customers.
Continuous improvement in its global
aftermarket logistics is critical to its
brand.
Benefts
For over twenty years Unipart
Logistics has successfully provided
aftermarket logistics in support of
Jaguars expansion into new markets
across the globe, new model
introductions and its population of
classic cars.
Solution
Unipart Logistics, as an integral part
of the Jaguar team, uses its lean
practices to deliver continuous
improvement to Jaguars global
aftermarket support operation.
Jaguar
CASE STUDY
Unipart has a
great reputation
with the National
Sales Companies
They are seen as
a company who
delivers on time
and with a quality
product
Mike Warillow
Director, Parts
Operations JLR
(May 2009)
of-the-art control centre brings together
people, processes and systems in order
to continuously improve each step of the
supply chain and create harmony.
Regular reviews of service level targets
between Jaguar and Unipart Logistics
ensure supply chain performance is
quantifed. These service level targets
range from availability through to problem
resolution and customer satisfaction. An
ongoing joint commitment to focus on the
customer ensures that world-class levels
of service are consistently achieved.
Unipart Logistics is fully involved in
Jaguars business, from a new models
development through to its launch, and
the support continues throughout the
whole of the cars lifespan. With the
provision of a Jaguar Classic service,
Unipart Logistics manages the whole
life of the vehicle, providing parts and
specialist customer support on classic
vehicles, such as the much loved and
admired E-Type.
New vehicle launches require a high
standard of parts and accessories support
- Unipart Logistics typically works with
Jaguar engineers for two years pre-launch
to ensure high levels of parts availability to
underpin a cars debut.
With over 20 years of implementing
lean principals across the supply chain
through the Unipart Way, Unipart
Logistics has created an aftermarket
supply chain for Jaguar that is attuned
to the expanding requirements and
exacting needs of one of the worlds
most prestigious automotive brands.
Jaguar drivers across the world can now
experience the same excellent levels
of aftermarket service and support,
regardless of their location a continuity
of service and support that helps drive
brand value across global markets.
to be shared across the organisation. It is
this meticulous methodology for removing
waste from processes and the companys
dedication to staff engagement that drives
continuous improvement in Jaguars
aftermarket logistics operation.
Along with a focus on driving out
ineffciency in Jaguars aftermarket logistics
operation, the company supports the car
makers expansion into emerging markets,
such as China and Russia, by project
managing the delivery of new warehouse
facilities. And, once the facility has gone
live, delivering ongoing aftermarket parts
logistics and business services support,
including:
Unipart Logistics System (ULS) a
global, end-to-end supply chain system,
with an accompanying set of business
processes.
Unidial Parts Communication
a browser-based, multi-lingual
management system, which links into
the Unipart Logistics Systems and
enables dealers to track orders in real-
time.
Unipart Parts Replenishment System
(UPRS) an online business system to
manage a dealers inventory, improving
their availability and automatically
replenishing stock.
Direct to Dealer (D2D) programme
this has increased availability and
shortened the lead-time on critical
orders, servicing key European dealers
directly from the UK warehouse, with
emergency orders coming from one of
Unipart Logistics European facilities.
Over recent years, Unipart Logistics
has developed the Jaguar Global Control
Centre as the focal point to manage,
monitor and provide fnger-tip control
of the complex Jaguar aftermarket parts
supply chain, using a SAP enterprise
resource planning system that provides
a single version of the truth. This state-
Jaguar
CASE STUDY
For more information contact:
Sue Pryce
Unipart Logistics
Unipart House
Garsington Road
Cowley
OX4 2PG
Tel: +44 (0)1865 383362
or visit our website:
www.unipartlogistics.com
Ref: CSJAG10

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