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Transport and logistics

In an environment characterised by market liberalisation, the emergence of new players, rapid traffic growth and changing consumer expectations, transport and logistics players are forced to fundamentally transform their model and organisation.

Challenges in the transport and logistics industry

In the air transport industry, the rise of the “low-cost” model and the rise of new players with strong competitive advantages mean that companies need to search for sustainable economies of scale.

In the rail industry, incumbent operators are facing not only the opening up of the passenger transport market and challenges linked to flexibility, but they must also significantly improve their competitiveness while ensuring infrastructure financing.

Postal services are forced to adapt their model and organisation to the digital age, which means the erosion of mail and the rapid growth of parcel volumes. Logistics players must respond to growing demand and transform their business models to take advantage of new technologies (automation, tracking, mapping, dematerialisation, data). In air and sea freight, digital technology is encouraging the emergence of new players who are disrupting business models and forcing traditional players to radically rethink their business.

Finally, tourism operators are faced with the emergence of new players who capture part of the traffic and value and force them to thoroughly review their operational model.

How we can help with transport and logistics

We support some of the main players in the industry, in tourism and air transport, maritime and rail transport, postal services, courier and logistics services companies. We assist in their reorganisation and operational efficiency projects in all areas of the value chain.

Procurement

  • Procurement strategy
  • Make vs buy
  • Organisation and management of performance
  • (Re) design at target costs
  • Procurement performance plans

Manufacturing (production and maintenance)

  • Assets’ strategy
  • Maintenance and works planning
  • Lean maintenance and operational excellence
  • Optimisation of the parts supply chain
  • Predictive maintenance

Logistics

  • Service policy
  • Logistics master plans
  • Logistics organisation and management
  • Logistics performance plans
  • Mechanisation/automation of logistics sites
  • Transport optimisation

Operations

  • Productivity/lean
  • Resource planning
  • Back-office process optimisation

Back-office

  • Optimisation of organisations
  • Shared services and outsourcing
  • Optimisation/automation of support processes
  • Service and performance management

Digital

  • Digital strategy
  • Collaborative platforms
  • AI (customer experience, consumer insights, forecasting, price management, promotions and operations)
  • IoT (traceability)
  • RPA

Our approach

We apply a combination of technical expertise, operational experience and business knowledge to help our clients solve transport and logistics issues and deliver lasting results. Our personal and pragmatic approach, with challenge where needed, ensures buy-in at all levels of our clients’ businesses and a successful outcome. We have worked with a wide range of organisations in the transport and logistics industry including Kuehne + Nagel, Hills, Bunzl Retail Supplies, Swire Cold Storage, La Poste, AirFrance, GEODIS, Swire, ID Logistics, FM Logistic and SNCF. Learn more about us here.

Transport and logistics case studies

WMS recovery and implementation

cold chain logistics

WMS recovery and implementation

Swire Cold Storage is a leading Australian provider of cold chain logistics services and supply chain solutions, offering temperature-controlled warehousing, refrigerated transport and distribution services to a broad range of businesses.

A previous in-house WMS implementation had not been completed. The impact of the part implementation was a deterioration of performance from the warehouse and cost impacts.

 

  • Identify the key issues driving poor warehouse performance
  • Work with the DC management team to prioritise and resolve issues whilst improving business as usual
  • Project manage the re-implementation of the WMS with the IT systems supplier (in Canada)
  • Change manage the implementation of the system, improve capability via training, reduce process blockages and improve performance to a developed schedule

 

  • Full process re-write and all SCS employees trained
  • Increased productivity from warehouse staff and increased space availability within the warehouse
  • Improved relationship management with the software provider, allowing for further system enhancements moving forward
  • Delivered a reduced cost base warehouse

End-to-end supply chain study for letter and parcel deliveries

services

End-to-end supply chain study for letter and parcel deliveries

La Poste is a multi-activity services group; its the number 1 operator of postal services, banks, insurance, and telephone services. The Group has an annual turnover of €26 billion and its network is made up of more than 17,000 retail outlets.

Three entities of La Poste Group (procurement, network and mail) decided to replace their supply and inventory management infrastructure with a common ERP that could deliver process synergies to the group.

  • Design organisational & IT solution to manage end-to-end processes, to plan resources and acquire visibility (track & trace)
  • Promote logistics operational excellence to ensure quality and guarantee service policy
  • Promote new forecasting and planning processes based on predictive, demand signals interpretation and AI solutions
  • Diagnosed the efficiency of e2e process management from collection to delivery (forecast, planning, real-time tracking, performance monitoring) and identified improvement levers
  • Benchmarked against external best practices
  • Optimised process redesign
  • Developed a business case to support the change
  • Conducted a maturity assessment on technology and organisation
  • Developed a 3-year roadmap

 

Warehouse densification opportunity

global logistics

Warehouse densification opportunity

Kuehne + Nagel is a global leader in logistics. It is a key logistic partner for a French distributor, Carrefour. Its non alimentary logistic is organised from two mirror warehouse (Household and Bazaar), and from a third national one dedicated for the product categories Photo-cinema-electronics-audio, Culture and Textile.

The objective was to study the opportunity to move the flows from the national warehouse (~110,000m²) to the northern mirror warehouse (~130,000m², with a limited capacity for expansion).

  • Determine gross requirements regarding surface that would result from all activities fusion
  • Identify surfaces densification levers
  • Calculate net requirements resulting from gross requirements’ projection at three years and densification levers implementation
  • Compare net requirements with site capacity, estimate investments, one-time costs and running costs resulting from the activities transfer
  • Identified 12 densification levers in technical and organisational areas
  • Identified a reduction in surface area of 55,000m²
  • Aligned surface needs with warehouse capacity
  • Evaluated investments, one-time costs and associated running costs, with a 2-years ROI

Inventory modelling and optimisation

distribution company

Inventory modelling and optimisation

Hills provides end to end, B2B solutions in the audio visual, security and surveillance, TV and Antenna, and Health technologies industry. They offer product solutions across all verticals, as well as shared services, including asset management and service capabilities.

The company needed support to radically transform their approach to inventory management from ordering and forecasting to distribution. Planning processes were inconsistent, and change was needed across people, processes and systems to reduce and avoid poor performing inventory holdings.

  • Diagnose and assess the health of divisional inventory holdings and ranging
  • Design an inventory planning operating model based on best practice
  • Drive inventory optimisation by developing and implementing new inventory planning and ranging policies and upskilling the planning capability within the organisation
  • Lead forecasting and inventory planning system selection and implementation
  • New inventory planning model deployed to each division including detailed processes, policies, reporting and KPIs
  • New organisational model deployed to support effective inventory management and accountability
  • New inventory planning system implemented, supporting forecasting, order placement and transfers within the network
  • Projected inventory reduction >30% by year end

 

Warehouse operations strategy

packaging supplier

Warehouse operations strategy

Bunzl Retail Supplies is a division of Bunzl plc, the global leaders in providing outsourcing solutions and service oriented distribution. Bunzl Retail Supplies is the largest provider of “goods not for resale” to the UK retail market.

Changing product ranges and customer demands meant that the warehouse infrastructure and operating methods no longer delivered the required service or cost performance.

  • Identify future warehouse needs considering a number of alternative business scenarios
  • Understand how current stock and supplier policies should adapt to reduce space requirements
  • Identify short-term efficiencies to reduce costs, improve service and enhance speed of change
  • Demonstrated a 49% reduction in total capacity required through better capacity management
  • Identified a further 19-32% reduction in space utilisation through tighter stock control strategies
  • 10% productivity improvement with new picking methods
  • Reduced parcel delivery costs by 26% by optimising carrier selection