Efficiency of chains grows under pressure

The need for increasing efficiency of supply chains is growing. Companies involved in chains have to seek new solutions to strengthen their logistics segment and thereby the whole chain. There are many ways to the higher efficiency. One of them is, for example, the contract logistics in which logistic operators take over some of the operations from manufacturer and carry them out with their own means.

“In our company the contract logistics is part of the business policy and we offer it as a complete service,” said Ing. Jan Polter, MBA, Sales and Marketing Director, DACHSER Czech Republic. “This includes import goods or raw materials from suppliers, storage and additional value-added services such as co-packing and labelling, up to the delivery of finished goods to customers. Contract logistics is being changed and adapting under the influence of global commerce. The time for processing is being reduced. “This leads us to the introduction of night shifts and to the continuous optimization of our work. The large increase in Internet trade started demand for supply in the B2C segment. This creates pressure to us and we need to be flexible and continue to expand the services, in order we were able to offer our customers everything from a single point,” said Jan Polter.
In the contract logistics market the company GEFCO is very active, especially in the B2B sector. “Anyone who wants to be active on this market must have a very good insight into the specific industry,” said Bogdan Ionita, Transport & Logistics Country Manager, GEFCO Czech Republic. “The reason is mainly that logistics operator must be able to manage complex supply chains effectively and to create solutions suited to the clients’ needs. This is not always in accordance with the standards of 3PL logistics,” said Bogdan Ionita. “In my opinion, contract logistics will grow continually in the upcoming period, and this growth is strongly dependent on overall economic trends,” said Bogdan Ionita.
“For a logistics company like RABEN Logistics Czech it is most effective to have a warehouse for multiple clients with good transport links, in area with major both volume and frequency of shipments. In this way with the synergy of input sources we can optimize the costs of transportation and warehouse operations and accelerates supply chain,” said Věnceslav Dobrynský, Contract Logistics Manager of RABEN for the Czech and Slovak Republics. RABEN Logistics Czech makes use of optimization processes with maximum software support from IT. The company analyses client’s way of distribution and selects the most optimal locations for warehouse.
“Major logistics providers include the DHL design a comprehensive supply chain solutions for their customers to comply with always changing business environment and client requirements,” explained Bc. Irena Mižďochová, PR and Marketing Manager, DHL Supply Chain. “The aim of the collaboration is to optimize the logistics network, which means its continual improvement while reducing costs,” said Irena Mižďochová. For there is a current trend of deploying advanced solutions for risk management, DHL uses software applications DHL Resilience360, so customers can get the view of the entire supply chain and of the risks in real time.
TimoCom is a provider of IT services for the transport and logistics field. “The transport market is very turbulent, and therefore there are many reasons why to call for a tender on a regular basis,” said Jan Hrubý, Manager of Marketing, TimoCom. Today the companies rely widely on IT tools when call for a tender. “One such tool offers TimoCom, that is TC eBid® platform for calling for tenders across Europe,” said Jan Hrubý. “The shippers can simply publish electronic tenders for transport in the long-term cooperation in our platform. On the other hand, transport companies have an opportunity to apply for long-term transport contract tender. Currently TC eBid® offers to choose from more than 33,000 suppliers of transport and logistics services throughout Europe,” said Jan Hrubý.
The efficiency of supply chain is also influenced by material handling technology. “Handling is an indispensable part of manufacturing and services related to logistics, warehousing and handling of materials and goods,” said Jiří Mlynář, Director of HYSTER CZ. “With a variety of products for special applications we are able to help and solve a wide range of requirements. These requirements are often resolved through short-term leases, whether it is loan of handling equipment or renting equipment including machine operators,” added Jiří Mlynář. Another trend is long-term lease of handling equipment usually associated with a complete care of the leased park.
“Traction batteries are expensive components and the pressure on the cost price is therefore logical,” said David Dostál, Commercial Manager of IBG Česko. The process of battery charging always shows losses. The path to the optimization leads through the high-quality chargers, which exhibit very low loss. In the recent developments, we can find the monitoring and management of battery rotation. If the system detects an anomaly, it warns the operator. “When operator replaces the battery, he usually takes the one that is at hand. That is why some batteries are not in use and others are overloaded, which has a negative effect on their lifespan. The battery management decides which batteries to use,” said David Dostal.
LN