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AEB saves stock and shoe-leather


Amada, the German subsidiary of the Japanese manufacturer of sheet metal fabrication machines, opened its Haan headquarters in 2009. A 1,500 sq m logistics centre was included on the site, storing 13,000 different lines. Around 108,000 replacement parts and accessories, representing around 30,000 packages are shipped every year; 70 shipments leave the warehouse every day. But Amada had a problem:


it had no visibility of its stock, there was too much reliance on cumbersome, labour- intensive manual systems, and the warehouse was so poorly organised that staff ended up walking huge distances around the site. “When it came to logistics, we


used to be pretty backward,” admits IT manager Andreas Tänzer “It took too much time to create delivery notes and forward orders,” adds Sabine Mertins, logistics and purchase manager. “There was no overarching logistics system to generate all the documents needed for our shipping and export processes.” Until last year, that is - when


Amada implemented AEB Visibility and Collaboration


By Marcia Macleod


soſtware, known as Assist4.


Installation of Assist4 followed the success of AEB’s customs management and transport and freight management packages, installed in 2011. Three packing stations have been set up in the warehouse to facilitate the preparation of orders. Every evening, loading lists are automatically transmitted to the transport service providers along with appropriate labelling. Before installing Assist4,


having a delivery note was no proof that the order had actually been despatched. Now users can enter the consignment number to see who picked and packed the goods, when, whether labels have been printed and whether the goods have leſt the warehouse. In addition, all status updates,


such as ‘ready to ship’ or ‘goods issued’, and all track and trace information provided by the 3PLs are transferred to the online


platform. This ensures that any employee, including sales and service personnel, are able to know exactly what is happening with every order. Customers that have obtained


partner status or signed special service agreements will soon be able to check shipping status themselves, but improved service is already being provided through greater


visibility. “We


can now respond to potential delays before it is too late,” points out Sabine Penn-Destler,


sales


administration manger. “The system also allows us to evaluate the on-time performance of our service suppliers.” One more benefit from Assist4:


by holding the relevant carrier data in the system, Amada can calculate freight costs - saving each of nine employees about 20 minutes a day - and improves invoice auditing, which in turn helps the company to monitor and control costs.


Letting shippers see for themselves


Teesport’s new Navis terminal operating system allows PD Ports to provide greater visibility of containers, not just terminal staff and port management, but customers, too. “Shippers can access the


system and see for themselves when the ship hits the quay, when the cargo is offloaded and where on the terminal it is located,” explains PD Ports MD, Frans Calje. “The old system could locate boxes - but the new one tells us where to put every box, depending on the size, type and weight of the container, type of cargo, when it is discharged, and so on.


“The consignee can then start


to plan their supply chain. They can also choose whether to move the cargo to their warehouse or leave it on the terminal - for example, if their warehouse is full or transport is delayed.” Those with suitable


commercial agreements can also estimate demurrage charges by knowing when cargo arrived and how long it is likely to stay at the port. Normally, says Calje, the terminal operator sends the invoice to the shipping line, but now PD Ports can determine who the box belongs to and invoice them directly for demurrage. “We have arrangements with


about 45% of our total cargo base that will allow us to invoice them for demurrage charges, not the shipping line,” Calje emphasises. “This will be more efficient


for


the shipper, because when they receive an invoice from the shipping line, they oſten don’t know for sure what cargo the invoice is for or how long the box really sat in the terminal.” Calje admits PD Ports has been


invoicing some shippers direct for a few years, but points out that it previously used a more cumbersome separate system, whereas the new soſtware will allow invoices to be produced automatically.


Champ Cargosystems and Worldwide Information Network (WIN) say that a new integration deal will allow the world’s independent freight forwarders to connect electronically to over 100 airlines and access a range of mature e-cargo services, including airwaybills, status information, availability and booking requests. Champ and Worldwide


Information Network (WIN) have integrated the latter’s WIN 3.0 with Champ’s Traxon cargoHUB platform. The deal was announced at the recent WCA Family Annual Conference Week in Bangkok and also to the World Cargo Symposium in Doha, where WIN managing director, John DeBenedette, said: “Although small- and medium-sized


New deal puts forwarders and airlines together


New deal for small forwarders


‘Never before!’; ‘Ground-breaking!’ “A major step forward!’ Sorry, the exclamation marks are mine. But if you read the press release from German technology company Soſtship about its partnership with financial soſtware provider Comarch, you would think no liner company or agency had ever integrated their operational system with their accounts. According


to first time Soſtship, the


arrangement with Comarch marks the


customer-facing


services have been combined with back-office accounting in one single, seamless solution. I can’t argue with that, as I am


Issue 3 2013


Hard sell from Soſtship


not an expert on liner or liner agency soſtware. But people have successfully integrated the two for some years. Indeed, one IT expert insists his agency employer did just that in the 1980s. “The difference is that we offer


tailor-made solutions for the shipping industry, and Comarch , tailor-made accounts, that include things like vessel accounting and voyage accounting,” says Thomas Wolff, executive director of Soſtship Aktiengesellschaſt. “And by joining forces, we can offer one solution, already integrated, that can lead to major cost savings.” Wolff adds that the system is


25


fully customisable to suit individual company preferences and processes. But doesn’t that actually contradict the idea of one integrated solution? If it has to be tailored anyway, why not just take the user’s preferred accounts package and integrate it with Soſtship at the time of implementation? Or take something like Oracle, the all-singing, all-dancing one-stop- soſtware-solution-in-the-box and tailor the operational modules to fit the shipping industry? It can’t be that much more difficult. If any IT geeks out there can


see the solution through the chips, would they please let us know?


Are you in Cyberspace?


Friends, Connections, Tweets - what does it all mean for business? Can we - should we - as freight professionals be looking at social media? Has your company entered this strange world of Cyber communication? How? And how does it work for


you? FBJ would love to hear about your use of LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter - your successes, and your failures. Please send a brief outline of your experiences with social media, with contact details, to: marciamac@idnet.com or phone 020 7435 6762


forwarders offer their customers many


advantages over the


multinationals, they still lack the sort of IT connectivity their larger competitors take for granted. This


new connection between WIN and CHAMP’s Traxon cargoHUB levels the playing field and, in fact, sets the stage for the independents to leap ahead.”


Customs firm makes the switch


Customs management company e-customs says it has become one of the first companies to implement BT’s new CCS-UK ‘Bureau’


connection. Ian Grant, business director of BT Global Logistics said the transition to the new system had gone very smoothly.


Rational!


Since choosing the ForwardOffice software package, and Forward Computers as IT partners, we have not looked back. The whole system has been the bedrock of our Company since 1999 and the advances, past, present and future, help us to stay at the forefront of our specialised fi eld of NVOC services.


Bob Andrews, Managing Director, Globelink-Fallow


Speak to the freight software experts today call +44 (0)115 938 0280 or email sales@forwardcomputers.co.uk


www.forwardcomputers.co.uk K10110_fbj 70x133-aw.indd 1 25/04/2012 11:44


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