34


Issue 8 2020 - Freight Business Journal


///IT Franco-Dutch carrier opens up Cargo Toolbox


Air France KLM Martinair Cargo (AFKLMP Cargo) has made available an app that can help anyone involved in co- loading segregation checks for dangerous goods to complete their work quickly and safely. The KLM Cargo Compliance


Knowledge Centre (CKC) developed the Cargo Toolbox app, based on norms set by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The Cargo Toolbox can be


downloaded from the App Store (Apple) or Google Play (Android).


Once it has been downloaded, the app automatically adopts the language settings of the user’s phone.


AFKLMP Cargo is, it says, the


first airline to offer this assistance, but it will also be free to use for all who might benefit from it, as well as the carrier’s partners. No registration is required. The Cargo Toolbox


complements Mr Beam, another app developed by the CKC, which is a tool designed to help pallet builders in their work. In fact, Mr Beam will soon be sited


within the Cargo Toolbox App, and the stand-alone Mr Beam app will be taken down. Kester Meijer,


director


operational integrity, compliance and safety at KLM Cargo, believes that, with such apps as the Cargo Toolbox, “KLM Cargo hopes to improve safety throughout the cargo chain, addressing key compliance and safety themes. “This can only be achieved


together with the entire cargo community, which means handling companies as well


Emissions checks made easy with Geodis calculator


Logistics services giant Geodis


has added a quick and easy-to-use emissions calculator to its website, enabling users to very simply see the carbon footprint of any potential freight shipment and to choose the least harmful option. The free-to-use calculator


measures air pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions and, for any given potential shipment, can give a range of transportation mode options and their associated carbon footprint. Thus, users can identify which shipment option would be the most environmentally friendly. The calculator takes into


account the nature of the goods to be shipped, their point of origin and their destination, as well as the mode of transport to be used in order to make the calculation. The tool is available in English


and French on the Geodis website. Cécile Bray, senior expert


climate and carbon accounting at Geodis, opines: “The precise measurement of emissions generated is a precondition for improvement. This initiative provides a transparent and reliable way to quantify greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants for each mode of transport.” The emissions calculator was developed by Geodis


in


partnership with EcoTransIT World. Bray tells FBJ that Geodis initially started to collaborate with EcoTransIT World in 2011 and began integrating the emission calculation into its transport management systems in 2013. Since


then, Geodis has been


providing all its customers with greenhouse gas emission-related information. This online calculator is a simplified version of the full, integrated tool, as it does not take into account Geodis operational data such as actual routeing.


The new tool was not specifically


asked for by Geodis customers, Bray says. Rather: “Geodis wants to contribute to raising awareness of the environmental impact (greenhouse gases and air pollutants) of the various modes of transport among our teams, our transport partners, our customers and our customers’ customers in order to facilitate dialogue on alternative solutions. “Decarbonisation is like a


diet: if you want to lose weight, you need to understand where the high calories intakes are; in order to decarbonise, you need to understand which are the most carbon-intense sources of emissions.” While users of the calculator


can’t choose to offset the emissions ‘result’ of the calculator directly through the tool, Geodis does offer its customers the opportunity to contribute to the fight against


airlines.” He continues: “It doesn’t


matter who you work for. We believe it is important to get knowledge out onto the work floor as quickly and clearly as possible, without having to consult manuals that are oſten heavy and complex.” Moreover: “The manuals


containing relevant information aren’t always in easy reach, which is why we came up with the app.” CKC manager Gert Mijnders adds: “We prefer the manuals to


be online as they are mandatory and the version is always current. For warehouse staff we try to select and make available only the small pieces that are needed in the process they work on. “We try to achieve a maximum


of two clicks and 18 seconds to arrive at the applicable information. We believe in integrated compliance and safety, not delivering separate apps because they will then be all over a device. This is why we are building all the information within one Toolbox.” That holistic approach is


key. “We believe in a safe and secure cargo community for


value it can offer its customers through the new tools that digitisation offers. Linière outlines a number of


drivers that have guided Geodis in


focusing that investment.


The first is security, the need to protect Geodis’ data, the data of its customers and of its customers’ customers, all of which is being shared in the increasingly interconnected nature of today’s logistics business. And that data is the second


climate change by financing


offsetting projects. Bray says that the emissions


calculator is to be further developed.


The online tool


will soon be available in eight additional languages, she says, and a more advanced version is planned for 2021 with potential upgrades such as the possibility to define a shipment’s transport legs. Geodis has set a target of


Forward thinking, Forward moving Since purchasing ForwardOffice in 1998, our business


has evolved considerably. ForwardOffice has developed with us throughout this period. We have developed a


fruitful relationship with FCL and see them very much as a strategic partner, rather than just a software supplier.


Jerry Cook, IT Manager, Meachers Global Logistics


reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 30% between now and 2030. Its tactics include improving truck load factors and avoiding empty miles; developing its rail options for improved multimodal transport; and integrating vehicles that use cleaner energy (such as natural gas and electric) into the fleet.


Investment in IT forwardcomputers.co.uk


Improvement to the Geodis website represents just one aspect of the company’s wider digital improvement strategy. Henri Linière, Geodis’ chief information officer, explains that the company has invested heavily in the use of IT to improve efficiency in its transport solutions and in the


driver of how Geodis is going about its IT development. Geodis collects and uses a huge amount of information in the course of its day- to-day operations and that data is a “real asset” for the company, he suggests. So much so that Geodis is building a huge data ‘lake’ – a repository of data in its basic form – that can be tapped into using Big Data for its own and its customers’ mutual benefit. Tapping into the data available


through the Cloud and then analysing it can help Geodis to improve efficiency in areas such as optimising shipping routeing, especially in terms of last-mile deliveries, or in optimising warehouse processes. Data is only likely to increase in value in future, says Linière. Data is present and integral


to every stage of a shipment process, he observes, and Geodis is determined to make the most of this very valuable resource that it has at its fingertips: it will be “a strong lever for future growth”, Linière predicts. A third driver is the track and


trace capability that is a common demand now for customers of any logistics services supplier such as Geodis. The company has developed a lot of sophisticated


customers, forwarders and airlines,” Mijnders says. “We want to deliver the right knowledge and tools for our staff in their moments of need. When you are in the warehouse or on the ramp, you need the correct, concise information at your fingertips.” There are already plans to


expand Cargo Toolbox. Meijer explains: “We want to create a lost-and-found app next year. If you encounter a package driſting around, simply scan the barcode sticker and get the information you need.” He tells FBJ that planned


release is tentatively set for the first half of next year.


track and trace technology over recent years,


Linière confirms,


and customers now have the benefit of full transparency of their shipments. The latest technologies offered


by the Internet of Things (IoT) have allowed significant developments in this area. “It has taken a lot of time, money and effort to achieve this full transparency,” he says. A fourth driver – one that has been important in the past few years and will likely become even more so in the future, says Linière - is ecommerce and all the customer requirements relating to fast door- door delivery associated with this fast-moving trading environment. Geodis


is investing in


technologies that optimise every leg of ecommerce door-to-door shipments, he notes, with machine learning


and wider artificial


intelligence (AI) technologies, as well as the IoT, being used in this domain to develop Geodis’ capability to handle ecommerce shipments in the most efficient way possible. The final major driver of


Geodis’ IT development has been robotisation of the warehouse. The company is introducing more and more automated procedures; its US operation has led the way on this, but much is also now being done in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region and Asia. While these drivers have helped


to focus Geodis’ IT development decisions, above all there is the need to use digital technologies to improve process efficiency and communication right across the company, says Linière. Moreover, they facilitate much greater speed and agility across the business, he points out, factors that are crucial in today’s logistics industry.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36