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PROJECT FORWARDING AWARD


Peter Lole Insurance Brokers are specialist advisors to the freight industry with over 40 years’ experience built on consistency and trust. Providing advice on special contracts, and training on cargo insurance are examples of our service commitment.


especially true during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the weekly sailing schedule afforded


Thinking outside the box


DB Schenker scooped the 2020 BIFA Project Forwarding Award with an entry that highlighted its ability to find more efficient routeing options that cut costs, save time and improve environmental performance.


a great deal of flexibility. Hitachi built ten railcars at a time and DB Schenker collected each batch using a chartered barge, timing its arrival in Busan to coincide with the loading window of a container vessel. Thus, the cargo could be dispatched as it was ready in Japan. “The way we work is a combination of


flexibility and transparency,” Cunnington observed. “For the West Coast project we gathered all stakeholders in one room – the shipping line, haulier, storage company, Hitachi and ourselves. Everyone involved, not just the forwarder, needs to have input from the customer.


DB Schenker’s award winning project involved transporting built-up railcars and flat-pack panels from Hitachi Rail Europe’s manufacturing facility in Kasado, Japan, to the company’s facility in Newton Aycliffe, UK, for welding and eventual deployment on the UK West Coast Main Line. Traditionally, these railcars and panels had


been moved via inland barge from Kasado to Kobe or Yokohama for onward shipping via ro-ro carrier or charter vessel. Hitachi wanted to reduce the 60-day journey time and bring costs down, and approached DB Schenker for help. The chosen solution was to alter both the route and type of vessel used.


Greater control Ben Cunnington, key accounts manager – global projects at DB Schenker, explained: “The main reason for switching from traditional ro-ro transport to using container vessels was to have more control over where the goods were and exactly when they would arrive in the UK. Container vessel schedules are more predictable, whereas breakbulk vessel sailings can shift by several days, or change to include extra stops. “There was also the flexibility and speed of


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Tracker system “Hitachi also had direct contact with the shipping line throughout the project, and we used a vessel tracker system so that Hitachi could find out exactly where the cargo was at any point.” Cunnington pointed out that project


forwarding “is not a one-man band”. The West Coast project drew on the expertise of DB Schenker’s land division for moving the 26 m long trains once they arrived in the UK; contract logistics, to manage storage; Customs in Felixstowe; accounts; and of course the project team. “The project team acts like a control tower for


regular weekly sailings. Traditional ro-ro transport takes around 56 days and those vessels only sail once a month, at most.” Another factor in choosing container vessels


was their lower carbon footprint. Plus, the decision to barge the railcars from Kasado across the Korean Strait to Busan (which is better equipped than Yokohama for lifting trains onto container vessels) removed the Yokohama leg from the journey, helping to reduce the time, cost and environmental impact of the project. The transit time from Busan to Southampton


was 32 days. Cunnington noted that manufacturing schedules are subject to change; this was


solution design and coordination,” he said. The West Coast project was a good example


of how teamwork pays off, Cunnington added. “Between all the stakeholders, there was no silo thinking. That transparency builds trust.” Following the success of the West Coast


project, which involved 135 railcars, Hitachi engaged DB Schenker to move 165 cars from Italy and Serbia to the UK for the larger East Midlands rail project. “Hitachi was also recently awarded the


Washington, DC, metro project for which it will build and supply 500-600 metro cars. We are very interested in bidding for this project,” Cunnington added.


June 2021


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