Ceva Logistics, BP and Caltex will tell this year’s Smart Conference how a new supply chain arrangement reduced emissions and costs
By Ruza Zivkusic-Aftasi | March 19, 2013
Ceva Logistics, BP and Caltex will tell this year’s Smart Conference how their new supply chain arrangement has seen a significant drop in emissions and costs.
Shared cross-docking and national distribution to 600 stores managed by Ceva Logistics on behalf of BP and Caltex has overcome the two companies’ delivery complexities.
The outcomes of the project will be presented at this year’s Smart Conference in June.
Ceva’s warehouse and route planning which has been implemented by BP and Caltex, has seen the distribution of soft drinks, confectionary and grocery items moved through cross-dock facilities in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth within dedicated delivery windows.
Ceva Senior Accountant Manager Larry McEvoy (pictured)
says the idea came to light three years ago with the opportunity to reduce costs and CO2 emissions.
“We have good relationships with both BP and Caltex – there is a high level of trust between us based on our past performance and experience and [they] were quite eager to listen to what we had to say in developing a shared solution,” McEvoy says.
“They also understood our capability because we have managed many changes to their supply chain individually in the past.
“While this is a joint solution, BP and Caltex are quite different companies so it respects their unique needs and has the benefit of a shared solution.”
Some 42,000km are covered each week in transporting deliveries to Caltex and BP outlets, with costs and emissions reduced by 12 percent in the last year.
Instead of separate truck deliveries, one fleet with combined delivery is now used for each site, arriving at the same time.
While historically deliveries would sit on pallets, they are now packed into roll cages – trolleys that are wheeled straight into the location, taking away health and safety issues and securing load from theft.
The solution gives store owners confidence and creates more space.
“It also means that they can put the goods away very easily – customers have reported their stock damage and stock losses reduced significantly and well below industry standards,” McEvoy says.
All deliveries are global positioning system-tracked and information is transformed into single reports for customers who are then able to monitor their own performance.
Roll cages have been in use in Europe for a number of years, at numerous Ceva locations.
Ceva’s team in Australia used that concept to leverage the idea.
“At CEVA we have a global forum where we share best practice,” McEvoy says.
“In designing the solution we utilised the service of one of our experts overseas who provided us with the insights into designs used in Europe we modified for the Australian market.”
While the arrangement is a joint solution, the transport management also respects individual service requirements for BP and Caltex.
“The warehouses management system that we have now implemented creates a high level of accuracy with the product that is delivered,”
McEvoy says.
“And the implementation of the Ceva GPS hand-held gives tracking and visibility to deliveries within the supply chain that all organisations leverage from.”
A customer care team in Sydney has been formed as a result of the solution, which has helped track vehicles and ensure the safe and on time delivery of goods – even during times of crisis, such as the Queensland floods two years ago.
Ceva Supply Chain Operations General Manager Account Management, Davide Bancovich
adds the Ceva team manages communications between Ceva and its customers, including franchisees, company-owned stores, and the BP and Caltex logistics team.
“During the Queensland floods we constantly communicated to our fleet where they could drive as access was severely restricted at this time on Queensland roads and highways and many communities had been cut off.
“No one knew or could plan where they could run their truck in that period.
“In those conditions, the care team came to the fore and were responsible for minimising any disruption to supply through coordination of deliveries between suppliers, solution partners, service outlets and the responsible Queensland authorities,” Bancovich says.
“The customer care team is also central to ensuring that everything is measured and reported back; our KPIs are extremely reliable and are consistent with delivery of a high service.”
Ceva is looking into expanding the innovative and integrated solution across its different sectors, such as the fresh food produce.
It has also set its eyes on the tyre industry.
“Most people offer a distribution service but we offer a customer care package, a tracking package and the ability to vary that from day-to-day based on customers demand requirements.
“We have opened up through this initiative the whole supply chain for the customer, for them to understand exactly what it is they’re buying and where they can save costs and importantly to cut their environmental emissions.”
Read the full article in the April issue of SupplyChain Review