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trailer world Issue Two 2013

12      Issue Two 2013 Photos:DPD,HermesFulfilment,HermesTransportLogistics(HTL) Information manager “We try to introduce more transpar- ency to the black box lorry,” says HTL employee Schwilden. The equipment of satellite navigation systems (GPS) for semi-trailers and swap bodies is now a standard. Every one of those GPS modules sends approximately 720 messages a day regarding speed, status and dis- ruptions in real time to the Hermes headquarters. “In this way, the com- plete settlement of the orders can be traced and adjusted without any gaps.” explains Schwilden. The re- sult: fewer vehicles on the road, bet- ter utilisation of the load capacity and fewer empty runs. “From this we would like to save up to 34,000 tons of CO2 in the next ten years”, says Schwilden. Now traffic has to be controlled even more efficiently. A further important building block in the information structure: tracking & tracing via the barcode on the goods. The code is newly assigned on take-over of the goods, and read again at every trans- port point. At the Hermes group, work is already performed on a standardised IT platform, to be able to afix these barcodes at the dispatch point. More innovative procedures such as RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) are also on the advance. “These radio la- bels make logistic flows more transparent, but are still too expen- sive for mass use with cheap products”, knows Uwe Veres-Homm of the Fraunhofer-Institute. Platforms for the Supply Chain Management create clarity along the entire supply chain, which allow central planning and control of goods flow. A data bank networks all information about orders and suppliers,fromstorageamountsand goods checks to transportation - also at HTL. “If there is a drop in demand, the goods flow can be re- directed in a timely manner and ad- justed accordingly”, explains HTL department manager Heuing. De- lays in delivery are shown by the system in the same way as alterna- tive routes. Challenge last mile About half the costs are encountered on the last stretch to the customer. “The trans- port to the front door of the recipi- ent puts the firms under pressure”, says Christiane Geiger, Senior Engineer at the Institute of Trans- port Logistics Dortmund. A problem is often the economic deliv- ery if numerous single journeys are required. Therefore, logistics companies increasingly emphasise collection at Pick-up-Points. On its own, Deutsche Post DHL has plans to set-up 20,000 parcel shops in Germany by the end of 2014. Meanwhile Hermes has widened its network to 14,000 parcel points. “The parcel shop is much cheaper than the individual delivery”, explains Sebastian Stütz of the Fraunhofer-Institute for Material Flow and Logis- tics. More and more end customers also wish to have a set date Over and over again, new lorries dock at the 96 gates in Haldensleben, to drive the swap-bodies, loaded right to the roof, to their target location. Every minute counts and the intervals are short. In an overnight journey, the lorry with the parcel for Lena Meuser rolls in the direction of Berlin. Already at loading in Gadki, the HTL logistics employees in Hamburg follow all movements of the loaded vehicles on the screen and are able to intervene if necessary. The path of the consignment can be followed exactly through the scanning of the bar code at every station. Tuesday 11.56 pm: Title

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