Logistics & Materials Handling - April/May 2017

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inside VOL50 ISS3 APRIL/MAY 2017 Driving energy efficiency gains The Amazon effect Tomorrow’s supply chains Beyond the barcode

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This Inissue this issue March 2016 April/May 2017

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Packing a punch

28

12

As we move further into 2017, it’s becoming clear that the year will not be a quiet one.

Changes at every level of the supply chain are spurring innovation, resulting in cost, efficiency and quality improvements across the board.

Big global players vying for a shot at the COVER STORY Australian wallet such as Alibaba and Amazon are keeping local retailers on their 12 Moving to the next efficiency step 28 Advancements in valve bag packaging toes, prompting them to make their logistics The logistics and materials handling industry is Advancements in valve bag technology have always on the hunt for bigger, better productivity provided European mills and flour manufacturers operations leaner, more connected and more gains.

Industry 4.0 and automation trends reflect with a competitive advantage that many supported than ever before.

Tru-test of quality. Australian dry bulk 04 Bulletinboard Data Capture &are yet to 42 food the fundamental quest to improve supply chain manufacturers In this issue, we look at the whole breadth of Supply Chains efficiencies and production capacity. This means realise. the supply chain – labelling and scanning right smarter,Awards more efficient products24 areFactory critical to Materials 06 Mercury supply chains.

32 Rewriting theSustainable rules of inkjet through to the logistics of storage and delivery. achieving this goal.

Handling When looking for a commerical inkjet solution, 2010 Mercury Awards In our cover story, Frank Cerra, Engineering Spiral conveyor solves quality, reliability and cost are considerations. launched. & key Lifting 44 Forklifts Manager at drive motor component FEATURES heat problems.

According to the labeling and coding experts Humbled and Exalted Six new overhead cranes manufacturer SEW-Eurodrive, shares his at insignia, Domino’s new Ax-Series is the full TheMercury nature of the beast Cart dollies for simple –162009 Award for Ferrocut. observations on the progress Australia’s package.

With e-commerce giant Amazon rumoured to tasks. handling winners.

Airfreight system reduces materials handling industry is making towards be in the process of launching its full service in 34 Competitive advantage pallet dispenser. handling costs.

Australia within the next 12 months,Double the country’s energy efficiency, Industry 4.0 and automation.

The logistics industry is rapidly evolving, 14 Training logistics landscape could be on the brink of a Palletising robot. forklift.

Our special feature looks at the speculation of both in AustraliaHybrid and around the world. With major shake up.benefits Bell’s Transport an Amazon arrival in Australia. We round up today’s globalised supply chains, there are more from Skills for Growth opportunities than ever – butHazardous there’s also far more 32 Warehousing & Storage the rumours, consider the logistics of such a 49 Handling program.

22 Tomorrow’s supply chains complexity than Goods ever before. move and observe what the country’s biggest Record picking Logistics & Materials Handling sat down with Proving profitable theretail cutting productivity. retailers are doing togrowth step upattheir and Gloves for handling Director Dr Hermione Parsons and Industry 16 Information hazardous substances.

Research Fellow Rose Elphick-Darling of Deakin storage. ed Proving supply chainprofitable strategies.growth at the cutAutomated Technology Supply University’s Centre for Supply Chain and Logistics ting edProving profitable growth the We also consulted the people behindatDeakin Hand-held eyewash.

Chains Storage success. to discuss the state of Australia’s supply chains cutting edProving profitable growth University’s new Centre for Supply Chainatand Information driven. and what awaits them in the future.

03 From the Editor the cutting profitable growth Logistics, asedProving well as a range of experts in 04 Industry News at the cutting profitable packaging and edProving printing, about the challenges 24 Has the barcode reached its ‘use by’ date?

08 Global News growth at the cutting edProving profitcurrently facing the industry in Australia.

The ubiquitous barcode has revolutionised the 10 Australian Logistics Council retail industry since its arrival on a packet of able at the edProving In ourgrowth next issue, wecutting look forward to sharing nullaorem velit augait, chewing gum in 1974. But businesses, regulators profitable atthe thenational cuttingfreight edProvwith you thegrowth ideas for and and shoppers themselves are demanding more ing profitable growth at came the cutting edsupply chain strategy that out of the volorpero dolortie information about their products – and this may Proving growth at the Forum. cutting Australianprofitable Logistics Council’s 2017 mean the reign of the barcode is coming to an end. faccum dipsum zzriu edProving profitable growth at the cutHappy reading. ting edProving profitable growth at the John Murphy | Publisher cutting edProving profitable growth at the cutting edProving profitable growth at the cutting edProving profitable growth at the cutting edProving profitMurphy able growthPublisher: at the John cutting.

MANAGING EDITOR (SOUTHERN): Sebastian Grote e sebastian.grote@primecreative.com.au

Contents

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Industry News

Australia Post sets parcel record, CEO resigns Australia announced Managing Director and Group CEO Ahmed Fahour’s resignation on 23 February.

Fahour has served as MD and CEO since February 2010 and will step down from the role in July 2017. His decision came in Ahmed Fahour, outgoing Managing Director and Group CEO, Australia Post.

the wake of intense criticism over his $5.6 million pay cheque in 2016 that was disclosed

by Australia Post in response to a Senate committee inquiry.

“Now, with the business entering the next phase of its transformation, Ahmed’s decision to resign provides opportunity for a new leader to continue the development of Australia Post into a leading international eCommerce player,” said John Stanhope, Chairman of the Australia Post Board.

“Ahmed was appointed at a time when Post was still highly dependent on revenue from the letters service, but the community’s use of letters had already peaked and was in the early stages of decline.

“He led the team that developed an entirely new strategy focused on investing in the parcels and e-Commerce business.”

Following the resignation, the Turnbull Government proposed that pay and employment conditions of Australia Post’s managing director be overseen by the Remuneration Tribunal.

Under the Australian Postal Corporation Act, the Australia Post Board of Directors is responsible for decisions regarding the terms and conditions of the managing director’s employment.

Following these changes, the Board will be required to provide terms which are consistent with the Remuneration Tribunal’s determination for the employment of ‘principal executive officer’ (PEO) roles.

Before Fahour’s resignation was made public, Australia Post announced record parcel volumes over the 2016 period, with over 34 million deliveries in December – a 21.5 per cent increase on the year before.

“We delivered a record number of parcels during the Christmas and New Year period, and continued to see strong volumes throughout January as Australians took advantage of extended Boxing Day sales,” said Ben Franzi, e-Commerce General Manager, Australia Post.

“To help make this happen, we had more than 15,000 vehicles on the road, flew 5.3 million kilograms of parcels via our domestic air network, and trialled extended-hour deliveries in capital cities in an effort to catch more people when they were home.

“During our busiest day on 19 December, we delivered more than 2.2 million parcels. We continued to see high parcel volumes through the summer holiday period, particularly as some online retailers extended their Boxing Day sales until late January.”

Telstra building Australia’s largest IoT network Telstra has revealed that it will be working with Ericsson on its ‘Network of the Future’ program, working among other things on the deployment of Australia’s largest Internet of Things (IoT) network via deployment of Cat M1 functionality across Australia.

The telecommunications company made the announcement at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain in late February.

The company said in a statement, “Telstra is the first operator to deploy a national IoT-enabled mobile network, which will enable an IoT footprint among the largest in the world. The deployed Cat-M1 capability will allow Telstra to deploy a comprehensive 4 | Logistics&MaterialsHandling April/May 2017

range of IoT applications quickly and flexibly – accelerating the growth of Australia’s IoT ecosystem.”

Telstra and Ericsson have commenced localised Cat-M1 trials in Melbourne and Tasmania – device partners in the Tasmanian trial are Sierra Wireless, Altair and Bosch.

As Cat-M1 device and solutions become commercially available, Telstra reports that it is well prepared to support their operation across its 4G network which covers over 98 per cent of the Australian population.

Telstra stated that Cat-M1 is ideally suited to cases requiring mobility, voice support and moderate bitrates in the order of hundreds of

kilobits per second, like vehicle telematics, asset tracking, consumer and healthcare wearables and smart electricity metering.

“These projects lay the foundations of the program we described in October 2016 and provide the foundation for Telstra’s Network of the Future program,” said Mike Wright, Telstra Group Managing Director, Networks.

“Our expanded optical network will support important emerging network capabilities such as IoT, 5G and enhanced media delivery.”

According to Business Insider, Wright said the new capability would have real-time uses in “logistics, utilities, medicine, transport, mining, agriculture, manufacturing and many more.”

Industry News

Nominations now open for Mercury Awards 2017 The Mercury Awards are back in 2017 with a new list of categories recognising excellence in supply chain management.

According to organisers, the longstanding event was designed to acknowledge the achievements of the small and large businesses that demonstrate ‘best practice’, excellence and innovation in Australia’s logistics, supply chain and materials handling industry.

To nominate an exceptional company, head to the Mercury Awards website: mercuryawards.com.au.

Winners will be decided by an independent panel of industry experts and announced at the Mercury Awards Gala Dinner to be held at 6.30pm in the Jim Stynes Room at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground on Wednesday, 27 September.

Tickets for the event can be purchased online – early bird tickets cost $165 + GST, and you can get a table of 10 for $1,500 + GST. For a night of great entertainment and delicious food in a fantastic venue buy your tickets now, and for a chance of being honoured on the night get your nominations in.

The 2017 Mercury Awards are sponsored

by European manufacturer SEW-Eurodrive.

SEW-Eurodrive is passionate about celebrating industry excellence and also provides its support to manufacturing excellence at the Endeavour Awards and mining progress at the Prospect Awards.

AWARDS CATEGORIES FOR THE MERCURY AWARDS 2017: • Materials Handling Solution Award • Supply Chain Innovation Award • Excellence in Safety Award • Best Technology Application Award • Sustainability Initiative Award • Transport Solution of the Year Award: Road • Transport Solution of the Year Award: Rail, Sea and Air • Outstanding Third Party Logistics Provider Award • Outstanding Graduate Program Award • Best Warehouse and/or Storage Solution Award

Coca-Cola supply chain to get $90m revamp Coca-Cola Amatil has announced that, as a result of a review of its supply chain in Australia, the beverage maker will be investing in the modernisation of its facilities, including developing the automated capabilities of its manufacturing facility in Richlands, Queensland.

“In October 2016 we announced a $75 million investment in consolidating our sites in Brisbane with a new warehouse facility at our existing Richlands plant,” said Alison Watkins, Managing Director, Coca-Cola Amatil Group. “This will be a new, expanded and automated facility, generating greater capacity, comparatively lower operating costs and reduced materials handling and truck movements.”

Watkins also announced the planned closure of Coca-Cola Amantil’s manufacturing facilities in South Australia in 2019.

“We have now identified additional consolidation opportunities across the Australian supply chain and will close our South Australian manufacturing facilities in 2019,” she said. “This is not a decision that we take lightly, however we know we must modernise and invest in new capability.

“Additional capacity will be developed at

Richlands with a further $90 million investment to install a new glass production line and new dairy and juice production capacity. This

investment will optimise our national logistics network and modernise our supply chain with greater use of technology and automation.”

logisticsmagazine.com.au | 5

Industry News

CEVA Logistics opens Australasian HQ in Victoria CEVA Logistics has officially opened a new transport, distribution and logistics hub in Truganina. The facility is the largest in the southern hemisphere and will service clients including General Motors Holden, Continental Tyres, NBN Co, Michelin, Caltex, Accent Group and Mazda.

The $80 million, 166,000m2 supersite – equivalent to eight MCG playing fields – will employ 250 workers in Melbourne’s west and create around 40 new positions.

CEVA will also operate Nissan Australia’s new state-of-the-art National Distribution Centre.

CEVA joins other major companies such as NewCold Logistics, Border Express, Toll, Linfox, DB Schenker, Silk Logistics and Australia Post who’ve chosen Melbourne as the location for their corporate headquarters.

In a press statement, Minister for Industry and Employment, Wade Noonan, welcomed the news.

“Transport, distribution and logistics are some of Victoria’s most important industry sectors, contributing $21 billion annually to the state economy and employing around 260,000 people across Melbourne and regional Victoria,” he said.

“The Andrews Labor Government will continue

to support the logistics industry in Victoria – a huge contributor of jobs and economic opportunity state-wide,” he said.

“With Australia’s largest container port and a 24-hour, curfew free airport – it’s little wonder Melbourne has become the logistics capital of Australia,” Noonan added.

“Transport, distribution and logistics are big sectors for our state, contributing billions to the Victorian economy and creating tens of thousands of jobs.”

Member for Tarneit, Telmo Languiller, added, “This is an exciting investment for the Truganina area, supporting local jobs and strengthening the state’s logistics industry.”

CEVA employs more than 42,000 people in more than 160 different countries, including around 1,800 in Australia.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Andrew Jenkinson, CEVA’s Vice President of contract logistics, announced that the group also handles ‘reverse logistics’, transporting and dealing with defective items returned from stores or car dealerships and warranty issues or replacements of goods.

“We’re very involved in their supply chain. We

Speaker Legislative Assembly, Telmo Languiller; Victorian Minister for Industry and Employment, Wade Noonan; and CEVA Australia and New Zealand Managing Director, Carlos Velez Rodriguez.

6 | Logistics&MaterialsHandling April/May 2017

have assessors in every state who go and inspect and say it’s a genuine warranty claim or not. It’s all processed online.”

Eight B-doubles will be able to unload at once at the new CEVA structures, on continuous loading docks with levellers.

The structures feature 4,000m2 of rooftop solar panels, rainwater storage, smart movement-sensing lights that switch on and off automatically and technology including advanced racking, traffic management and material handling systems. The facility is also trialling forklifts motion sensors that detect specially tagged safety vests on people walking nearby. The equipment can shut the forklifts down in case of accidents, and can also track their movements and cargo weight to increase efficiency.

The site is one of eight major sites on Australia’s east coast leased to CEVA by developer and builder Frasers Property Australia.

CEVA Logistics also recently signed a fouryear lease at the Calibre industrial development – owned by property group Mirvac – at Eastern Creek, New South Wales.

Industry News

ALC, ATA, NatRoad hail government response to RSRT report The Federal Government’s reaction to a report by the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) into the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal (RSRT) has received widespread support by sectors of the transport industry, including the Australian Logistics Council (ALC), the Australian Trucking Association (ATA) and the National Road Transport Association (NatRoad).

“Since it was first proposed in 2010, ALC has always opposed the introduction of the RSRT,” said Michael Kilgariff, Managing Director, ALC. “The tribunal was intentioned to improve heavy vehicle safety and prevent fatalities on the road.

In reality, it had the opposite effect, taking focus away from ‘chain of responsibility’ laws that place a legal obligation on supply-chain operators to take action to prevent speeding, fatigue, mass limits and loading infringements.

“For this reason, ALC shares the Government’s concern that the application by the Transport Workers Union to vary the NSW General Carriers Contract Determination will reintroduce the

same inefficiencies in that state, with no tangible safety benefit.”

NatRoad CEO, Warren Clark, added, “In short, the government response to ASBFEO’s report strongly warns that industrial upheaval in the sector is not over. There is a general consensus that what occurred with the RSRT should never be repeated.

“Commonwealth protections for small operators and contract carriers are in place through the Fair Work Act and the Independent Contractors Act – let’s strengthen these so we have a level operating field for small and big operators.”

According to ATA CEO Ben Maguire, the Association “particularly welcomes the Government’s in-principle support for recommendation nine, where the ombudsman proposed a national advertising campaign to educate road users about how to drive near and around trucks.

“The Government should spend part of the $3.9 million it has allocated to the Infrastructure

Department in 2017–18 from the abolition of the RSRT to this campaign. The campaign must include Western Australia and the Northern Territory,” Maguire said.

Louise Bilato, Executive Officer of the Northern Territory Road Transport Association, also welcomed the response. “Mental health and wellbeing in the transport industry needs a higher focus, and this Australian Government response signals recognition of the onerous responsibilities placed on small businesses and the importance of not trivialising road safety,” she said.

In May last year, the Australian Government requested the ASBFEO to conduct an inquiry into the effect of the now dissolved RSRT’s Payments Order on Australian owner-drivers and small businesses. “The Ombudsman’s report confirms the Government’s concerns and that the decision to urgently abolish the Tribunal was necessary,” Minister for Employment, Senator Michaelia Cash, stated in a report recently released on the Department of Employment website.

Alibaba opens first Australia office in Melbourne Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group has opened a base in Melbourne to serve as headquarters for its operations in Australia and New Zealand.

“With a local office and expert team, Alibaba Group will help Australian and New Zealand businesses share their world-famous products with billions of customers around the world,” Alibaba Group Executive Chairman Jack Ma said in a statement at the opening ceremony on 4 February.

The office on Melbourne’s Collins Street is led by ANZ Managing Director Maggie Zhou, a 17-year veteran of the company who most recently served as Deputy General Manager of cross-border B2C shopping site Tmall Global.

Zhou and her team will support the 1,300 Australian and 400 New Zealand businesses selling on Tmall and Tmall Global, while also working to bring new merchants onto the platforms.

“A physical Alibaba headquarters is a key step in ensuring Australian businesses have the support and information they need to succeed in China and the rest of the world,” Zhou said in a statement. The goal, she explained, is “to build the entire operating infrastructure needed to enable local businesses to expand globally,” including cloud computing, online payments and logistics.

In a separate development, Alibaba stepped up its partnership with Australia Post, signing a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) to bring the state-run logistics company to Southeast Asia’s e-commerce market through Alibaba-owned Lazada Group. The MOU also states that Australia Post will work with Alibaba’s logistics arm, Cainiao, to improve data integration and develop a co-branded, cross-border delivery service for Australian outbound parcels destined for China.

Alibaba Group Executive Chairman, Jack Ma at the opening ceremony for Alibaba’s Australia and New Zealand headquarters. logisticsmagazine.com.au | 7

Global News

US robotics firm announces walking, running delivery robot US-based Agility Robots has launched a bipedal robot it hopes will revolutionise the logistics of delivery.

The team behind ‘Cassie’ the robot, led by Agility Robots’ Founder and CEO, Damion Shelton, originally met at Oregon State University’s College of Engineering. They secured a 16-month, US$1 million ($1.3 million) grant from the US Department of Defense to develop Cassie.

“This technology will simply explode at some point, when we create vehicles so automated and robots so efficient that deliveries and shipments are almost free,” Jonathan Hurst, Chief Technology

Officer at Agility Robotics, told the University.

“Quite simply, robots with legs can go a lot of places that wheels cannot. This will be the key to deliveries that can be made 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, by a fleet of autonomous vans that pull up to your curb, and an on-board robot that delivers to your doorstep.

“This robot capability will free people from weekend shopping chores, reduce energy use, and give consumers more time to do the things they want to do. It effectively brings efficient automated logistics from state-of-the-art warehouses out and into the rest of the world.”

News site Post&Parcel likened Cassie to

a headless ostrich, though the team did not intentionally give ‘her’ an animal-like appearance.

“We weren’t trying to duplicate the appearance of an animal, just the techniques it uses to be agile, efficient and robust in its movement,” said Hurst.

Agility Robot’s website describes Cassie’s potential applications: “A fleet of autonomous vehicles will deliver packages to your curb; a robot will take it to your doorstep. The entire system will be fast, delivering groceries in time for dinner; it will be less expensive than shopping in a store; and it will utilise existing roads and walkways. Automated delivery logistics will revolutionise the retail market.”

DB Schenker buys $33m stake in freight-matching company uShip Global logistics company DB Schenker has taken a US$25 million ($33 million) stake in US-based uShip, which uses online technology to match freight shippers and carriers.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Schenker is pressing a “digital transformation of its business model,” and has taken a seat on uShip’s board.

Schenker previously signed a five-year agreement for collaboration with uShip in Europe in mid-2016.

Although easily compared to Uber’s supplydemand arrangement, uShip’s freight-matching platform has been around for 14 years and is currently in operation in at least 19 countries, and

uShip claims that its shipping marketplace has handled more than one million shipments.

Uber-style freight-matching apps have been en vogue of late, including an as-yet-unnamed Chinese app currently undergoing testing, the partly launched Uber Freight and a contender Amazon is reportedly developing.

FedEx takes on Amazon with new fulfilment service FedEx Supply Chain, a subsidiary of international shipping company FedEx Corp. has announced ‘FedEx Fulfilment’ – a service catering to SMEs lacking in warehouse space and delivery know-how who want to appeal to online customers.

US companies using the service will be able to outsource the entire fulfilment process to FedEx. After receiving products from the companies, FedEx will handle warehousing, packaging, delivery and will also deal with returned orders.

Sellers will have the option to use custom packaging featuring their logo rather than FedEx’s.

Using the service’s platform, sellers will be 8 | Logistics&MaterialsHandling April/May 2017

able to view and track their products, manage inventory and analyse trends.

“FedEx Fulfilment gives small- and mediumsized businesses the potential to achieve profitable and scalable growth,” said Ryan Kelly,

Senior Vice President, FedEx Supply Chain.

“Online shoppers show deep-rooted loyalty to brands with fast shipments, easy returns, positive customer service experiences and flexible delivery options.”

The system works in a similar fashion to that of Fulfilment by Amazon, though without Prime membership benefits for buyers. According to Business Insider, FedEx’s offering could serve as a good alternative for sellers loathe to reveals their sales numbers to Amazon. “Amazon connects them with customers, but it also competes with these sellers,” said CNN Money’s Matt McFarland.

“Amazon can see which products are selling best, and start to sell those products itself.”

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ALC Column

Michael Kilgariff Managing Director Australian Logistics Council

T

he ball has been put into the logistics industry’s court. For some years now, we have been urging government not just for more investment in transport and logistics, but also for better targeted investment – investment that will produce the best returns. We have also argued for better planning and better coordination between the three levels of government in Australia.

We gained some success when the Labor Government set up Infrastructure Australia (IA) as a statutory body in 2008, but it required several years of detailed work before IA could produce a comprehensive priorities list in a report to the Government – its 15-year infrastructure plan. Late last year, the Coalition Government responded to that report in a statement that was welcomed by the logistics industry, and the Australian Logistics Council in particular.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull agreed to something that has been at the forefront of the ALC’s wishlist – the development of a national freight and supply chain strategy. It was the core recommendation of the ALC’s 2016 election priorities document – ‘Getting the Supply Chain Right’.

So it is now critical that the industry plays a central role in the development of that strategy.

The ball is in our court. If we sit on our hands and presume that governments, the general public and narrow industry interests will get it right, we will be sadly disappointed.

The Prime Minister said, “Money alone is not the answer. We need to get better at planning and building the infrastructure, and to do that we have to work together – all governments, 10 | Logistics&MaterialsHandling April/May 2017

THE BALL IS IN OUR COURT industry, stakeholders, consumers and citizens.

And we must take a much longer view, rather than the short-term one driven, of course, by election cycles.”

He is quite right. But all too often lofty sentiments get watered down and sidetracked.

One of the critical questions will be the emphasis given to the various parts of the fairly finite infrastructure cake: transport (comprising road, rail, sea and air, with each of them divided into freight and passenger); telecommunications; water; energy; and buildings (particularly schools, hospitals and sportsgrounds).

Unless the logistics industry makes its voice heard, there is a danger that the strategy will emerge with the wrong balance. We know freight does not vote. It means that we start with a proclivity to favour public transport over freight, and to favour buildings over other infrastructure.

There is also a danger that the money for transport will geographically follow the votes rather than the freight.

It is imperative that the logistics industry and its premier voice, the Australian Logistics Council, put forward sound suggestions for the national strategy. The ALC has always believed in taking the long view, so it is pleasing to see the Prime Minister stating that the national strategy must do the same. The ALC has always believed in only putting to government soundly argued, evidence-based submissions. This is because our members span the entire supply chain, incorporating road, rail, sea, air, sea ports and intermodal ports, so we are not interested in special pleading. That being the case, our input

ALC Column

should be well received – but we cannot take that for granted.

Though the logistics industry impacts every business and consumer in the nation, it is often seen as one removed. People look at the parcel, not the truck, carriage or aircraft belly that delivered it.

We will have to make greater efforts to communicate the importance of our industry to the wider public.

The logistics and transport industries employ 1.2 million Australians and represent 8.6 per cent of the economy. We need to impress this upon the public as well as the people who will develop the national strategy. We also have to stress that

the freight task will almost treble by 2050.

Taking the long view and getting coordination between the three levels of government in Australia have been almost intractable problems, so it was pleasing to see the Prime Minister’s intention to tackle them. The ALC’s ‘Getting the Supply Chain Right’ document said the Federal Government, “in partnership with the states and territories, should establish effective corridor protection mechanisms from urban encroachment or incompatible land uses to ensure the timely preservation of surface, subterranean and air corridors and strategic sites for future infrastructure priorities.”

The ALC is determined to not waste this

opportunity – for the good of our industry and our nation and its people and businesses. The ALC’s annual Forum in 2017 in Melbourne had the development of the national freight and supply chain strategy as its theme. Taking the industry’s views and resolutions on the strategy from the Forum to government will be the main task of the ALC in 2017.

Experience has show that promoting good policy over bad – but popular – policy is a continuous task. But it has borne fruit in the past and we are determined to keep government accountable to deliver on the sentiments in the Prime Minister’s statement in the future.

logisticsmagazine.com.au | 11

Top Story

Moving to the next efficiency step The logistics and materials handling industry is always on the hunt for bigger, better productivity gains. Industry 4.0 and automation trends reflect the fundamental quest to improve supply chain efficiencies and production capacity – meaning smarter, more efficient, products are critical to achieving this goal.

Story by Philippa Edwards

Frank Cerra, Engineering Manager, has spent almost three decades with SEW-Eurodrive and is heavily involved in driving the company’s energy efficiency efforts.

12 | Logistics&MaterialsHandling April/May 2017

Top Story

T

racing the evolution of the logistics and materials handling industry in recent history, it becomes clear that the sector is one of the quickest to uptake new technology in the pursuit of savings in the form of time, money and personnel – logistics and supply chain operations have long been racing to the next product or service shown to deliver even better efficiency outcomes.

The biggest changes to the logistics and materials handling industry in recent years have been the rise of smart automation, high efficiency systems and the interconnected ‘Industry 4.0’, according to SEW-Eurodrive’s Engineering Manager, Frank Cerra.

“In the future, smart devices will proliferate through automation systems, performing ever more functions,” Frank says. “There is some hype involved in smart manufacturing and Industry 4.0, as it is still at an evolving stage. These devices, coupled with the latest super premium efficiency geared-motor systems, will help make processes more efficient in future. The increased capability for monitoring, control and process

optimisation will be hugely beneficial.

“As a result more efficient products, smarter products and connected products are springing up in Australia’s logistics and materials handling landscape.”

Frank has spent almost three decades with SEW-Eurodrive – starting as an engineer and working his way up. Since 2001, he has been heavily involved with driving the company’s energy efficiency efforts.

“It is important to align with well-recognised, international efficiency standards. Australia is on the path to recognising the International Efficiency (IE) classification and is slowly working towards establishing this.”

Frank Cerra Engineering Manager, SEW-Eurodrive

SEW-Eurodrive has developed International Efficiency (IE) Class 3 premium efficiency motors (DRN), IE4 super premium efficiency motors (MOVIGEAR®, DRC, DRU), smart components and drop-in system replacement solutions. “With dropin replacement solutions, we aim to replace old, outdated equipment with industry-leading technology to help our customers improve their overall production processes and gain longterm savings,” says Frank Cerra, Engineering Manager, SEW-Eurodrive.

The company undergoes an independently certified audit each year to constantly monitor the quality of its products and services, and it is ISO 9001 certified.

logisticsmagazine.com.au | 13

Top Story

An example of a complete drive system.

Until now, Frank explains, the focus has been on developing and incorporating efficient products and components, but now, with automation and Industry 4.0 becoming more of a reality each day, he’s seeing a trend towards

“Beyond energy efficiency – when you start looking at system efficiency – it quickly becomes apparent that there are a lot more gains to achieve.”

Frank Cerra Engineering Manager, SEW-Eurodrive

the need to focus not only on the products and components, but overall systems including the ‘smarts’ and systems efficiency.

SEW-Eurodrive is an international manufacturer of automation and drive technologies founded in Germany in 1931.

The company prides itself on having its finger on the pulse of innovation, with a strong 14 | Logistics&MaterialsHandling April/May 2017

R&D team dedicated to ensuring its offerings accurately address the needs of the industry.

“In terms of research and development, SEW-Eurodrive studies the market to ascertain its needs and to make sure we react early,” explains Frank, adding that the overall goal for the company is to keep leading the fields in which it operates.

Essentially, SEW-Eurodrive aims to helps companies replace the outdated and inefficient machinery in their facilities with new, cleaner equipment which takes advantage of the latest in efficiency technology. “There are still a lot of standard efficiency motors and drive products in use in industry,” says Frank. “Old equipment is still running and the benefits and long-term savings of upgrading are often not understood.”

Frank explains that more original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and end users are now seeing the need to boost the efficiency level and capability of systems, together with the potential long-term saving they will achieve.

Whilst the industry trend is to move from the Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) equipment to higher efficiency level products,

In addition to a range of products and solutions, SEW-Eurodrive provides services such as DriveACADEMY® product training, and customers can receive technical advice from qualified engineering staff. Frank Cerra, Engineering Manager at SEW-Eurodrive explains that the company considers aftersales performance to be one of the most important services it can provide. “We provide the highest level of service and support – in addition to just products – so that our customers can reach all of their goals and satisfy their requirements, be it in terms of efficiency level or smart technology.”

Top Story

Over the course of his career, Frank has witnessed the wants and needs of users

evolving in line with availability of technology, though there is always the one same constant.

“Today’s industry is more focused on increasing energy efficiency than ever before and – as always – reducing overall costs,” he says.

“Especially with the rising energy costs that Australia is experiencing, when considering developing, upgrading or replacing their manufacturing processes and plants, users are looking to improve the efficiency of the system, reduce greenhouse gases and reduce overall long-term expenditure.

“Energy efficiency is a hot topic globally.

Resources can be conserved by reducing – or at least limiting the increase in energy consumption. Industry has an important role to play here, as it accounts for a major share of consumed energy.”

Demands on production systems are increasing, with steadily reducing delivery times, cost pressure and increased capabilities, says Frank, and the ability to do more with less will become a critical survival skill, both for companies and for the environment.

SEW-Eurodrive’s mechatronic drive system MOVIGEAR®.

ADAMS ® indicates a registered trademark of HAVER & BOECKER oHG in Germany. Some of the trademarks are also registered in other countries.

there is also consideration of whole-of-system efficiencies, process optimisation and smarter systems integration “Beyond energy efficiency – when you start looking at system efficiency – it quickly becomes apparent that there are a lot more gains to achieve.”

The development of the motor MEPS was a significant regulation change for Australia, Frank explains. “These regulations have boosted the efficiency levels of motors that we supply to industry and this has driven both energy and CO2 savings.”

He adds that in order for Australia to achieve the kind of energy savings it’s capable of, it will need to emulate the strategies being put in place elsewhere around the world. “It is important to align with well-recognised, international efficiency standards,” says Frank.

“Australia is on the path to recognising the International Efficiency (IE) classification and is slowly working towards establishing this

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logisticsmagazine.com.au | 15

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The nature of the beast With e-commerce giant Amazon rumoured to be in the process of launching its full service in Australia within the next 12 months, the country’s logistics landscape could be on the brink of a major shake up.

A

mazon has already attracted a selection of monikers from Australia’s logistics, retail and business communities. David White, National Leader at Deloitte’s Retail, Wholesale & Distribution Group, has called it ‘the elephant in the room’, business analysts from management consultancy Azurium have dubbed it the potential ‘great white shark’ and Harvey Norman co-founder Gerry Norman has described it as a strange beast. If nothing else, the idea of the company setting up shop in Australia has caused the nation’s small and large supply chains to think about an action plan.

16 | Logistics&MaterialsHandling April/May 2017

“If Amazon is not on the agenda at board meetings for Australian retailers, then it should be,” said David. “With the rumoured arrival of the US giant to Australia this year, the potential for market disruption is huge. Already, several retailers are setting up task forces to assess the potential impact of an Amazon market entry, but it’s not yet clear what exactly the company has planned for Australia.

“All we know is that where Amazon has entered markets, the impact on local retailers has been seismic in almost all categories and channels. Retailers cannot afford to wait and see what Amazon does – they need to be developing

strategies and taking action now.”

Australian consumers, meanwhile, are excited by the prospect of lower shipping rates and increased choice after arriving late at the age of discounted online goods, where people are using the Internet to compare and save, bagging bargains while competition is driving prices ever lower. Until recently, sky-high postage and packing charges and geo-blocks – restrictions placed on what overseas retailers could ship to Australia – had worked in the favour of local retailers who were all too happy for the market to remain closed and prices high.

While the situation has improved – shipping

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photo credit: Jonathan Weiss / Shutterstock.com

“If Amazon is not on the agenda at board meetings for Australian retailers, then it should be. With the rumoured arrival of the US giant to Australia this year, the potential for market disruption is huge.”

prices have reduced slightly and consumers are finding ways around geo-blocks – Australian shoppers are still being offered the short end of the stick when it comes to purchasing foreignmade goods.

At present, Amazon is benefiting from shipping low-value products from outside Australia, taking advantage of a law whereby imports with a value of below $1,000 do not incur GST. From 1 July 2017, however, this advantage will be removed and suppliers with an Australian turnover of $75,000 or more per year will be required to register and charge GST. “Australia is at the lead of Internet penetration in the world,” said Rose Elphick-Darling, Industry Research Fellow at the Centre for Supply Chain and Logistics at Deakin Univeristy. “We adopt online shopping and Internet-based transactions very rapidly and after July, when GST is introduced to those purchases, it should level the playing field somewhat. It becomes quite compelling for Amazon to move into Australia and put some infrastructure here.”

The word on the street Speculation has been rife for months about Amazon’s Australia ambitions. While the retailer’s ‘.com.au’ domain is old news, it only enables purchases of ebooks – indeed, while it lists ebook readers, would-be buyers are directed to Officeworks’ website to make a purchase. In order to make use of Amazon’s vast catalogue of products including real books, clothing, electronics, homewares and toys, Australian shoppers have long been required to use the generic Amazon.com website, ordering items for delivery from Amazon’s distribution centres abroad and often incurring shipping charges steep enough to negate any price saving.

The first sign that Amazon was looking to expand its offering in the region came in November 2016, when it launched Prime Video for the Australian audience. Access to the video platform was first derestricted quietly to make the initial airing of The Grand Tour available to Australian viewers, along with others. The

David White National Leader – Deloitte’s Retail, Wholesale & Distribution Group

Grand Tour TV show is a successor to the wildly popular Top Gear program produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation. It features Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, the complete previous presenting team for Top Gear. Amazon reportedly paid $325 million to bag the trio back in 2015, so understandably wanted to allow interested parties to legally watch the show once it aired, and prevent them from resorting to less scrupulous methods. A full selection of region-permitted shows and movies were added soon after, once the service had been officially announced.

In January 2017, news outlet Business Insider discovered that Amazon had been recruiting throughout 2016 for roles based in Queensland, primarily software development positions for ‘AmazonFresh’, taking the project “from inception through launch.” AmazonFresh is an online grocery service available as an add-on to Amazon’s Prime service – a further clue that Amazon is ramping up to launch the full slew of its services – free shipping with Prime, same-day shipping with Prime Now and PrimeFresh – soon.

AmazonFresh has been available to US shoppers since 2007 and was launched in London in 2016.

Free delivery is given as standard for users, and in some regions same-day and early next morning delivery is offered.

Amazon is able to offer US Prime users delivery perks such as free two-hour delivery for Prime Now members and the option of US$8 ($10) one-hour delivery thanks to an expansive network of distribution centres spread across the territory. In order to offer a similar service, logisticsmagazine.com.au | 17

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Amazon would need to have distribution centres located close to all of Australia’s major metropolitan areas – though as yet there has been no word of the commerce company leasing or developing its own facilities. It could be that it is planning to offer only a pared down version of its shipping service here with a view to expanding.

For this reason, Citigroup’s Head of Research Craig Woolford told the Australian Financial Review (AFR) in February 2017 that he believes Amazon is unlikely to establish a full physical presence in Australia for another two years, citing the need to establish distribution centres and sorting centres, and to secure local brands.

According to other Amazon insiders speaking

At all costs According to retail analysts at stockbroking firm Citi, Amazon’s entry into Australia could cause JB Hi-Fi’s sales to drop by 5.5 per cent, resulting in a drop of 23 per cent in the company’s earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT). Harvey Norman’s sales could drop by 3.9 per cent, Citi reported, resulting in a 19 per cent reduction in EBIT and Myer could come up short by 18 per cent in its EDIT with a loss of 1.7 per cent of sales.

As such, it comes of little surprise that Inside Retail’s ‘Australian Retail Outlook 2017’ revealed offshore online retailers to be the third biggest challenge currently facing the industry, coming

“They think they’re going to take over all of retail, now, let’s assume they do one day, and there’s no other retailers or half the retailers are gone. And there’s Amazon and half of what there are now. How is that a good thing?

You’ve got less choice, you’ve got less competition, by that stage Amazon will have put up their price a lot more.

How are they a good corporate citizen?”

Gerry Norman Harvey Norman

to the AFR, the launch of Prime Now in Australia in 2017 will be followed by six to eight months of the company increasing its product offering, then AmazonFresh will be rolled out, and in 2018 AmazonFresh stores will be opened. “When Amazon comes to Australia, whether it’s this year or not, it will take a year or two to have that knock-on effect,” said James Stewart, Retail Partner at Ferrier Hodgson.

According to Hermione Parsons, Director of the Centre for Supply Chain and Logistics at Deakin University, Amazon should be aware of the fact that it is not the only powerful player looking to expand into Australia. “There is a lot of competition in the space with other successful companies coming to Australia, playing in that same area of high competition globally,” she said. “Amazon, Alibaba and others are going to have to have incredibly well developed, agile and highly customer-focused offers that will give them the advantage over their formidable opponents, or competition.”

18 | Logistics&MaterialsHandling April/May 2017

in after rental overheads and international market entrants.

According to JB Hi-Fi CEO Richard Murray, the electronics goods retailer has nothing to fear from Amazon. With its 300-store network, the “lowest operating costs” in the sector and the “keenest” prices, the store is well place to compete with any new arrival, he told the AFR. JB Hi-Fi acquired The Good Guys’ 103 stores in 2016, giving it a greater presence in the market of big-ticket items that consumer like to view in store before buying. “I’ve no doubt new players will want to gain market share,” Richard said.

“We’re just in a really good spot to compete.”

In January 2017, Gerry Norman explained that Harvey Norman intends to succeed without resorting to shady business practices. “In America, [Amazon] is regarded as a very poor corporate citizen because it sent a lot of other retailers broke that used to employ people, used to pay taxes,” Gerry told 9news. “Amazon pays virtually no taxes…As a corporate system they’re terrible.

“Now they’re coming here to try and send us all broke. They’re not going to send Harvey Norman broke, okay, but they’re going to be a pain in the backside.

“They’ve got a distribution model where they’ve got a warehouse and they send it out online,” he said. “We’ve got shops in every town in Australia of any consequence, and we’ve got warehouses in every town, and we’ve got showrooms in every town. So, if you want to buy something you can come into the showroom, we can deliver it to you the same day – all that sort of thing – and we will be competitive with them come hell or high water.”

On the prospect of customers coming to a

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store to view a product in person then returning home to buy it online for cheaper, Gerry insisted that the store would be price matching Amazon whilst offering the service, delivery and aftersales service that Amazon lacks. And since Amazon may occupy faceless out-of-city facilities, in the case of returns Harvey Norman would be the clear choice, he added.

“They think they’re going to take over all of retail,” Gerry said. “Now, let’s assume they do one day, and there’s no other retailers or half the retailers are gone. And there’s Amazon and half of what there are now. How is that a good thing? You’ve got less choice, you’ve got less competition, by that stage Amazon will have put

up their price a lot more. How are they a good corporate citizen?”

Gerry said that, while he’s aware that many customers are led by their wallet, he is confident that Harvey Norman will win out when service and presence are taken into account. “I don’t think people are stupid,” he said. “But I do know they like price, I do know they’ll buy if it’s cheaper somewhere else. But if I can offer them the same price and better service, and a showroom, and I can guarantee you a good deal, you’ll still buy off me, okay.”

Woolworths is trusting in its pricing along with its local produce pledge – 90 per cent of all fruit and vegetables stocked by the supermarket chain

are sourced from Australia – to stop it from losing market share if the US giant starts operations here. “Woolworths always welcomes competition,” a spokesperson told Logistics & Materials Handling. “We are focused on putting our best food forward every time, irrespective of what our competitors do.” Speaking to The Weekend Australian, Woolworths Chairman Gordon Cairns revealed his thoughts on Amazon. “Our view is whether Amazon comes or not, the standard they are setting should be the standard that we should be aspiring to for our customers,” he said. “So the best way to defend ourselves against any threat from Amazon is to get to the same kind of service that they offer.”

Hermione notes that local companies such as Woolworths are increasingly employing the type of strategies Amazon itself has used. “They are preparing now for the kinds of demand customers will make,” she said. “They’re moving their high volume, high demand products as close as they can to consumers, and creating small hubs from which they can distribute.”

Department store chain Myer is focusing on omni-channel operations and its local knowledge to maintain its edge. “Today’s retailers have to be able to compete on a global stage, as technology shortens supply chains, opens up new markets and empowers the customer,” a Myer spokesperson told Logistics & Materials Handling. “Myer is one of Australia’s leading omni-channel retailers, with a good understanding of the local market, a strong physical network to leverage into online retail, and a much-loved brand that resonates with Australian shoppers.”

Hermione added, “If you look at local retailers and how they’re responding, many of the larger local retailers are throwing all they’ve got at omnichannel development. Woolworths, Australia Post, there is so much attention to developing capability and skills for the future market as defined by this kind of business and consumer.”

According to Rose, local retailers hoping to up their game and ready themselves in case of an Amazon invasion must recognise that today’s consumers are constantly changing their wants and needs and it’s no small feat to keep up. “You might as well call it ‘me-commerce’, it’s so focused on the customer and customer experience,” she said. “That focus then leads to a different way of retailing. It means that you have to value-add in terms of the customer experience, regardless of whether it’s an online or a physical logisticsmagazine.com.au | 19

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bricks-and-mortar presence. Then you need to back that up with totally excellent logistics.”

Pastures new A survey carried out by market research company Nielsen in January 2017 found that Australia’s consumers are excited by the prospect of Amazon’s arrival. Nielsen reported that three in four Australian adults are interested in Amazon Australia and 56 per cent stated that they are likely to purchase from its Australian site.

OVER THE ODDS Research carried out by consumer group Choice in June 2013 for a parliamentary inquiry into IT price discrimination found that, based on online prices of more than 200 products, Australian consumers were paying an average of 50 per cent more for PC games; 34 per cent more for software; 52 per cent more for iTunes music, not including Australian GST; 41 per cent more for computer hardware and 88 per cent more for Wii games than their US counterparts. Even accounting for US sales tax of around 9.6 per cent on top, the marks up are still impressive.

Speaking to news site The New Daily in 2014, Saul Eslake – then-Chief Economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch Australia – suggested that Australia’s distance from the rest of the world was to blame for the higher prices its consumers pay. The cost of transporting goods, and maintaining stockpiles of foreign products, factors into the prices paid, he said, adding that higher wages paid to workers living further apart meant that Australia could not benefit from the same deals offered the US consumers. “We need to spend more on transport and more on inventories than a similar population on a smaller landmass would have to,” Saul said.

20 | Logistics&MaterialsHandling April/May 2017

Forty-five per cent of respondents noted that they would subscribe to Amazon’s Prime service to avail of deals, discounts and fast delivery and two thirds of the Australians surveyed reported they are most keen to purchase electronic goods through Amazon, with books and clothes coming close behind.

It may perhaps come as some relief for Australia’s grocery stockists to hear that the survey participants showed very little interest in buying their groceries from Amazon.

Citigroup’s Craig told the AFR that Australia represents a very promising prospect for Amazon, and he believes Amazon could capture sales of at least $4 billion within five years of rolling out its services. “Australia’s appeal for Amazon becomes clearer when you adjust retail sales levels for population,” he said.

“Australians spent $12,200 per person on retail goods last year, third only to the US ($15,700 per person) and Japan ($12,300 per person).

These are both markets in which Amazon has a local presence.”

JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman, specialty retailers such as Super Retail Group and Premier Investments, department stores including Myer, Target, and BIG W and footwear retailers such as RCG have the most to fear from Amazon, according to Citigroup.

“Amazon’s impact on [Australian] retailers would be diverse, given the magnitude of its product range. We expect the greatest impact to be felt by electronics retailers given Amazon’s product range and the branded nature of these products,” Craig recently reported.

Research from market research firm Statista and consultancy firm MWPVL International suggests that Australia’s consumers are quickly embracing e-commerce. The country’s online spend is set to jump to US$10.5 billion ($14 billion) in 2017, up from US$9.5 billion ($12.4 billion) in 2016.

With the Australian market estimated to reach US$15.4 billion ($20 million) by 2021, it will be some time before it catches up with the US – customers in the US spent US$322 billion online in 2016.

Amazon is notoriously coy about giving hard figures on the number of orders it deals with, packages it sends and money it makes. In fact, analysts have received few details since a suggestion at the end of 2014 that the company shipped five billion items over the year. What is known is that in order to services its US customers, Amazon has 214 operations facilities,

“Today’s retailers have to be able to compete on a global stage, as technology shortens supply chains, opens up new markets and empowers the customer.”

Myer spokesperson

ranging from fulfilment centres to sortation centres, across the territory – a number that is constantly growing.

Elsewhere around the world, Amazon has 149 processing centres delivering internationally – including those in Germany that currently service Australian customers – and there are many more in the pipeline.

It is tough to predict how many facilities the company would need in Australia. Spain shows a similar penetration of online shopping and is served by a 78,000m2 fulfilment centre and a Prime Now hub in Madrid, with another facility planned – Europe’s first express delivery centre in Barcelona. Australia’s dispersed population would present a particular challenge, at least until such a time that multiple facilities can be established.

It would be interesting to see whether Australia’s homegrown retailers would prove popular with overseas buyers, boosting outbound freight volumes and bring the country truly into the global retail economy.

It should become apparent in the coming weeks and months whether Amazon truly has grand designs for Australian expansion. In the meantime, Australia’s supply chains are getting more efficient, more responsive and more intuitive.

Elsewhere, Amazon is busy pushing the bar of what’s understood in the logistics sphere, raising expectations and making moves to cut out the delivery middleman. Products described in patents filed by the commerce giant in the past couple of years – ranging from parcel parachutes and tunnels to in-air warehouses – may not become reality, but logistics providers the world over are certainly sitting up and paying attention.

Australia’s retailers have so far benefited from being the big fish in a small pond, and now with a bigger, more intuitive fish eyeing the pond up, they need to come up with a plan, and fast.

THE MERCURY AWARDS ARE BACKÂ 27 September 2017, MCG m e r cu ryaw ards .com.au Pro ud l y s p o ns o red b y

Interview

Tomorrow’s supply chains The Centre for Supply Chain and Logistics (CSCL) has recently moved to Deakin University, bringing with it some of the most knowledgeable minds on the workings of the industry.

Logistics & Materials Handling sat down with Director Dr Hermione Parsons and Industry Research Fellow Rose Elphick-Darling to discuss the state of Australia’s supply chains and what awaits them in the future.

Interview by Philippa Edwards

22 | Logistics&MaterialsHandling April/May 2017

Interview

Q: What are the most pressing issues for the world’s logistics and supply chain operators?

A: The global force of digitisation (in both B2B and B2C spaces) and an ageing workforce are exacerbated in this industry, so these forces have been a large challenge for the smaller businesses that dominate the transport segment of the sector. These businesses also compete fiercely and operate on low margins, so it means adapting to new ways of doing business and collaborating with other businesses in an end-customer’s supply chain. They are double challenges due to the structure of the market and the business behaviours that are entrenched.

For larger businesses, the challenge is always about helping customers fulfil the growing expectations of end-customers in relation to delivery of business inputs or finished products.

Technological and generational change have impacted strongly, as the knowledge of older heads leaves the business and the investment in ‘own platforms’ is challenged by developments such as ‘uberisation’ and blockchain ‘many to many’ transaction models.

In the coming years, skills capability – for the next round of future jobs, future skills and future markets – will be a key focus. Businesses are already having to think about digital and IT systems, communication systems and the digital business revolution.

Coping with complexity and flexibility and the length of the supply chain means that you need to have a lot more control than in years gone by – everything needs to be visible and traceable.

Businesses are often finding it difficult to be able to cope with the level of collaboration required between a whole lot of businesses along the chain, and it’s hard for a very competitive industry to turn its mind to now collaborating.

It’s a challenge for many global businesses, but particularly in the supply chain sector.

Dr Hermione Parsons, Director, Centre for Supply Chain and Logistics, Deakin University.

Q: How would you describe the current environment for Australian logistics in particular?

A: It’s tough out there right now due to several factors: Australia’s logistics businesses are constantly under pressure with tight margins.

Small- and medium-sized transport businesses are at risk of being redundant due to not being able to keep up with the demands of customers and regulators, and a great deal of change is afoot, with companies going through generational change at the same time as technological change and needing to develop a wider regional mindset.

Supply chain visibility requirements are rising as customers need more control. Also, the increase in international logistics companies buying Australian logistics companies has led to a greater integration of local businesses into Asia-Pacific strategies, meaning that decisions are being made off-shore and local offices are only operational branches.

We will soon see that increasing demands from regulators will force businesses into higher proof of compliance modes, and new storage, warehousing and distribution formats/facilities capable of responding to omni-channel B2B and B2C requirements will be appearing.

For Australian businesses, attracting new skill sets to the industry, scale economies and global competition will be the key considerations – we will have to adapt international models to Australian conditions, but our high cost base means we cannot afford to get it wrong or our customers can’t compete. The majority of logistics service providers will need a global footprint to survive, as Australia is a mature marketplace.

Q: What technology will be ubiquitous in supply chains of the future, and what role will humans play?

A: In logistics, robotics is sure to be everywhere, and also potentially used in last-mile delivery applications. Automated vehicles will be adopted and will prove especially useful in line haul and ports. Advanced RFID on freight will interact with sensors to provide data on the who, what, where and when of deliveries, and will also be used for proof of compliance.

The technology to support drone deliveries will have developed somewhat, although it will have to overcome the challenge of dealing with different cargo weights. Finally, mobile devices will enable operators to be more responsive and self-directed, as we’re already seeing with the movement towards the ‘uberisation’ of freight.

Rose Elphick-Darling, Industry Research Fellow, Centre for Supply Chain and Logistics, Deakin University.

Humans will be the creators of supply chain strategy, harvesting data from the Internet of Everything (including machines, sensors, operational metrics, visibility platforms and analytics) to make decisions that relate to business imperatives – these are not always about optimisation, they may be more about customisation, which is less able to be automated.

Also, new skills in analysis, development of advanced applications and the services related to automation (including robotics, IT systems integration and maintenance of conveyors) will be needed in logistics and transport services.

Q: What cargo transportation mode will be growing most in the years ahead?

A: This depends on how seriously governments take decreasing fossil fuel consumption and infrastructure investment. Air freight – international and potentially drone – may grow for time-sensitive products. Rail has great potential but it will require a large investment that is unlikely without public sector commitment.

The growth of smaller and more frequent deliveries indicates smaller – probably electric – road vehicles combined with Higher Productivity Vehicles will grow.

One thing is for sure; industry leadership and a clear change agenda will be needed to navigate the transition of this industry to its global, inter-generational and technological future. The Australian Government needs to provide clear policy direction in relation to infrastructure investment, regulation, workforce and energy policies. logisticsmagazine.com.au | 23

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Has the barcode reached its ‘use by’ date?

The ubiquitous barcode has revolutionised the retail industry since its arrival on a packet of Wrigley’s chewing gum in 1974. The blackand-white striped sticker encodes information about the product that can be easily scanned, speeding up checkout and making logistics easier. But businesses, regulators and shoppers themselves are demanding more information about their products – and this may mean the reign of the barcode is coming to an end. Story by Samir Dani

S

upply chains rely on information. Even a small error or omission could create waves through the supply chain, errors that could lead to, for example, costly over- or under-stocking, or accidental breaches of regulation or even potentially illegal activity.

In the food industry, for example, considerable information is needed. Knowing what the product is, where it’s come from, how and through whose hands are important details to gain consumer trust and confidence - and in some cases are a legal requirement. Following food scares like the horsemeat scandal and the recent European Union rules that require detailed labelling of 14 allergens on food packaging there is a great deal of information that consumers want to see: ingredients’ source, allergens, details of processing and packaging facilities, and other sustainability information.

One approach to combat food tainting and increase traceability is DNA barcoding, where genetic markers taken from the product are used to identify its species exactly.

Now that smartphones with mobile internet

access are so common, there’s the potential to create a new approach that could offer all this additional information to the consumer. As systems change, retailers will also benefit from being able to store more information with the product: batch information, sell-by dates, and so on – information that can help them tackle fraud and wastage.

The barcode has developed, with modern variations including the GS1 data bar, or QR codes – a square barcode that can contain much more information, popularised by apps that allow smartphones to scan and process them with built-in cameras. But is not compatible with most current scanners in use. Another approach is RFID chips, which wirelessly transmit information to scanners by radio waves.

So while barcodes are currently the most economic way of storing and transmitting this information, soon supply chains and consumers will demand more, and a successor will be required.

There are a number of pilot projects being considered by retailers and management logisticsmagazine.com.au | 25

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consultants to discover which information will be useful for consumers and retailers and how this can best be represented. This will depend on finding something that fulfils the data requirements while being easy to implement and inexpensive. But managing the data that goes into these future barcodes: gathering, storing and securing data that must be entered at various points of the supply chain is a difficult task. While there’s huge potential for benefits, collecting more data amplifies the effects of any mistakes.

Incorrect data can travel through the supply chain rapidly, introducing error into the wider network, similar to a tainted food product permeating through various supply chains across international boundaries. For example, the Chinese milk scare saw tainted milk transported as milk powder in many products through a number of countries. Poor stock and batch records means recalling products is difficult or even impossible, as happened with the milk scare or the case of the peanuts infected with salmonella.

Traceability is very important in food and pharmaceutical supply chains, and this is the site of many current innovations. For example, Metro, a German retailer, has launched smartphone app PRO Trace to trace its products.

It can identify that a salmon fillet on sale in Berlin arrived in Germany two days before it reached the shop’s chiller shelf, and was caught at the Bremnes Seashore fish farm off the coast of Norway a few days before that. Using a GS1 data bar, enough information can be encoded to show all this, and also a map identifying the fishery where it was caught and a detailed description of the species. While Metro introduced the system in reaction to EU regulations aimed at preventing overfishing

Samir Dani is Professor of Logistics and Supply Chain Management at the University of Huddersfield. This story first appeared on The Conversation.

26 | Logistics&MaterialsHandling April/May 2017

of particular areas, this information is sought after by customers and chefs alike.

Building a system that can provide this information may mean that manufacturers focus on either improving supply chain efficiency or fulfilling consumer information requirements, but not both. Should the focus be on reducing risks within the supply chain, or providing information for consumers to make an informed choice? Perhaps rather than attempting to create a one-size-fits-all solution, a better approach would be a hybrid, one that offers certain information on the package but relies upon internet-connected smartphones to provide consumers with additional information, embedding links to web pages in QR codes.

In any case it’s clear that new ways to store information, verify its accuracy and pass it on is vital for the supply chain to develop further in the 21st century.

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Feature

Advancements in valve bag packaging for dry bulk foods Advancements in valve bags have provided European mills and flour manufacturers with a competitive advantage that many Australian dry bulk food manufacturers are yet to realise.

Story by Alan Arbotante

I

n years past, manufacturers of dry bulk food products shied away from valve bags, which were known for being messy and failing to provide reliable seals. As a result, open-mouth bags gained popularity. But in recent years, many European mills and flour manufacturers have switched to valve bags.

Despite the shift from open-mouth bags to valve bags for packaging dry bulk food materials in Europe, few Australian mills and flour manufacturers have followed suit.

The first valve bags were introduced in the

28 | Logistics&MaterialsHandling April/May 2017

mid-1920s. While they have typically had a slightly higher cost than traditional open-mouth bags, this has now practically disappeared.

In fact, advancements in valve bags and valve bag packaging machine technology have created cost savings for manufacturers in the form of decreased cleaning, more accurate filling and dosing, more secure seals, more efficient palletising and storage, and increased packaging speeds.

Here, we take a closer look at the latest valve bag packaging advancements and their

applications in dry bulk food packaging to help manufacturers stay up to speed on the latest developments.

Dust prevention advancements Even though there are numerous state-of-the-art dust collection systems on the market, the best way to keep dry food packaging facilities clean is to control dust at its source. Much of the dust present in facilities is created when bags are transported to a sealer after being filled. For packaging machines that have only one sealer

Feature

downstream, such as a single sewing machine, the time between when a bag is filled and when it is sealed creates an opportunity for product to escape the package.

An improved dust-free way to package dry bulk food products is to seal the bag at the spout. With the small opening of valve bags, sealing at the spout is possible. Using a filling spout with an inflatable sleeve that seals the area around the bag opening, advanced valve bag packaging machines are capable of producing a hermetically sealed closure with

dust-free filling. However, be aware that some valve bag filling machines may appear to seal at the spout, but often the bag is removed from the spout and discharged, then it is sealed. This allows product to escape into the air before the bag is fully sealed.

In addition to sealing-at-the-spout capabilities, also available are valve bag packaging machines that reside in dust-proof enclosures, which provide secondary dust containment to increase plant cleanliness and reduce dust explosion zones. Valve bag

Alan Arbotante is a sales manager at Haver & Boecker Australia (www. haveraustralia.com.au), a wholly owned subsidiary of German-based Haver & Boecker (www.haverboecker. com), developer and manufacturer of processing and packing technology for the minerals, chemicals and building materials industries. Alan has more than 20 years of sales experience with expertise in material handling, weighing, and filling and classification technology. Alan is committed to providing innovative solutions of diversified packing machines and bulk handling systems to various industrial manufacturers throughout Australia, New Zealand, Oceania and Papua New Guinea.

logisticsmagazine.com.au | 29

Feature

packaging machines in dust-proof enclosures also prevent contaminants from entering packaging during filling.

Sealing advancements Some of the earliest valve bags were selfsealing. Self-sealing bags are held closed by the force of the product in the bag, but they do not provide a food-grade seal. Today, the most advanced sealing process for valve bags is ultrasonic sealing, which creates a hermetic seal that prevents the flow of air and moisture into a package.

Ultrasonic sealing uses high frequency sound waves that melt the plastic film bag material by vibrating the molecules to a point where heat is generated from the inside out. Even though ultrasonic sealing produces enough heat to seal a bag, it does not generate external heat like traditional heat sealers. In fact, the seal is cool to the touch immediately after sealing. Reducing the amount of external heat that is produced during sealing reduces facility-cooling costs.

Since the seal area is smaller than open-mouth bags, an ultrasonic seal on a valve bag is also more consistent and secure than traditional seals used for open-mouth bags, such as sewn seals.

30 | Logistics&MaterialsHandling April/May 2017

The process of sewing a bag creates holes in the packaging, which allows air and vermin to enter the bag. With ultrasonic sealing, no punctures have to be made in the bag to create a seal.

Palletising and storing advancements Valve bag machines with pneumatic, vertical impeller, horizontal impeller and auger filling options provide more control over the densification and de-aeration of product, which ultimately impacts palletising and storage.

Valve bag filling results in increased product compaction by filling bags to maximum capacity.

This complete filling of a bag creates a blockshaped bag that is easier to stack and store.

Block-shaped bags are also less likely to shift during transport and are easier to move with robotic grippers. In contrast, open-mouth bags result in more freeboarding (unfilled space in the bag), which creates bags of varying shapes that are more difficult to stack and transport.

Speed advancements Valve bag filling has a reputation for being slower than open-mouth bag filling, but advancements have made valve bag filling faster than traditional

open-mouth bag filling for packaging dry bulk food materials. High-capacity multi-spout valve bag filling machines are capable of producing more than 1,600 50kg bags per hour, and more than 2,000 25kg bags per hour.

In addition, valve bag packaging machines with sealers at each spout minimise downtime.

If a sealer needs maintenance on a multi-spout machine with only one sealer, production stops completely. Sealers at each spout allow production to continue even if one sealer is offline due to maintenance. Today’s valve bag packaging machines are also capable of filling bags of a wide range of sizes between 10kg and 50kg, which reduces changeover times.

Conclusion The bag packaging process is an essential part of the value-added chain in the dry bulk food industry, especially the flour industry. The use of valve bags as a replacement for the wellknown open-mouth bags is now a more feasible option than in years prior. Only when the right packaging material is combined with optimum filling technology can food manufacturers achieve the best results in today’s competitive marketplace.

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Logistics & Materials Handling provides feature-driven content, news and product information specifically targeted to service the information needs of senior and operational managers in the Australian materials handling, logistics and supply chain management industries. We have the latest products and services from manufacturers and suppliers to the LMH industry. We also have feature stories that cover all aspects of LMH – from up-coming trends through to insights as to how you can streamline your processes.

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Advertorial

Rewriting the rules of inkjet When looking for a commercial inkjet solution, quality, reliability and cost are key considerations. According to the labeling and coding experts at insignia, Domino’s new Ax-Series is the full package.

32 | Logistics&MaterialsHandling April/May 2017

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T

he new Ax-Series from Domino was developed by a multinational team of scientists and engineers from 22 countries to deliver speed and accuracy in a resilient package capable of withstanding the most demanding industrial packaging environments.

“The best way to make improvements to your product is to talk to your customers every day – so that’s what we did,” says Paul Doody, Domino Global Marketing Director. “We spent a lot of time talking to them about the needs, wants and challenges they are facing both now and in the future, and what came out of that was the need for consistent code quality – and that’s where we want to help.”

“We all know that, over time, continuous inkjets (CIJs) require fine-tuning to keep running correctly, like a car engine for example. Starting

from the ground up, our team of research scientists, engineers and designers set about reinventing the CIJ printer. We broke down all the components of CIJs and started from scratch from the smallest detail, discovering things about coding that no one ever knew,” adds Nick Plaister, CIJ Product Director, Domino.

Combining over 30 years of CIJ knowledge, Domino has rewritten the rules of coding and marking by revisiting the underlining science behind CIJ, introducing a new generation of CIJ technology.

“So now every code is the highest possible quality which means fewer rejects, less downtime and improved operator efficiencies,” adds Paul.

“CIJ remains the coding solution of choice across many markets and industries, but we saw the opportunity to rethink three fundamental elements of the technology to deliver measurable benefits for customers and change the way CIJ is perceived.”

The company says that three ‘pillars’ of innovation have been incorporated into the Ax-Series: the ‘i-Pulse’ print head and inks, the ‘i-Techx’ electronics and software platform and Domino Design – a new approach to total product design to maximise productivity and ease of operation.

i-Pulse Domino says that the new i-Pulse print head optimises print capability and readability and allows rapid-print, high-contrast, durable messages and multiple lines at the fastest possible speeds, delivering advanced droplet accuracy and perfect individual ink-drop formation. It also reportedly achieves consistent code quality with multiple lines of data and higher resolution messages at faster print speeds than ever before, without compromising overall equipment efficiency (OEE).

A newly introduced range of i-Pulse inks have been developed to adhere to any surface – even after the toughest of post-print processes. They are recommended for applications such as retort (sterilisation) processes, frozen food applications and returnable glass bottle processes. The range also features new fast-drying ketone-free inks for flexible food packaging applications.

i-Techx i-Techx, Domino’s new electronics and software platform, has been designed from the ground up to be industry 4.0-ready and eliminate coding errors by enabling the smooth integration of the Ax-Series into existing production lines.

The i-Techx also supports a variety of standard factory automation communication protocols such as PACK-ML and OPC-UA and enables serialisation and other unique item coding applications on fast production lines.

An intuitive multilingual user-interface enables operators to customise the touchscreen format and ensure easy operation is maintained.

As a result, Domino adds, i-Techx’ scores on the System Usability Scale are comparable to smartphones.

Domino Design Domino’s vision for the Ax-series was to create a product that fulfilled market requirements and overcame its customers’ current challenges.

From their findings, the company adopted a holistic design approach, ‘Domino Design’ – a step change on the current generation of CIJ systems in the market – to deliver printers that are robust, reliable and easy to use in harsh environments.

An IP66-sealed electronics enclosure and unique plenum air-cooling system make the Ax350i and Ax550i suitable for wash down conditions, while guaranteeing protection against steam and contaminants. For the harshest of production environments, the Ax550i is supplied in a marine-grade stainless steel cabinet.

Domino Design minimises operator invention and encourages tool-free operator maintenance, says Paul, measurably reducing cost of ownership. The three-stage solvent recovery system with active gutter control minimises solvent consumption, while the thermally engineered cabinet reduces heat build-up, extending component life. In addition, the service-free ITM can be replaced without tools or specialist skills, enabling continuous production with optimum line availability.

The Ax-Series will be launched for the Australian market by insignia at AUSPACK, stand 410. logisticsmagazine.com.au | 33

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Competitive advantage The logistics industry is rapidly evolving, both in Australia and around the world. With today’s globalised supply chains, there are more opportunities than ever, but there’s also far more complexity than ever before.

Story by Jessica Seittenranta

N

ew disruptive technologies are constantly changing the landscape, and with global giants moving in, Australian companies need to find new ways to compete. So how do you get ahead during a period of change?

More and more businesses are applying specialised continuous improvement programs and lean methods, typically found in manufacturing, across all areas of their supply chains. Businesses are learning to achieve more with less, and it’s working.

However, smaller companies in particular often rely on bulk purchase discounts to save on costs, which can be counter-intuitive to lean efforts.

One of the key lean methods, ‘Eight Wastes’, involves removing waste from processes – it’s one of the most well known areas of the lean philosophy, and it identifies both physical and non-tangible types of waste.

One of the eight – and one particularly key to supply chain management – is inventory, identifying any stored materials or finished goods as waste.

Buying in bulk to achieve cost savings often

Jack Winson, CEO, Winson Group.

34 | Logistics&MaterialsHandling April/May 2017

means businesses are taking up valuable storage space with excess stock, or goods are eventually left unsold or unused.

But now, packaging and industrial supplies company Signet has come up with a new, innovative pricing initiative that will help businesses eliminate this waste.

Australian-owned Signet has been working with customers and is delivering genuine savings through its new ‘RedLine Savers’ pricing initiative. This offers savings across a wide range of products, locked in at the lowest available price, where normally a bulk purchase would be required to receive a discount.

Small- and medium-sized businesses in particular will benefit from this initiative, as they can order in quantities which suit their own logistics requirements, at the discounted price. Smaller customers needing to rely heavily on strategic forecasting and just-intime ordering will also have no disadvantage over a larger customer who is able to purchase in bulk.

Jack Winson, CEO of Signet parent company, Winson Group, says he hopes to help all customers be more competitive in their businesses.

“This initiative takes a lot of the hassle out of the purchasing for our customers,” he says. “If they buy RedLine Savers from Signet, they know we have done the hard work for them.

“They can be sure they are getting quality product at the best price – I think this really helps save time so customers can put effort into other parts of their businesses.”

As the industrial landscape in Australia continues to evolve, initiatives like Signet’s RedLine Savers will help Australian businesses stay on top of their logistics and, as far as Signet is concerned, the local economy is worth investing in.

The business was recently inducted into Family Business Australia’s Hall of Fame (QLD) in recognition of the Winson Group’s achievements as a business, and its contributions to Australia’s economy, culture, and community.

Last year, Signet invested in a state-of-the-art plastics extruder, bringing the manufacture of more products back onshore. Along with Signet’s existing line of inks, marking paints and plastics

Plastics extruder at Signet’s production facility in Brisbane.

which are produced on-site in Brisbane, more jobs are being kept in Australia.

Keeping more of the supply chain close to home is a win for customers as well, with lead times down. Many of the raw materials used are also sourced locally, meaning there’s a reduced risk of delays, or of containers getting lost or damaged in transit.

For any Australian businesses looking to improve their supply chain management, these initiatives are good news. Despite all the challenges that come with a changing industry, it’s still possible to get ahead – and stay there.

In her time working alongside the packaging experts and continuous improvement team at Signet (signet.com. au), Jessica Seittenranta has observed and written knowledgeably about the biggest trends impacting the supply chain industry.

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