MHD Jun 2021

JUNE 2021

BEHIND YOU ALL THE WAY

Conquest Equipment and its service-minded approach

ELEGANT AND EFFICIENT

A revolutionary new gear and motor unit

WARGAMING YOUR WAREHOUSE

How 3D simulation is changing the game

COVER STORY

CHANGE & TRANSFORM ReImagine

Körber’s Elevate APAC 2021 conference and the post pandemic supply chain

ReImagine 31 August – 3 September 2021

Elevate APAC is coming soon Be inspired, embrace innovation, value knowledge, get networking and charge ahead as an agent of change and transformation.

koerber-supplychain.com

MHD FROM THE EDITOR

MHD Supply Chain Solutions CONTACT MHD Supply Chain Solutions is published by Prime Creative Media 11-15 Buckhurst Street, South Melbourne VIC 3205 Telephone: (+61) 03 9690 8766 Website: www.primecreative.com.au

THE TEAM CEO: John Murphy Publisher: Christine Clancy Group Managing Editor: Sarah Baker Assistant Editor: Edward Cranswick Business Development Manager: Beth Jarvis Design Production Manager: Michelle Weston Art Director: Blake Storey Graphic Designers: Kerry Pert, Madeline McCarty Client Success Manager: Janine Clements

FOR ADVERTISING OPTIONS Contact: Beth Jarvis beth.jarvis@primecreative.com.au

SUBSCRIBE Australian Subscription Rates (inc GST) 1yr (6 issues) for $78.00 2yrs (12 issues) for $120.00 – Saving 20% 3yrs (18 issues) for $157.50 – Saving 30% To subscribe and to view other overseas rates visit: www.mhdsupplychain.com.au or Email: subscriptions@primecreative.com.au

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT MHD Supply Chain Solutions magazine is recognised by the Australian Supply Chain Institute, the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport Australia, the Supply Chain and Logistics Association of Australia and the Singapore Logistics and Supply Chain Management Society.

ARTICLES All articles submitted for publication become the property of the publisher. The Editor reserves the right to adjust any article to conform with the magazine format.

COPYRIGHT MHD magazine is owned by Prime Creative Media.

All material in MHD is copyright and no part may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means (graphic, electronic or mechanical including information and retrieval systems) without written permission of the publisher. The Editor welcomes contributions but reserves the right to accept or reject any material.

While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information Prime Creative Media will not accept responsibility for errors or omissions or for any consequences arising from reliance on information published. The opinions expressed in MHD are not necessarily the opinions of, or endorsed by the publisher unless otherwise stated.

NO GOING BACK

I

n April, Australia Post released data showing that in the 12 months to March 2021 there had been 56.7 per cent growth in e-commerce. Given the events of the past year, such a finding is unlikely to surprise the discerning readers of MHD. After all, how else did we endure the COVID-crisis other than to go online and spend ourselves into sanity?

The question on retailers’ lips, however, is: ‘Will this last?’ Is the e-commerce spike a temporary phenomenon or here to stay?

In that same April release, Australia Post disclosed that although the rate of e-commerce growth is slowing, online participation has remained fairly stable since 2020, with roughly five million shoppers continuing to shop online each month.

Many of the experts MHD talked to for this issue are of the view that COVID-19 merely accelerated the upward trend in e-commerce, and that there’s no going back to the way things were. If they are right, we must join Microlistics’ Archival Garcia (page 40) and uTenant’s Kyle Rogers (page 21) in re-imagining our approach to warehousing, industrial property, and the whole supply chain in general.

A March survey, also conducted by Australia Post, found that one in five shoppers chose one retailer over another because they saw them as more environmentally friendly. Craig Stanford, Director of Active Supply Chains, thinks that such considerations – ethical and environmental – will come to play a bigger role in the decisions of consumers going forward (see page 54) and that the era of “Google ratings warriors” is upon us – with the buyer empowered as never before to make or break reputations with the stroke of a keyboard.

But enough speculating about the future – some companies already seem to be there. Canadian firm Avidbots (page 37) are forging ahead with a fleet of fully self-automated cleaning robots that will be putting the finishing touches on your warehouse floor while you’re still figuring out how to use the water cooler.

Meanwhile, the team over at Fuzzy LogX (page 45) are already busy creating 3D virtual warehouse simulations and game-planning for scenarios that won’t have occurred to the rest of us in 10 years’ time.

It all seems too much to keep up with, doesn’t it? Luckily, MHD is here to keep you informed. And we hope you have as much fun reading these articles as we had writing them.

Sarah Baker Managing Editor sarah.baker@primecreative.com.au

MHD Supply Chain

MHD JUNE 2021 | 3

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JUNE 2021

ISSUE #5 VOLUME 51

THIS ISSUE 10

COVER STORY

10 Korber brings Elevate Conference to APAC Region

SUPPLY CHAIN 15 The ship that broke the camel’s back 40 Agility central to e-commerce: Microlistics 49 Esker on how order management can boost your supply chain

INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY 21 Industrial property vs the rise in

COVER STORY

e-commerce: uTenant 25 CBRE on the laws of attraction 52 Flinders Port Holdings is connecting South Australia to the world

MATERIALS HANDLING 28 Making labels talk with GS1’s Scan4Transport standards 42 Toyota revolutionises the potato industry MHD SUPPLY CHAIN SOLUTIONS

®

50 When two becomes one with Nord Drivesystems

JUNE 2021

JUNE 2021

31

innovation

networking

evolve

transformation conference

BEHIND YOU ALL THE WAY

reimagined

ELEGANT AND EFFICIENT

A revolutionary new gear and motor unit

inspired

oLink® 7’’ Touch Display

ReImagine

e-commerce 31 A flexible, service-minded approach to 35 Bringing automation to the next level

digital

virtual

WARGAMING YOUR WAREHOUSE

How 3D simulation is changing the game

18 BPS is helping SMEs on their journey to

cleaning contracts with Conquest

APAC

Conquest Equipment and its service-minded approach

WAREHOUSING

with unit-level data from Cubiscan

COVER STORY

CHANGE & TRANSFORM

37 Avidbots and autonomous cleaning robots at their best

Körber’s Elevate APAC 2021 conference and the post pandemic supply chain

45 Fuzzy LogX and simulation wargaming

90 or visit www.crown.com

DEPARTMENTS AND REGULARS ON THE COVER

6 Industry news

Korber is bringing the Elevate

54 IOT Trends

conference to the APAC region,

56 Property Focus

offering a unique opportunity to connect with the region’s leading individuals and organisations.

50

58 Associations 64 Products 66 People on the Move MHD JUNE 2021 | 5

MHD NEWS

German supermarket Kaufland finishes mega-DC in Victoria

G

erman supermarket giant Kaufland has completed construction of the biggest distribution centre in Australia to date.

The 100,000m2 facility, located

The 100,000m2 facility is located in Mickleham in Melbourne’s North.

in Mickleham in Melbourne’s North, was completed by Vaughan Constructions in March.

The DC includes 107,000m2 of concrete hardstand, 168 recessed loading docks, 73,200m2 of warehousing, a 10,500m2 freezer, a 4000m2 office and entry building, 3700m2 of ancillary buildings and a 1000m2 social building on the 28-hectare site.

Eric Law, Director at Vaughan, says the team had truly enjoyed working side by side with the Kaufland team to deliver Vaughan’s biggest project ever.

“Together we have achieved an amazing feat in the design and construction of a world-class facility – currently the largest in Australia

– which encompasses the best of German specifications and Australian design,” he says.

Patrick Bezner, Director Construction and Planning at Kaufland Australia says it was their teamwork that delivered such fantastic results.

The building was sold at an undisclosed price to an Australian institutional investor and fully leased to a local transport and distribution company.

The DC will not be Australia’s largest at the end of the year, when Amazon’s anticipated robotics fulfilment centre in Western Sydney is set to be complete. It will span 200,000 sqm across four levels – the equivalent of Chadstone Shopping Centre.

Woolworths proposes customer fulfilment centre

W

oolworths has announced plans to construct a new automated customer fulfilment centre (CFC) in New South Wales.

The centre will be built in Auburn, with the development application subject to the NSW Department of Planning Approval.

The proposed centre will be 22,000 sqm in size and will support 250 full time jobs, as well as around 440 jobs during the centre’s construction.

The construction will occur in partnership with Knapp, who will support Woolworth’s home deliveries capacity.

With Knapp’s assistance, Woolworths will enable 50,000 home deliveries for customers, following Woolworths reporting a 92 per cent increase in e-commerce sales between July and December last year.

Amanda Bardwell, WooliesX Managing Director, says shoppers are changing the way they receive their grocery items.

“As we look ahead, we expect more 6 | MHD JUNE 2021

Woolworths reported a 92 per cent increase in e-commerce sales between July and December last year. The new automated fulfillment centre will help keep up with demand. and more customers will turn to the ease and convenience of home delivery to reclaim time in their busy lives,” Amanda says.

“To keep pace with the demand, we need to innovate with new technology to boost capacity and ensure we’re continuing to offer the best possible online grocery experience.”

Rudolf Hansl, Knapp Vice President of Food Retail Solutions,

says the collaboration between Knapp and Woolworths will greatly benefit customers.

“Our proven technologies enable fast and efficient customer order fulfilment.

We’re very pleased to partner with Woolworths and look forward to working together for years to come,” he says.

Construction on the centre is expected to commence in 2021, ahead of the centre’s planned launch by 2024.

Tim Symons Packaging Manager, Tooheys

Supply Chain of the Future Dematic AGVs help keep the beer flowing at Tooheys Brewery.

When Lion Beer Australia started thinking about what its supply chain of the future might look like, they knew they needed to improve productivity to keep up with demand, and adopt processes and technologies that would deliver optimum services for Lion’s people, brands, production facilities and suppliers.

The fleet of Dematic AGVs at Tooheys are helping achieve just that — giving Lion dependable seamless performance for its end-of-line process, keeping product moving accurately and safely to the end consumer.

See the video and read the full story at Dematic.com/lionbeer

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MHD NEWS

Toll Group sells Global Express business to Allegro Funds Under the terms of the sale, Allegro will operate the Global Express business under the Toll brand for a two-year transitional period, when it will then be renamed.

T

oll Group is selling its Global Express business to private equity fund manager Allegro Funds.

Allegro has obtained $500 million in funding to complete the separation and transformation of the business, which it believes will play a crucial role in the future of e-commerce and the economic recovery of Australia after COVID-19.

The Global Express business provides express parcel, freight delivery and domestic forwarding services in Australia, and transport and contract logistics services in New Zealand.

John Mullen, Chairman at Toll 8 | MHD JUNE 2021

says the agreement was consistent with Toll’s strategy to focus on its Asia-Pacific logistics strengths and Allegro’s continued investment in Australian companies.

“We have spent the last three years transforming and strengthening Global Express and today the business is a market leader. I am confident that under Allegro’s ownership, Global Express will have the support and focus it needs to reach its full potential,” he says.

“The divestment is consistent with Toll’s strategy to focus on being a pre-eminent Asia-Pacific logistics provider through its core businesses in contract logistics

and freight forwarding.”

Adrian Loader, Founding Partner at Allegro and chair of the soon-tobe new company says the team was looking forward to working with management and all stakeholders to drive the business forward.

“We are excited about the future potential for Global Express and are committing $500 million in funding to continue the business’ transformation and support its growth over the long term,” he says.

“The business has faced challenges, but we are excited by the opportunity ahead and have great confidence that Toll Global Express can realise its full potential.

“Toll Global Express has high quality assets, is number one or two in its core market segments and will be supported by strong local management.”

Adrian says the first order of business to transform the new acquisition would be to listen to the company’s existing customers, employees and partners.

“We are acutely aware that the business plays a vitally important role for its stakeholders across both sides of the Tasman, and on both sides of Bass Strait,” he says.

“We are confident that with strong local focused management the business can achieve operational and financial improvement at the same time as enhancing the experience for customers.”

Toll Group and Allegro are committed to ensuring the transition is seamless for customers and that service standards are upheld throughout the transition.

Under the terms of the sale, Allegro will operate the Global Express business under the Toll brand for a two-year transitional period, when it will then be renamed.

The sale is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions with the transaction targeted for completion by 30 June.

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MHD COVER STORY

KÖRBER BRINGS ELEVATE CONFERENCE TO APAC REGION Calling all supply chain, distribution, logistics, e-commerce and retail professionals – Elevate APAC is here. Offering a unique opportunity to connect, network and share supply chain technology transformation journeys with some of the region’s leading individuals and organisations, the inaugural Körber Elevate APAC 2021 is the must-attend supply chain event of the year.

K

örber Supply Chain has re-imagined its iconic Elevate conference as a hybrid in-person and virtual event in the Asia Pacific region for August – September this year.

As the team charges ahead with planning this must-attend supply chain, technology and retail event – MHD finds out more about the who, what, when, where and why of the highly anticipated industry networking and awards conference of 2021.

Joe Couto, CEO Asia Pacific, Africa & Latin America at Körber Supply Chain Software.

10 | MHD JUNE 2021

WHY HOST A REGIONAL ELEVATE? Last September, Cohesio Group – one of the region’s most prominent supply chain and technology solutions providers – merged with eleven of the world’s top supply chain technology providers from around the world to become Körber.

Highjump, a US-based leading provider of software solutions for the warehouse, who was also part of this rebrand, historically held its Elevate conference once a year.

An action-packed unmissable event that offered supply chain professionals unparalleled educational training, networking opportunities, panel discussions and brainstorming sessions, this year will see Elevate re-emerge as a multiregion event.

Körber has celebrated several major project wins in the Asia Pacific region over the past 12 months and Elevate offers an opportunity for customers and partners to come together to celebrate this success and explore more opportunities to work together and drive the industry forward.

Some highlights for Körber in Australia include deploying more than 100 Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) for Catch.com.au, delivering an award-winning solution to provide Chemist Warehouse with same-day delivery, as well as an Australian-first in the deployment of Android Voice picking across Kmart’s fulfilment operations.

“We have achieved so much as one Körber - a regional Elevate will celebrate the learnings from our achievements and bring supply chain professionals together to learn, discuss and evaluate critical innovation pathways for the future. It will deliver as much a learning platform for professionals as it will be a celebration of people and technology that support the backbone of the supply chain,” Nishan Wijemanne, Managing Director APAC and Global Leader for AMR at Körber Supply Chain says.

WHAT IS ELEVATE APAC? Elevate will inspire ambition, encourage innovation and develop knowledge in the ever-changing and challenging sector of supply chain.

Offering unrivalled networking opportunities, Körber Elevate APAC will see some of the industry’s leading experts and organisations, as well as Körber’s leadership team, share their transformation journeys and best practice on how to conquer supply chain complexity.

Körber Elevate APAC will serve as an agent of change and transformation.

Reimagined in a virtual format, this year’s Elevate is set to feature maximum engagement and participation and will emerge as the must-attend event of the year in the APAC region.

The inaugural Körber Elevate APAC will have a special focus on post pandemic supply chain

MHD COVER STORY

Chad Collins, CEO of Körber Supply Chain will present the executive keynote.

excellence, flexible and scalable automation technology, digitising supply chains - and trends that are rapidly penetrating supply chain operations as well as a special focus on sustainability, career pathways and diversity in supply chain industry.

Körber, famously touted as the “home for entrepreneurs”, will be true to its name with Innovation Hackathons as well as entrepreneurship and interpreneurship think-tanks that will be enjoyed by participants and will form a generous portion of Körber Elevate APAC’s agenda.

Coupled with leadership series and executive round tables, Elevate APAC will aim to define the success factors for today’s supply chain leaders.

Virtual DC tours will be also be a key focus and attendees will be able to enjoy an immersive tour of some of Australia’s most notable distribution centres (DCs).

These DCs have recently taken the leap of innovation and transformation

“

Körber Elevate APAC will serve as an agent of change and transformation.

Reimagined in a virtual format, this year’s Elevate is set to feature maximum engagement and participation.

”

and this rare opportunity will allow a unique and first-hand experience of the supply chain operations in highperforming DCs. Elevate APAC will feature a well-curated line-up of esteemed speakers. The full line-up is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

WHEN AND WHERE WILL ELEVATE APAC TAKE PLACE? Elevate APAC will take place 31 August to 3 September. All sessions will be offered virtually and there will also be a number of physical events including an awards and network event in Melbourne.

The inaugural Körber elevate will end with the Körber gala awards and networking event in Melbourne, celebrating the winners of outstanding achievements within Körber’s customer and partner ecosystem as well as individual achievements by professionals and achievements by leading women in supply chain and tech.

MHD JUNE 2021 | 11

MHD COVER STORY

Nishan Wijemanne — Managing Director APAC at Körber Supply Chain Software will present a regional keynote and lead key panel discussions.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND ELEVATE APAC? Ideal for every professional that is passionate about technology, Elevate APAC offers a platform for supply chain, distribution, logistics and transport professionals, through to retail operations and e-commerce as well as emerging graduates, to learn, develop and network.

Special keynotes and virtual networking parties will include stories from some of the thought leaders and entrepreneurs of our decade, providing a chance to reflect on a truly transformative period for the supply chain.

Körber Elevate APAC will end with a gala awards and networking event in Melbourne celebrating winners of outstanding achievements within Körber’s customer and partner ecosystem as well as individual achievements by professionals and women in supply chain and tech.

Attendees will be able to gain exclusive details about key solution and product updates along with hearing keynotes from Chad Collins, CEO of Körber Supply Chain and Joe 12 | MHD JUNE 2021

Couto, CEO of Africa, Asia Pacific & Latin America as well as a keynote and panel sessions by Nishan Wijemanne – Managing Director of Körber Supply Chain Software APAC and Global Leader for AMR Solutions.

“We have re-imagined our iconic Elevate conference to suit the new world we live in,” says Joe Couto, CEO Asia Pacific, Africa & Latin America at Körber Supply Chain. “As a virtual event we can broaden the experience and make the conference available to more members of your team than ever before. After the success of Elevate North America, Elevate APAC is set to feature the latest developments in one of our fastest growing regions.”

Chad Collins, CEO of Körber Supply Chain says: “As a virtual event you can immerse yourself in live presentations and learn from customers who share the same challenges and opportunities as you. The past 12 months have been challenging for everyone. The pandemic tested business models and supply chains throughout the world

and the impact of COVID-19 on our supply chains is now permanent.

Elevate APAC will provide you with the tools you need to re-imagine your supply chain today and well into the future.” ■ For more information, and to register scan the QR code below or email marketing.sc.mel@koerbersupplychain.com.

MHD COVER STORY

A FULL LINE-UP OF PANEL SPEAKERS AND KEYNOTE SPEAKERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED IN THE COMING WEEKS. SUPPLY CHAIN AND RETAIL PROFESSIONALS ALREADY CONFIRMED FOR KÖRBER ELEVATE APAC INCLUDE: GABBY LEIBOVICH – CO-FOUNDER CATCH. COM.AU/SCOOPON/EATNOW/MENULOG AND AUTHOR OF CATCHOFTHEDECADE.COM

RICHARD WHETTON —HEAD OF FULFILMENT AT CATCH.COM.AU

Gabby Leibovich built catch.com.au from his garage in 2006 into a $230 million company that was acquired by Wesfarmers in 2019. Gabby co-founded Eatnow.com.au – an online food delivery service which merged with Menulog in early 2015, and was consequently sold to The Just Eat Group for $855m. He also co-founded CoScoopon.com.au, a daily deals website which has now merged with the Lux Group. He will bring his unique e-commerce insights to Elevate APAC.

Richard is an experienced supply chain and operations professional with a demonstrated history of working in the retail industry.

As Head of Fulfilment for Catch.com.au he is responsible for all distribution and fulfilment activities for the group, including DC operation, 3PL operations and freight. Richard played a critical role in the deployment of more than 100 Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) at the leading e-commerce retailer’s warehouse in Truganina, Melbourne. Richard will share insights as Head of Fulfilment for one of Australia’s leading e-commerce retailers.

MARIE VARRASSO — HEAD OF SUPPLY CHAIN OPERATIONS AT OFFICEWORKS

NATHAN NARAYANAN – GENERAL MANAGER AT GALIPO FOODS

Marie Varrasso is a passionate Supply Chain Director with an innate belief in putting the customer at the centre of all supply chain processes while focussing on “safety first”, innovation, continuous improvement and collaborative partnerships with all stakeholders. Marie’s impressive career spans across multiple industries including fashion retail, publishing and media. Marie recently joined Officeworks as Head of Supply Chain Operations. Marie is a well-known, enthusiastic leader who is sure to inspire Elevate attendees.

Nathan Narayanan has worked for Galipo Foods for 12 years. In his current role as General Manager, Nathan leads the $120m food service distributor and manages more than 160 staff members at its fulfilment centre in Adelaide.

Nathan played a critical role in the deployment of AMRs across Galipo’s chilled operations. This project was a world-first and as a true innovator Nathan will be a great addition to the Elevate conference as he discusses all things automation in a cold-storage environment.

BRETT KELLY — GENERAL MANAGER SUPPLY CHAIN AT OFFICEWORKS

TOM WEINMANN —HEAD OF SUPPLY CHAIN AT OFFICEWORKS

Brett Kelly is General Manager, Supply Chain at Officeworks. Brett has more than 20 years’ experience in supply chain and operations.

Working in leadership roles for large organisations such as Woolworths and Linfox, Brett has been at Officeworks for nearly 10 years. As one of the nation’s most loved retailers, Officeworks has experienced phenomenal growth over the past year. Brett will share insights into the leading retailer’s omnichannel offering and growth.

JACKIE ROBB – CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AT CHEMIST WAREHOUSE

Jackie Robb is an award-winning global C-suite leader. She’s spent more than 20 years in the Australian pharmaceutical industry, and held various C-suite roles in Finance, IT, and Supply Chain at Sigma which led to a VP role in Supply Chain at Staples Australia. In 2018, Jackie returned to Australia to join Chemist Warehouse as their COO. She is also currently the Director of Global Women Connect, a not-for-profit organisation that provides a platform for professional women to access mentors for their development and career needs.

Tom Weinmann is a progressive, flexible and strategically focused leader with more than 18 years logistics and supply chain management experience. Tom has been with Officeworks for more than nine years and most recently has taken up the position of Head of Supply Chain. Tom’s previous roles include Logistics Manager for Pacific Brands and Distribution Manager for Adidas at Linfox. As a passionate, dynamic and committed supply chain professional Tom will be sharing insights from Officeworks’ supply chain people and their journey.

KARI BANICK – GENERAL MANAGER AT LINFOX

Kari Banick is an experienced leader in supply chain strategy. Most recently awarded a Supply Chain Industry SMART award for business continuity execution, Kari is currently General Manager for Linfox. Well versed in supply chain automation with state of the art solutions in warehousing, Kari has more than 20 years’ experience in supply chain and operations and has held a number of senior roles, including as National General Manager of Logistics for Metcash. As GM of Linfox, one of Australia’s largest and most respected 3PLs, Kari has great insight to share with delegates at Elevate APAC.

MHD JUNE 2021 | 13

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MHD SUPPLY CHAIN

THE SHIP THAT BROKE THE CAMEL’S BACK Joachim Schaut, Vice President Intercontinental Supply Chain Solutions for DB Schenker, speaks to MHD about how the Ever Given’s infamous blockage of the Suez Canal was just the final straw in an already stretched supply chain, and how the past year’s challenges will shape the future of global freight.

T

he year 2021 was already set to be a challenging one for global freight.

As Joachim Schaut, Vice President Intercontinental Supply Chain Solutions for DB Schenker, tells MHD, supply chains at the start of the year were already being pushed to the limits. COVID-19 had led to an unexpected increase in consumer demand, which had ripple effects on the logistics industry.

“It was already a very tense situation in the ocean and freight market,” he says. “As you know, airfreight capacity was already an issue, with so many passenger planes grounded. Almost every ship on the planet was deployed, and there was already a container shortage in place.”

It was in this tense situation that the world woke up on 23 March 2021 to almost comical images of one of the world’s largest container ships ever built grounded at both ends in

the Suez Canal. In high winds and a dust storm, the ship, Ever Given, lost its ability to steer, causing it to move sideways, with the bow wedged on one bank of the canal and the stern almost touching the other.

Joachim says that for the global supply chain, however, this was far from comical for an already stretched logistics industry.

“The Suez blockage added an additional massive disruption, with so much global trade going through the canal,” he says. “Ships had to detour around Africa, others were stuck for a week in a traffic jam. All of this sucked up the logistics industry’s capacities, of both space and equipment.”

While high tides and an army of tug boats helped free the Ever Given on 29 March, Joachim says the crisis is far from over, and is only just starting to be felt in the supply chain. At the time of our interview (late April) he’s been told that the view at ports in Europe

A 3D illustration of the Ever Given cargo ship that blocked the world’s busiest waterway, the Suez Canal.

Joachim Schaut, VP Intercontinental Supply Chain Solutions for DB Schenker. and the United States is of ships waiting to be unloaded.

“We are now in a phase where the first ripple effects are being felt,” he says. “It’s causing massive congestion everywhere, it’s drawing out the container capacity. Containers are now on ships waiting to be unloaded, or on yards waiting to be transported.”

And while the ships full of containers wait around, they can’t be sent back to Asia to be filled once more. Joachim points to some estimates that up to 20 per cent of container capacity across the planet is being eaten up as a result of the crisis, all at a time when capacity was already super tight.

“We are seeing record bookings among our customers. The ripple effects will only be fully visible in the next four to 12 weeks. I’m afraid the biggest problems are yet to come and it will get worse. We will probably remain in this situation for the rest of the year.”

MHD JUNE 2021 | 15

MHD SUPPLY CHAIN

With the global freight industry so stretched, the power of negotiation has shifted to shipping companies.

WHERE TO FROM HERE? Fortunately, Joachim says, there is much that can be learned from the challenges the logistics industry has faced this year.

One aspect is the forced lesson learned on how to manage with lower levels of inventory. In this space, Joachim says it’s crucial for companies to have full visibility.

“If you have a lot of inventory in the supply chain, it does not matter if you know where all your products really are and what the status is, you have a buffer in the supply chain. But nearly all that buffer right now is gone,” says Joachim.

“You need to manage now with a focus on visibility.”

Joachim explains that at DB Schenker, the team uses different technologies, an important one being Infor, that is helpful for consumer retail companies to track both the status and levels of their inventory.

“It drives visibility right down to the container level, and when it comes to inventory, it goes right down to a single level of product,” he says.

With this level of visibility, the technology is able to offer a predicted time of arrival. He says that currently reliability in trans-pacific trade is probably running at just 10-12 per cent.

This means that an astounding 88-90 per cent of ships are arriving late, with the average delay currently sitting at 12 days.

“This is really massive,” he says. “But with a dynamic model like predictive ETAs, we can constantly change the information for our customers. This is vital in helping our customers align their distribution channels, so that we can connect them with the inbound as well.”

He says that customers using the Infor technology have visibility instantly on 16 | MHD JUNE 2021

what is happening. When the Ever Given was grounded, they were able to see on a map, connected in real time, what containers they had on their way to Suez, which ones were stuck in the traffic jam and which ones were going around Africa.

“Logistics managers could just open up the application, refresh it, and see them on a map,” he says. “Companies that didn’t go digital had to call their freight forwarders, find out about their shipments, and if there were any changes the next day, they had to do the exercise all over again. From an efficiency point of view, the difference is massive. It didn’t help to unblock the Suez Canal any earlier, but at least if you had more information, you knew where your containers were, and you could calculate the delay.”

In addition to highlighting the need for better visibility, Joachim says, the past crisis has cemented a fundamental shift in power when it comes to logistics, with freight companies now holding the balance of power as demand has outpaced supply.

“If you look at the past 20 years, shipping was characterised by overcapacity. It was a procurement game, where companies would go out to tender, look at the different bids, and save money by choosing the cheapest option.

Everyone had more capacity than demand back then,” says Joachim. “Now it’s still about controlling costs, but it’s end-toend costs, it’s a matter of efficiency, not just finding the cheapest suppliers. You want to look at working capital reduction and time to market. When you have better visibility, you can look at alternatives.”

In addition to better understanding options, Joachim says companies need to learn to better court their shipping

companies to get favourable terms. He says if a company wants their cargo moving regularly, they need to supply a steady stream of products to their ships.

No longer can you supply 100 containers one week, 50 the next, maybe none some week, then 200 another. Instead, you need to even out shipping to 100 containers per week, to ensure you are a good, reliable client.

“You need to change your planning approach, to get better forecasts and better visibility before that cargo is loaded,” says Joachim. “For all this, you need technology.”

Better visibility and shifting powers aren’t the only major changes Joachim is seeing in the logistics industry. He says concerns about sustainability, although muffled during the pandemic, have certainly not gone away.

“Once all this firefighting is done, sustainability will be on all supply chain managers agendas,” he says. “And it’s not just about compensating for carbon emissions. People don’t believe any more that you can just plant a couple of trees to get out of emitting CO2.”

DB Schenker, Joachim says, has been leading the pack in this regard. He points to the company’s first carbon neutral flight that travels weekly from Frankfurt to Shanghai. He notes that while it’s just one flight a week, it’s a start towards a sustainable future.

“The situation these days is getting a lot more complex,” he says. “Companies need to be resilient, they need to be sustainable, and they need to monitor costs. We need to balance complexity without putting too much investment in our own teams, because a lot of companies can’t afford that. It’s through technology that we need to make these efficiency gains.”

Joachim urges companies to make these investments, because he says that despite all these challenges, the global supply chain is here to stay. While there may some murmuring of less global trade following this crisis, his voice is not among them. The only lesson he sees is the need to apply technology to ensure a resilient approach to a complex global supply chain.

“I don’t see global trade activities slowing down,” he says. “In terms of the supply chain and production, there are a lot of advantages in global trade.

You just can’t manage things with excel files anymore.” ■

Then

Now

Keep up.

For warehousing, logistics & industrial property solutions, visit www.utenant.com.au

MHD WAREHOUSING

HELPING SMES ON THEIR JOURNEY TO E-COMMERCE BPS Global Managing Partner Malcolm Druce tells MHD about the acquisition of DCL Solutions, bringing in Bruce Drayton and his team’s expertise in a match made in automated heaven.

I

t can be an awkward thing to praise someone in their presence, but when MHD met up with Malcolm Druce and Bruce Drayton to talk about their new partnership, Malcolm had little choice but to boast about why BPS Global made the decision to acquire Bruce and his team.

“I have to say this while he’s listening, he’s one of the top five designers of DCs in Australia,” Malcolm tells MHD, as Bruce sits by. “He has designed across a wide range of industries over the years and has delivered some really fantastic sheds. At BPS we have our own designers in Hong Kong, and our team in Australia that does the analysis, validation, and technology solutions. Bruce really rounds out our offering with someone who is recognised as a gun in his field. He’s very solution focused, understands the way of the market, and fits so well into what BPS is doing.”

Malcolm adds that it’s Bruce’s method as an integrator and his focus on a stepped approach that fits perfectly with BPS’s niche in supporting organisations in their move to e-commerce and along their path to growth.

“I’ve always worked on the journey,” Bruce jumps in. “I see our ability at BPS to continue with that philosophy, to help companies on that journey. If a $30 million company wants to get to $100 million in three years, it’s pretty difficult to present to them a $30 million solution. Instead, we see how we can chip away at it. Maybe it’s just a few pieces of equipment at a time, then you build up around your growth.”

It’s an approach that’s much in demand, as companies grapple with how to handle the vast changes being introduced to DCs on the back 18 | MHD JUNE 2021

Bruce Drayton is bringing his team and expertise to BPS Global. of e-commerce. Bruce has seen these changes first hand, having worked with major publishers and electronics distributors. E-commerce has transformed their business models, and as a result, required a transformation of their DCs. “The effects of e-commerce on those businesses have been quite dramatic,” says Bruce. “When you are dealing with store replenishment, you are dealing with an order profile that is quite a straightforward pick task. You have multiple line items with multiple units per line item, and you’re able to package those up and ship them out pretty easily - even if you have multiple carriers. It’s all relatively easy compared to e-commerce, where order profiles are very small, the volume of orders is huge, and the service promise to end consumers is paramount.”

Bruce says the DCs used for these traditional retail models are now facing big challenges and require a total transformation.

“For the book industry, you are going from multiple lines and units per order, to now just 1.1 lines per order and a single unit in that order. One online retailer we are working with still has some orders pop in with large order units, but they are rare. If you want to push 60,000 units a day out the door, you are individually ticking off around 55,000 orders.”

To make matters even more challenging, Bruce notes, customers are now expecting instant despatch on these orders.

“You compound that level of complexity with customer expectations,” says Bruce. “These days if they put an order in at 4pm, you can’t pick it the next day, then despatch it on another.

People want it shipped the same day. It’s a level of complexity that traditional DCs can’t really cater for.”

The challenge now for companies is how to tackle the journey, and transform their DCs in a sustainable, affordable manner. This is where BPS and Bruce can offer their expertise in

MHD WAREHOUSING making that crucial transition.

“We like to work with smaller startups and SMEs, it’s where we prefer to play,” says Malcolm. “Sure, we’ll speak to the larger organisations, but the risk is that the very large projects may keep us out of the market for a long period of time. We are perfectly suited to burgeoning e-commerce companies, and companies on strong growth paths.”

Because e-commerce DCs are all about speed, Malcolm says the key is to find every efficiency in the pick and pack process. In its designs, BPS looks to dramatically reduce touch points, both inbound and outbound. It also looks to reduce staff travel time.

“A lot of businesses are simply running out of time. Even running at 24 hours a day, they can’t fulfill all their orders,” says Malcolm. “Or they reach that point of diminishing returns on labour. You get to the point where you can’t keep throwing more labour at a problem.”

It’s at this point when technology needs to come in.

“This is where we need a push to increase automation,” says Malcolm.

“There is now a broad range of possible solutions and technologies in the market to provide flexible options. It’s all about getting the goods to the people on the floor and reducing their travel time to speed up the velocity of product movement through a facility.”

Bruce notes that SMEs today can look at automated technology a lot earlier than they could previously, as prices have come down remarkably.

“Compared to 10 years ago, mobile robot costs have dropped dramatically,” says Bruce. “All the component parts that go into making those machines work are coming down in cost, and getting better at integrating with other systems and technologies” Bruce says that it’s not just labour costs that are driving automation. He says many DCs simply can’t fit enough people in them to fulfill the orders required. Plus, these robots do a lot of work that people simply don’t want to do, or that isn’t safe for them to do.

“Many people don’t want to lift heavy boxes anymore,” he says. “If you look at the rise of labour cost, the reduced cost

of equipment, the improvements you can get from AI, and the desire for increased consumption, we can see that the rise of the robots is upon us. We’ve been talking about it for a while in the industry. It is prevalent now for smaller businesses to look at robotics.

“You need to step changes for a business,” says Bruce. “With robot systems you can pick them up and move them if you need to change warehouses in the future, they give you another level of flexibility. You can’t pick up and move a shuttle system.”

Bruce and BPS are in a great position to offer advice to customers on what technology to adopt, because they aren’t aligned with any brands.

“We’re all about the right solution for the customer,” says Malcolm. “We have an ability to source specific pieces of equipment that would be applicable to our clients. We do the analysis and come up with the right solution from a productivity, sustainability, and capital investment perspective. We’re a fullservice integrator prepared to go on the entire journey.” ■

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MHD INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY

FROM SHOP TO SHED: INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY VS. THE RISE IN E-COMMERCE MHD talks with uTenant’s Kyle Rogers about the evolution of e-commerce, and the new possibilities this brings to omnichannel fulfilment.

K

yle Rogers, Co-Founder of uTenant, and a Director of the Supply Chain and Logistics Association of Australia (SCLAA), says that a key trend to watch in the e-commerce space is what he terms “shop to shed” – the way in which traditional retail outlets or inner city properties might be transformed into warehouse and distribution space as a means of securing omnichannel fulfilment.

Kyle notes an oft-quoted ideal for theorists of the supply chain: “In the

perfect supply chain, the warehouse doesn’t exist.” This is of course an impossibility, but it reflects the consumer’s perspective in practice.

“From a consumer’s perspective, they don’t see the importance of the warehouse,” he says. “They shop, they get their new shoes, they put them on, and they’re ready to go. From their end, the consumer doesn’t see how stock is manufactured, imported, and sits in a warehouse, before it is delivered to their door.” For there to be effective warehousing and supply chain

operations moving forward, Kyle says, logistics professionals must get inside the mind of the modern consumer.

E-COMMERCE AND THE CONSUMER PSYCHE Kyle says it is important to consider the psychology of the consumer when implementing warehousing and fulfilment strategies. Diversifying and decentralising its warehousing enables a business to provide the consumer with a quicker and more seamless delivery service.

Kyle Rogers, Co-Founder of uTenant and a Director of the SCLAA.

MHD JUNE 2021 | 21

MHD INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY “Generally speaking, when people buy online, it is fulfilled from a warehouse. But what some of the big-name brands are realising is the necessity of improving their omnichannel fulfilment,” Kyle says. “So not just fulfilling orders from one big warehouse on the outskirts of town, but actually being able to fulfill e-commerce orders from their more centrally located retail outlets, too. If I order online in Melbourne and there is a shop across the road that can fulfill that order, why should it be shipped from a warehouse in Sydney? Improving the capacity for omnichannel fulfilment is a big thing I believe we’ll see going forward.”

The necessity for retailers to diversify their fulfilment capabilities will be driven by a shift in the consumer psyche that was already occurring but has been pushed forward

by COVID-19 and the imperatives of online shopping. “More people of all generations are more inclined to do online shopping,” Kyle says. “The more consumer habits continue to steer towards online, the more that experience is made better by quicker fulfilment and delivery times.”

But is there a ceiling to consumers’ increasing demand for e-commerce over traditional bricks-and-mortar retail?

“I do believe there is a ceiling,” Kyle says.

“Because traditional retail stores still play such a large role in customer experience. A number of studies from America have shown that omnichannel fulfilment – for instance the ability to buy online and return in-store – is a key ingredient to keeping customers. If a customer is able to return an item bought online to an actual store, then that provides a greater opportunity not only for a tailored customer solution – helping them replace what they bought with what they really desire – but also an opportunity for that retailer to establish a personal connection and to upsell, too. So physical stores and e-commerce are complementary, it’s not either/or.”

He adds that there will always be an essential human factor at play with regard to the act of shopping: “People like to go out shopping in person; they like to go out to show off their new shoes, to meet with friends, to go out to restaurants, and to engage with that social dimension of shopping.”

TOWARDS OMNICHANNEL FULFILMENT Kyle doesn’t think that the traditional national distribution centre (NDC) has had its day. Rather, he says, we could see a move towards a more hybrid model that includes NDCs as well as third party logistics provider (3PL) warehouses and micro 22 | MHD JUNE 2021

“

More people of all generations are more inclined to do online shopping.

The more consumer habits continue to steer towards online, the more that experience is made better by quicker fulfilment and delivery times.

”

fulfilment from retail stores.

“I foresee a situation where a company might have one large NDC, then retail stores to cater for the in-season stock, then perhaps additional warehouses to host other stock types targeted towards different demographic and geographic customer bases,” he says.

“To give a concrete example: Nike, Adidas, and Puma all have their main NDCs in Melbourne, not in Sydney. What we could see in the future is that in addition to their NDC and their retail outlets they might hold a certain amount of product with 3PL providers in every state,” he says. “Such a situation will allow them to be closer to the consumer, and this is a positive for three main reasons: firstly, because inbound product can go directly where it needs to, rather than arriving in a container in Melbourne and then having to be sent to Brisbane; secondly, being closer to the consumer means faster lead times and turnaround times; and third, having more locations means reduced outbound costs.”

Kyle is even thinking creatively about how smaller, inner city spaces might be utilised for micro-fulfilment purposes. As a database and network ecosystem facilitating creative arrangements between landlords, 3PLs and product owners, Kyle shares how it is uTenant’s purpose to think up innovative and best practice solutions in the industrial property arena. But it’s one thing to think and another to deliver. And that’s where uTenant’s new relationship with JLL comes into play.

JLL is one of the world’s largest commercial real estate agents, and earlier this year became a minority stakeholder in uTenant.

The commercial real estate giant wanted to back the young industrial property innovator, and uTenant saw the massive opportunities and access that the partnership would bring, Kyle says.

Teaming up with JLL allows uTenant to plug in to a myriad of new omnichannel fulfilment solutions, he says.

“JLL have three main divisions: industrial property, hotels, and offices. And in a new climate where people are working more from home and not travelling as much, those offices and hotels are prime real estate that could be creatively repurposed to meet microfulfilment demand,” Kyle says. “Think about an underground parking facility that is no longer being utilised – that could become a warehouse that could be fulfilled overnight by a bigger warehouse on the city outskirts.

Cheaper warehousing on the perimeter of the city could fulfil such new city warehouses, and then these new city warehouses could plug into innovative new delivery services that meet targeted individual needs.” ■

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MHD INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY

THE LAWS OF ATTRACTION CBRE Directors Moshe Greengarten and John Micallef tell MHD how e-commerce is changing the landscape for industrial real estate, and how companies should prepare for what’s to come.

T

wo years ago, Kemps Creek, a relatively unknown suburb almost 40 kilometres from Sydney’s city centre, was a tough sell. John Micallef, Director of Advisory & Transactions for CBRE’s Industrial & Logistics Operations, recalls trying to make the pitch.

“You would tell people about Kemps Creek and they would just ask: ‘Where’s that?’” he tells MHD. “You’d tell them it’s a new location, currently it’s just farmland and they’d tell you they would rather not go there.”

Fast-forward 24 months, however, and Kemps Creek is now one of the most sought-after industrial areas in Sydney. The game changer was Amazon announcing in June 2020 that it would be building Australia’s largest warehouse in the location. Not only did it represent a significant commitment for Amazon,

but it put Kemps Creek on the map for industrial users.

“Now you show people a map, and say, that’s where Amazon is going, and they say: ‘No problem, that location works for us,’” says John.

The attraction of up-and-coming areas like Kemps Creek is part of a transformation of industrial real estate that John has witnessed as e-commerce has grown. Over the past two years John says he’s seen a major change in the size, scope and scenery of warehouses.

John and fellow CBRE Director Moshe Greengarten share with MHD what the nature of those changes means for companies currently on the hunt for industrial real estate.

DEALS ARE GETTING BIGGER Amazon’s warehouse will be Australia’s largest ever built, at an astounding 191,000 sqm. This follows other recent major warehouses CBRE has negotiated including Quatius Logistics at 27,000

John Micallef, Director — Advisory & Transactions, Industrial & Logistics. sqm, H&M at 27,000 sqm, Amber Tiles at 12,000 sqm and JB HiFi at 12,000 sqm. John confirms that the size of deals they’ve been seeing has increased remarkably as a result of the e-commerce boom, as well as companies wanting to be less reliant on other countries. He notes that a few years ago, the average request for a warehouse was 10,000 to 15,000 sqm. Now he is seeing average requests at 15,000 to 20,000 sqm.

“It used to be that people didn’t want to hold a lot of stock, they kept their inventory to the minimum,” he says.

“They were following that ‘just-intime’ model. Now it’s the ‘just-in-case’ model, where they want to hold more stock. Something could happen with China, shipping prices could go up, or a ship might block the Suez Canal again.

During COVID you saw some companies with no stock to sell, which was a very dangerous situation.”

John says holding extra inventory makes a lot of sense from a business perspective. He notes that average warehouse rent is around five per cent of a business’s cost base. If a company opts

Moshe Greengarten, Director — Advisory & Transactions, Industrial & Logistics. for an extra 20 per cent capacity in their warehouse, it will still only form a small percentage of its cost base. It’s a small increase in the bottom line, he notes, but can greatly reduce the risk of not having any product on hand.

THE CONSUMER WAREHOUSE While Australian warehouses have grown, they’ve also been changing location. John’s colleague Moshe notes that historically a warehouse was about having a large location just to store products, before shipping them to shops, and could easily be located on the far outskirts of town. With e-commerce, however, warehouses are moving closer to consumers, to accommodate direct to consumer deliveries.

“Everyone is looking to be close to the main arterials,” says Moshe. “You want to be close to highways so you can get to everyone fairly quickly.”

Moshe says Amazon chose Kemps Creek largely for its location and proximity to major highways, making it one of the most well-connected areas in Sydney.

MHD JUNE 2021 | 25

MHD INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY In addition to getting to consumers quicker, Moshe says companies are also thinking about how their clients can get to them quicker, with the rise of click and collect.

This has not only affected the location of the warehouses, but also their design.

“Previously, people just wanted big open warehouses to store products, with a small office,” he says. “Now they are looking for the ability to split customer pick-ups from larger deliveries. They don’t want mums and dads picking up a box of products mixing with big trucks.

It’s something we never saw a few years ago.”

READY TO AUTOMATE New technological demands are also phenomena that John and Moshe are seeing. High speed internet, for one, is an absolute must now for most companies.

They are also looking for strong electrical infrastructure throughout the entire warehouse, and floors that are nice and flat, to be able to easily automate their warehouses. Amazon’s warehouse is set to be the largest fully automated DC Australia has ever seen.

Moshe says that a side effect of this advanced technology is the need for specific talent.

“Today’s warehouse workers are more of a specialised sort of worker.

No longer are there just traditional forklift drivers, but drivers who focus on certain equipment. They are in high demand,” he says.

As a result, Moshe says companies are looking at amenities surrounding the warehouse, to ensure they can attract and keep the right talent.

“Companies these days are even more concerned with the comfort of their staff,” he says. “And it’s not just with fans and air conditioners within the warehouse, but also looking at the surrounding amenities. Industrial estates are these days offering a good quality of food, access to gyms, and childcare. All of these things are now being taken into account when choosing a location.”

GET READY FOR THE SQUEEZE The rise in e-commerce and push for more warehouse space will likely see an increase in more multi-storey warehouses, Moshe notes. Amazon’s new DC will have a ground floor plus three levels, making it the largest multi-storey warehouse of its kind in Australia. Moshe 26 | MHD JUNE 2021

“

When their big DC goes up at the end of the year, they’ll keep working at building up not just their product base, but also building up their customer base. A lot of companies are going to have to rethink their models.

”

says traditionally Australians haven’t had to look to multi-storey warehouses, thanks to ample land space, but current demand means those days might come to an end.

“There have always been a lot of questions around multi-storey builds because of their high build cost,” says Moshe. “We know we’re not as densely populated as areas like Hong Kong or Tokyo, but we’re running out of industrial zoned land. While previously lower land prices helped us accommodate single-level sheds, now we’re seeing a number of developers in south Sydney that are looking at multi-level.”

Moshe notes that it’s no coincidence that Sydney is seeing the biggest squeeze on industrial real estate.

“If you look at Sydney, we are bound on one side by water and the other by the Blue Mountains,” he says. “It’s hard to build industrial property on mountainous areas. There has been a bit more land coming on, but there is certainly still a scarcity of zoned industrial land.”

Moshe and John have seen the challenges this scarcity is leading to. They say companies looking for affordable options in a tight time frame face a tricky road ahead with limited options.

“Especially in Sydney, industrial vacancy rates are the lowest they’ve

ever been, and rents are at record high levels. It’s really hard to find buildings for people,” says Moshe. “If people need a building in three to six months, they might have an option of maximum three buildings.”

Moshe’s advice is for companies to plan as far ahead as possible, to get more options and better terms on a custom-built facility.

“If a company is looking a few years in advance, then there will be eight to 10 developers fighting for their business.

Effective rental costs could be up to 15 per cent cheaper,” he says. “Our biggest advice to industrial users is that if you want to get the best property outcome, think ahead.”

WORK WITH A BIG PLAYER Fortunately for CBRE’s customers, John and Moshe are well placed to support them throughout these changes. As the largest commercial real estate company in the world, CBRE specialises in finding the best fit for their customers.

“Some of the largest companies in the world partner with us globally,” John explains. “We have some fairly strong relationships as a result of our size, scale and scope.”

John says CBRE currently handles around half of all warehouse lease transactions in Sydney of areas more than 5000 sqm. He says it’s the coupling of this footprint, along with a quality team, that creates great outcomes for CBRE’s clients.

“We have so many people on the ground, so we know what’s going on,” says John. “We always ensure we have a team of at least two to three people on every project. We are often a few steps ahead, as we know what buildings are coming up before they are advertised. Often people come to us after using another company, and we can find them three or four properties they didn’t even know about.”

“It’s going to be interesting the next couple of years,” he says. “With Amazon’s offering, you can place an order on a Saturday night and it shows up Sunday morning. It’s just incredible.

When their big DC goes up at the end of the year, they’ll keep working at building up not just their product base, but also building up their customer base. A lot of companies are going to have to rethink their models.” ■

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MHD SUPPLY CHAIN

IF THESE LABELS COULD TALK GS1’s Michiel Ruighaver discusses how the Scan4Transport standards are set to revolutionise elements of the freight transport process globally.

A

cross Australia, more than 40,000 logistics service providers are translating shipping data from barcodes on freight labels every day. Those barcodes are translated and often replaced along the way, to support the custom languages used by the plethora of proprietary systems used by each link along the chain. As freight leaves Australia, that process multiplies across the millions of logistics and freight providers that need to work together.

It’s a system that baffles Michiel Ruighaver, T&L Manager at GS1’s Scan4Transport Centre of Excellence.

“The freight transport industry is extremely fragmented,” says Michiel.

“Most of the businesses across the supply chain use different systems, each with their own proprietary standard for encoding data into or capturing data from barcodes on the freight label.”

As a result, he says it’s like clashing cultures having to learn and translate different barcode languages just to share information. He sees it as such an unnecessary level of complexity which is making every player in the supply chain lose out.

“This causes manual processes, duplicated effort, increased costs, decreased freight visibility and significant gaps for companies across the supply chain, because freight is so often handled by multiple logistics service providers in the journey from A to B,” he says.

He compares the current situation to a world where there would be no internet protocols.

“Imagine how challenging life would be if there were no global email standards,” he says. “You would need to setup a new program or template every time you wanted to exchange an email with someone who uses a

28 | MHD JUNE 2021

different email program than you, for instance Outlook versus Gmail.”

Instead of just remaining baffled by the situation, Michiel and the Scan4Transport Working Group have done something about it. They have developed a common language, the Scan4Transport Standard, that is just starting to be introduced this year.

The new Scan4Transport Standard is a global language for encoding the minimum data required by parties across the supply chain to enable the freight transport process into a 2D barcode. This information includes a globally unique freight unit identifier (Serial Shipping Container Code – SSCC), ship-to information (e.g. company, contact, address, phone number, etc), handling information (e.g. routing codes, service descriptions, authority to leave the freight at the delivery point if no one is available to receive the goods, etc) and return-to information (e.g. company, contact, address, phone number, etc).

Michiel notes that the Scan4Transport standard is technology agnostic and can be incorporated into existing systems across the supply chain to enable everyone to “talk a common language.” He says this will make it so much easier and cost effective for businesses to adopt technology and to interact with each other.

The lead up to the standard being released began in response to shippers and logistics service providers in Australia seeking a more standardised way to share this information to improve efficiency, interoperability, connectivity and visibility challenges.

These companies contributed to the GS1 global standards development process with many other logistics service providers, shippers, solution providers, industry stakeholders and

Michiel Ruighaver — T&L Manager.

GS1 member organisations from 21 countries around the world; making it a truly collaborative process.

The group’s work was officially ratified in August 2020 as an open global standard, known as Scan4Transport; and now being embraced by working group participants and early adopters around the world. Pilots started early in January 2021 including major companies from Europe, the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

Michiel notes that the Scan4Transport standard is truly global, in that it supports languages using Latin characters, such as the English language, and non-Latin characters, such as Japanese.

It is in creating this truly global language that Michiel and GS1 see so much potential for improving supply chains around the world.

“Just like a road authority manages and communicates the ownership of licence plates for cars, GS1 licenses numbers to generate globally unique identification keys identifying parties such as companies, locations and items such as freight across the supply chain,” Michiel explains.

The GS1 standards define the type of barcode symbols to use, symbol characteristics such as size, and

MHD SUPPLY CHAIN data structures such as date formats for encoding data into a barcode.

That data could be, for instance, the format of a required delivery date.

This ensures that the data is captured accurately and consistently across the supply chain.

Because the GS1 standards are software agnostic, solution providers can adopt these standards into their current technology framework. This means there is no need to purchase new barcode printing or transport management software to create and scan the freight labels across the supply chain.

Additionally, GS1 provides guidelines, training, professional services and barcode testing to help companies implement the standards.

This could be anyone from shippers to logistics service providers and solution providers. Michiel says it’s high time for the supply chain to come together and implement this global standard.

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MHD WAREHOUSING

A SERVICE-MINDED APPROACH Ben Mathews, Sales Director for Conquest Equipment, shares with MHD how the company’s background in service has inspired its unprecedented flexible offering in cleaning solutions.

B

en Mathews, Sales Director for Conquest Equipment, is on a mission.

Since the 1970s, the Australian family-owned business worked as a service provider for industrial cleaning equipment in warehouses, manufacturing facilities and the like.

Over the decades, they saw far too often equipment stranded in storerooms and corners, not being used. Companies were stuck waiting around for spare parts from overseas, didn’t know how to use the machines, or simply didn’t need them.

Conquest Equipment’s mission has always been to change that. And with the tagline “Behind you all the way” the company has introduced what it says is the most flexible and supportive

offering available on the market.

The flexibility begins with the equipment available. Conquest works with five different supply partners across Europe and the United States.

Ben says this is an important aspect of ensuring the market is getting the right equipment for them.

“We work closely with our supply partners in the development of technology and innovation,” says Ben. “A lot of that work is focused on developing fit-for-purpose products for the Australian market. It gives us the flexibility to deliver a wide range of equipment that is suited to a wide range of floor spaces.”

Working with international companies, Ben notes, also helps Conquest keep up with international trends.

“They have large R&D teams, they are watching what is happening across the global industry,” he says. “We have exclusive access to these technologies in the Australian market.”

Having a range of the most advanced

With the Zero Downtime Program, Conquest guarantees its customers always have a working machine, no matter what.

Ben Mathews, Sales Director for Conquest Equipment. products on the market is important, Ben says, in Conquest’s catered approach to their clients. Far from offering a one-size-fits-all solution, Conquest goes to great lengths with its assessment process. Its Intelligent Solutions Program (ISP) is designed to find the best fit for its clients.

“When we have a new customer that comes up, we do a site evaluation and find out the exact requirements of the facilities,” explains Ben. “Every facility is unique and has different requirements. We go through a detailed process before we recommend what solution is right for them.”

The program, Ben explains, is not just about finding the right equipment, but importantly the right leasing or purchasing terms. Conquest is unique in the market with its short-term leasing department. Equipment can be rented for as short as one day, to as long as five years.

“Our one-day hires are fast becoming popular, because people are really conscious of costs at the MHD JUNE 2021 | 31

MHD WAREHOUSING

The Zero Downtime Program means a strong team of technicians is there to help clients at any time. moment,” Ben explains. “If someone has a machine that they just used spasmodically, they are much better off just renting the equipment for a day. We can drop the machine out to a site, they can use it to clean the facility, and we can pick it up at the end of the day.”

For clients who know they’ll need the machines on a daily basis, but aren’t sure for how long, Conquest offers options with highly flexible terms, in which a company can opt in or out of the rental agreement without any termination fees or extra costs.

“The reason we can offer these great promises is because we go to such great lengths to ensure we give them the right solution the first time,” says Ben. “We’re confident we can back it up with what might seem like a pretty outrageous offer.”

The offer includes a four-year warranty on the machine, parts and labour as well as a 60-day money back guarantee.

The past year, Ben notes, has seen huge changes in the logistics industry with the rise of e-commerce.

He says Conquest introduced this flexible approach to renting to meet market demands in this rapidly evolving industry.

“Some spaces are evolving quite fast, others are diminishing quite quickly,” he says. “People’s needs are 32 | MHD JUNE 2021

changing faster than ever, so we need to offer this program of flexibility.

Instead of locking people into contracts, we’re telling them they can upgrade, downgrade, or cancel at any time, in line with the changes in their facilities.”

Ensuring equipment meets a company’s needs, and can be changed whenever it’s needed, is the first step in getting dusty cleaning equipment out of corners. The next step Conquest is offering is what it sees as the highest level of service available on the market, through its Zero Downtime Program.

It’s a guarantee that any machine purchased or leased from Conquest will – as the name implies – never be out of use.

“If we can’t fix the machine on the same day, we provide you with a back-up loan machine,” Ben explains.

“It’s an assurance to our customers that they will never be stuck without an operating machine. We invested heavily as a company in this full fleet of emergency equipment, it’s one of our key offerings to the industry.”

The program is included in all rental packages, and is included in selected scheduled service and maintenance support packages – Ultimate and Premium – for equipment purchased outright. If a client signs up to Ultimate or Premium, they also have unlimited access to the back-up machines.

“To be clear, we don’t expect our equipment to fail. We offer quality equipment backed with regular servicing and maintenance to prevent that,” says Ben. “But inevitably there can be failures due to misuse or other incidents. That’s when having that backup fleet in place can get people operating again very quickly.”

Conquest is also well positioned to fix their clients’ machines as quickly as possible. The company keeps a full range of spare parts here in Australia.

Ben says this was a key offering they pursued after hearing from operators using other companies’ imported equipment that they had to wait weeks for spare parts. “Speed is important to our customers, and holding local inventory minimises delays.”

“We understand that Australia is a long way from where the equipment is made,” says Ben. “Waiting for spare parts from overseas is not ideal for the customer. This is where we saw a need in Australia for a local supplier like us who could hold spare parts and have our own technical team to support the equipment.”

Conquest has a strong team of technicians ready to be despatched quickly to their clients on the Zero Downtime Program. Ben notes that having a loan machine out to a client is a cost to the business, so the program gives Conquest an additional incentive to get their client’s machines up and running as quickly as possible.

The final step in getting those dusty machines out of corners is for Conquest to ensure clients are well trained on how to use the machines.

For those on the Zero Downtime Program the company offers a lifetime training program. A client can call up the company at any point to arrange training for their staff, throughout the entire term of their contract for rentals, or life of the machine for purchases.

It’s an impressive offering set to see Ben accomplish his goal of ensuring Conquest’s clients get the most out of their cleaning equipment, at a time when the rapidly evolving logistics industry needs it.

“It’s what we are providing to the industry because it’s what the industry needs at the moment,” says Ben. “It’s about being behind our customers all the way.” ■

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MHD WAREHOUSING

WHEN DATA IS KING MHD speaks to Diverseco’s Rhett Talley about how the Cubiscan is bringing automation in warehouses to the next level.

A

s everything from tiny parcels through to pallets leaves an Australian DC, they will pass through a variety of touch points.

Trucks, trains – maybe airplanes – shipping ports, sorting centres, the baskets of postmen or the back of delivery vans.

One thing they all have in common, is that almost every one of these items will pass through a Cubiscan dimensioning system.

“Cubiscan really are the pioneers of automated dimensioning,” says Rhett Talley. Rhett is the Marketing & Business Development Manager – Automation at Diverseco, the exclusive distributors of Cubiscan in the region. “Everyone is our customer. Australia Post is our customer.

DB Schenker is our customer. We are a supply chain centric business.”

Cubiscan is one of the world’s most used dimensioning systems, with thousands of units installed across five continents. Shipping, freight and postage services the world over trust Cubiscan to measure the dimensions and weight of packages for one very important task – among others – determining what to charge clients.

It’s in borrowing this tool from freight companies that warehouses and DCs can super charge their automation processes, Rhett explains. From the macro to the micro, the more data companies can integrate into their systems the better, and what better data to have than every measurement possible on each Stock Keeping Unit (SKU).

“For us at Diverseco, we’re about drilling down to the individual SKU that’s in the warehouse,” says Rhett. “In order for automation to function effectively, fulfillment centres need to have an accurate system feeding an intelligent WMS, that can handle the information of the individual SKU. The WMS needs to not only understand the physical characteristics – the length, the width, the height and the weight – often it needs to understand other physical attributes.”

Cubiscan has been on the market for

more than 20 years. It can measure all these aspects needed for dimensioning, as well as weighing for legal trade systems, and verifying that data for trade use. It’s this trust in the data being produced that makes it so attractive to use the Cubiscan in the warehouse for best-in-class automation.

“Lots of supply chain managers realise how critical and important this is,” says Rhett. “It’s like the fundamental aspect of what’s happening in warehouses and distribution centres.”

At the inbound level, Cubiscan is invaluable in providing accurate SKU dimensional master data, that is required

by WMS systems to make intelligent processing and optimising decisions.

“There are a variety of ways to supercharge your WMS with dimensional master data,” says Rhett. “When the SKU arrives you can know where to put it in the warehouse, what bin to use to transport the SKU throughout the warehouse, and when the order is in, how to get it out. Intelligent WMS systems can make these high-resolution decisions for individual SKUs.” On the outbound level, Cubiscan can automate the process of dimensioning and weighing SKUs to pack individual orders right through to larger pallets. It can export accurate item measurement data for a transport management system.

As e-commerce is increasing, Rhett is seeing more and more customers take advantage of this level of automation.

“With e-commerce, the point of sale has shifted from the physical location to the buyer’s computer screen. We’re finding more and more companies that need to measure, automate and data capture at the warehouse level.”

With this focus on smart data, Diverseco does much more than just sell equipment.

“We’re not merely a hardware supplier. We are a real systems and robotics integrator too,” says Rhett.

“Most of the measuring automation solutions that we

supply provide critical item level data in real time that is exported to the user’s host IT application. We support that for the full life of the equipment, locally here in Australia, in real time.”

Rhett notes that while Diverseco is WMS agnostic, the more intelligent the WMS, the better.

With the big picture in mind, Rhett says Diverseco is helping Australia move towards a future of full automation.

“We’re looking to automate the intralogistics in DCs,” he says. “The ideal scenario is a Lights Out DC that can function with minimum human staffing.”

In addition to representing Cubiscan, Diverseco is also an agent for a number of robotics companies, including Kawasaki, Doosan, OnRobot and more. Rhett explains that as a full systems integrator, Diverseco is interested in sourcing the best technology in the market as Australia increases its automation in warehouses. Perhaps one day it won’t just be our parcels that all are all touched by Diverseco, but every item that makes its way into our homes.

“We’re able to combine all of these different capabilities in a seamless single solution from a single vendor,” says Rhett. “We see ourselves as a supply chain single vendor powerhouse.” ■ Cubiscan is indispensable at all points of the supply chain.

MHD JUNE 2021 | 35

MHD WAREHOUSING

AUTONOMOUS CLEANING ROBOTS AT THEIR BEST CEO and Co-Founder of Avidbots Faizan Sheikh tells MHD about the next level of technology available from a global fleet of autonomous cleaning robots.

Faizan Sheikh, CEO and Co-Founder of Avidbots.

A

s a student attending the University of Waterloo in Canada, Faizan Sheikh bonded with fellow classmate Pablo Molina over their shared passion for robots.

With both of them studying Mechatronics Engineering, and being mutual fans of Japanese anime, they dreamed of a world where robots were ubiquitous, roaming around the halls of our homes and workplaces, doing the tasks we don’t want to do, and enriching our lives as they go.

Both were rather disappointed when they graduated and realised that even with their keen eye for robots, they could find only limited use of robots in the real world.

“Put yourself in my shoes,” Faizan tells MHD. “For five years through my undergrad I studied robots. I grew up with Japanese anime where robots were just everywhere. Then I go out and start working in a world that doesn’t have that many robots. It just doesn’t look like the future I was dreaming of – it was pretty depressing.”

Pablo and Faizan tried to move on,

Faizan working as a software engineer and Pablo on autonomous navigation work. They kept up their friendship, and often got together and would speak about why there weren’t more robots around.

“At that point we had two options,” says Faizan. “We could keep talking about why there aren’t that many robots around, or we could do something about it. We went with option two.”

And so in 2014 the friends got together and founded Avidbots, with the core purpose of making robots ubiquitous in society. In deciding where to focus their efforts, they considered what kind of robot would get the biggest take up.

“The only way to make robots really ubiquitous is to be delivering incredible value, that’s the only way people will buy it,” he says. “Cleaning is a great way to do this, because there are floors everywhere. Not everyone needs a greeting robot, or a robot that brings you a beer. But everyone needs a

clean environment.”

That focus on delivering value has implications for what robots do, and also how they do it. Their robot, Neo, is not just any automated floor cleaner. It’s a fully autonomous robotic floor cleaning solution. Different to other products on the market, Faizan notes that Avidbots builds both the hardware and software for the robots.

“We really own the customer experience,” he says. “There is no one else for us to point a finger at if it’s not working. It’s all we do! We don’t manufacture manual cleaning equipment.

You cannot find a company that is more aligned to making autonomous cleaning successful than Avidbots.”

THE TAKE UP Already Avidbots is working with some big names in the industry, including international logistics giant DHL. For new customers keen to take on the

Neo delivering a fully autonomous clean at a DHL site.

MHD JUNE 2021 | 37

MHD WAREHOUSING like Amazon, the volume of products just keeps going up. Do you really want your forklift operator spending a few hours cleaning the warehouse?

As e-commerce really takes off, the pressure on warehouses is increasing.

It’s so paramount that all staff are executing against the KPIs that matter to the company. Cleaning just needs to be done.”

CONNECTED CLEANERS

Just press ‘go’ and Neo ‘goes’ with full automation. solution, Avidbots has a full onboarding program to ensure the success of the deployment. Faizan says typically Avidbots receives CAD drawings of the facility prior to the robots arriving, so they show up programmed and ready to go. On the first day, the Avidbots support team runs the robots to see how Neo operates, and then tweaks the cleaning plans based on performance and customer feedback. Avidbots then trains the customer in person on how to use and care for the robots.

On the second day, they work with the customer to test their training. By the end of that second day, Avidbots officially certifies a company’s staff to use the robot. Although Avidbots’ support team blocks out a full two days with new clients, Faizan says it normally takes just a few hours on each day for the training.

From there, the robots are ready to go.

One Neo robot will typically perform a six hour clean on a full tank of cleaning solution and a full battery charge. Faizan says it takes a maximum of 20 minutes to set up Neo, which involves filling the solution tank, draining the dirty solution, and cleaning squeegees and brushes. Then it’s just a few presses of a touchscreen, and the robot is good to go.

“Once you press go, Neo is totally on its own, it’s fully autonomous,” says Faizan.

“You can then leave it and do whatever you need to do.”

A major advantage of Neo is its reporting platform. Single robot users can view reports to see what areas have been 38 | MHD JUNE 2021

cleaned and at what quality. For larger companies running multiple locations, the platform offers this information at fleet-level metrics.

“You can see what warehouses are really knocking their cleaning out of the park, and which ones could improve performance,” says Faizan.

“With our customer success team we adjust the Neos where there is room for improvement to ensure the best robot experience possible.”

The reporting systems not only help with improving cleaning quality, but with auditing. For companies needing to report to a board or a government regulator on their cleaning protocols, it’s a fully auditable report.

“If you have a safety committee, you need to keep all that documentation around cleaning. This is where the reporting really helps,” says Faizan.

“Perhaps you have labour inspectors come in who want to know what kind of measures you have in place to ensure your cleaning is being done. With reporting you can show them how you’re keeping your staff safe and healthy.”

The benefits of automating cleaning are more than just reporting and reliability. Faizan says the choice to go autonomous is really about overall productivity.

“People are going for autonomous cleaning because they want their staff focused on executing against their core KPIs,” says Faizan. “With the rise of e-commerce and companies

In addition to the general advantages of autonomous robots, Neo offers an extra advantage through its in-house developed, connected software. The software is updated every six to eight weeks with incremental improvements.

One such improvement, perhaps more than just incremental, is the launch of Home Base, a software update that allows robots to drive themselves to anywhere in the warehouse.

“Imagine in a large warehouse, the cleaning closet where you keep your robots is probably located in some remote corner,” explains Faizan. “You go there, you prepare Neo and it’s ready to go. But maybe the area you need to clean is on the other side of the facility, a 20-minute walk. We’re not Flash Gordon, it takes us time to get there.

With Home Base, you can just press Go from outside the cleaning equipment storeroom, and the robot will drive on its own and start cleaning. When it’s done, even if it’s on the other side of the facility, it’s going to drive itself back to the closet. All this was just a software

With Neo cleaning, organisations can better focus their labour on revenue-generating activities.

MHD WAREHOUSING update that we could deliver over the air.”

Another major advantage of the connected robots is the 24/7 direct support provided by Avidbots. This is an advancement that the company offers having learned from the challenges autonomous vehicles have when they get lost.

“Autonomous driving isn’t perfect, things happen, the robots get lost, stuck or confused,” says Faizan. “If this happens to our robots they will call home, that’s us [at Avidbots], and we have people who can assist the global fleet 24/7, waiting for these calls to come in. They are like a fire brigade, they are available only when you need it. In 30-45 seconds we help the robot, and it’s back cleaning on its own. You as a customer never even knew about it.”

Faizan says this really sets Avidbots apart from other products available on the market that send a phone message if a robot is stuck. The user then has to play a game of hide and seek to find the robot, which can take a lot of time in a large warehouse.

As to further developments, Faizan says he is seeing the potential of more uses for the Neo robots. The company is soon releasing a module that allows the robot to disinfect high-touch surfaces and areas, like benches or water fountains.

“The difference here is we are intelligently disinfecting certain areas,” he says. “There are disinfection robots that are blindly spreading chemicals in the air. We’re not going to do that – we’re not going to fog your warehouse.”

The module provides the same reporting as the cleaning solution, meaning companies can properly monitor and audit their disinfection system.

“It’s a problem I can’t really imagine solving without a robot,” says Faizan. “How else would you do it? Would you just hand Bob a spray bottle and hope he’s using it every day?”

It’s in delivering this kind of value that Faizan and Pablo are seeing their dream of robots everywhere start to become a reality.

“Right now, we are cleaning the ‘Who’s Who’ of warehousing, manufacturing and transportation, including airports, railways and subways,” says Faizan. “We’re really redefining what we can get out of these systems. We’re like the Tesla of autonomous cleaning robots.” ■

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MHD SUPPLY CHAIN

AGILITY CENTRAL TO E-COMMERCE SUCCESS MHD talks with Microlistics’ Archival Garcia about the challenges of e-commerce, and why agile and adaptive WMS solutions are indispensable for business success.

‘M

icrolistics’ focus has always been what goes on within the four walls of the Distribution Centre,” says Archival Garcia, Vice President – Global Sales & Marketing at Microlistics. “But with the rise of e-commerce, we are constantly exploring solutions that extend beyond that space. Some of that is updating our own solutions and offerings, and some of it is forming strategic partnerships to keep our clients ahead of the game as various e-commerce trends develop.”

So, what are some of the key trends in e-commerce, and what must be done to stay in front?

EASIER INTEGRATIONS A MUST Archival says that the rise of e-commerce necessitates increased omnichannel and online fulfilment, which itself means greater visibility is needed across the supply chain.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has seen lockdowns, traffic limitations, limits on people in stores and DCs, to speak nothing of those who service those stores and DCs,” says Archival. “This sped up

a trend which was already occurring – more orders, more often, with more complexity, online– and I don’t think we’ll return to a pre-COVID state.”

This means that sellers must maximise their inventory deployment, he says, and achieve a new level of flexibility so that supply and demand are brought into balance. Archival says sellers are racing to keep up with new online demand – not only in terms of volume but in terms of more individual orders – and this puts an increased focus on warehouse management.

“Online is now the storefront, but what that means in reality is that consumers are actually accessing the warehouse directly,” he says. “The warehouse has become a lot more critical for e-commerce than the physical store, which in turn means we need to be more aware of the supply chain as a whole.”

Cultivating that awareness is a challenge which distributors and 3PLs are now facing, says Archival. “Knowing what’s in demand, knowing supply chain throughput, knowing where a product is coming from, how it’s

One advantage that has come out of the pandemic is an increasing awareness and respect for supply chains.

40 | MHD JUNE 2021

coming to us, how long it will take us to process it – all this is more essential than ever. And that means integration of systems and knowledge. The ideal for WMS systems now is to be informed about all of the above and be able to act on that information as quickly as possible to service customers efficiently and effectively.”

AGILITY AND COMPLEXITY There has been a simultaneous uptick in the diversity and specificity of consumer demand, says Archival, resulting in more complex inventory flows. “The onus right now is also to get the stuff out the door as fast as possible,” he says.

“You can no longer wait for a full order; you have to send out smaller units as fast as possible.”

Increasing complexity, and the speed of that increase, means that WMS systems can’t wait and adjust all in one go, says Archival. Rather, Microlistics is focusing on delivering a platform that is flexible, agile, and can scale and iteratively adapt to changing circumstances.

He notes that Microlistics recently worked with a large retailer that had originally approached them with the goal of updating their legacy system for store replenishments. But before they knew it, COVID was upon them, and Microlistics had to help them adapt to e-commerce on the fly.

“They had hundreds of stores in the country and a lot of DCs, and suddenly had to adapt,” Archival says. “They tried initially to service it through their legacy WMS, but they couldn’t do it. So, we deployed a pre-templated solution for about 80 per cent of the problem and just kept on optimising it as we went along. It started small. First, they wanted only a section of the warehouse to accommodate online orders, but before long they were building an entirely new DC to meet the demand.”

MHD SUPPLY CHAIN cut the process into little pieces and do it bit by bit.”

The approach worked, says Archival.

Now, the newly built DC – and the WMS Microlistics tailored to it – will be used as the model DC to fulfil every channel the client has – a model which will be copied across all their sites.

FLEXIBLE WMS, FAST

Archival Garcia, Vice President – Global Sales & Marketing at Microlistics.

He says that as the process unfolded, the retailer decided that Microlistics’ solutions were so capable that they would adopt the WMS across the supply chain – a massive undertaking.

“We’re dealing with store replenishment, online fulfilment, and push allocation. All the time there is new stuff coming in various quantities.

Deploying a WMS on that scale would usually be an 8–12-month venture. But we couldn’t wait around, so we had to

Part of Microlistics’ advantage is that it can quickly deploy simple solutions for a complex world. Its core ‘Enterprise’ platform is constantly updated and optimised as it responds to client challenges and feedback and anticipates logistics trends. But alongside the core platform, it offers four templates configured for best practice: Express, 3PL, Chilled, and Retail.

“We are using the same platform, but we’ve made it easier to deploy, consume, and ‘flex up’ to meet changing demand,” Archival says. “When we get a new 3PL, for instance, we have a best practice 3PL template ready as a starting point. Then we can say to our clients: ‘This is the solution that evidence shows

works the best. Now tell us how you’re unique and how we can optimise it for your needs.’”

A NEW RESPECT FOR SUPPLY CHAINS One big plus that Archival thinks has come out of the pandemic is an increasing respect for supply chains and supply chain professionals among the executive ranks of business.

“Previously, they were a bit unloved, but COVID has really highlighted their importance,” he says.

“Microlistics’ goal is to help those supply chain decision makers by delivering our software in a way that clearly demonstrates business improvements and dollar value improvements,” Archival says. “This allows supply chain leaders to better make their business case to other leaders within their own company. Our mantra is always ‘The People First’, because although we know how much value our solutions provide, we also know how much value comes from our customers.” ■

MHD MATERIALS HANDLING

HOW TOYOTA IS REVOLUTIONISING THE POTATO INDUSTRY Leading potato supplier Beta Spuds has made the move to invest in reliability by purchasing nine new Toyota forklifts. MHD talks with Matthew Cocciolone, CEO at Beta Spuds, to discuss why they decided to transition away from a rental model.

O

ne of Western Australia’s largest “paddock-to-plate” potato suppliers, Beta Spuds, has made a large investment in improving its production reliability by outrightpurchasing nine new Toyota forklifts.

Located in the Perth suburb of Mandogalup, Beta Spuds – one of Western Australia’s largest potato suppliers – purchased seven 32-8FG20 and two 32-8FG30 Toyota forklifts in December 2020. The purchase was the company’s first move away from a rental model after 27 years, in a bid to improve its production reliability.

Reliability is particularly important for Beta Spuds, given that it prides itself on a rapid production and delivery turnaround to ensure only the freshest potatoes are for sale - delivering spuds from its farms to store in less than 12 hours.

Matthew Cocciolone, CEO at Beta Spuds, says that when considering new forklifts, reliability was top-of-mind.

“That hadn’t been the case, previously,” he says. “When we were reviewing the different forklift vendors, our guiding principle was that we absolutely needed reliable equipment.

So, we decided it was time to invest in equipment we could rely on performing consistently, with no downtime.”

In the process of considering different forklift brands, Beta Spuds uncovered a truth – that price doesn’t necessarily equate to value.

Danny Carbery, area sales manager at Toyota Material Handling Australia (TMHA), says Beta Spuds was initially just looking at costs.

“To begin with, Beta Spuds were very price-orientated,” he says. “Given this was the first time they had purchased 42 | MHD JUNE 2021

Matthew Cocciolone, CEO of Beta Spuds. forklifts outright, they realised that the reliability and longevity of our forklifts was going to be a big factor in their return-on-investment. There were a lot of forklifts in the purchase so it was a big investment and they needed to make sure they were going to get the best value out of them over their life cycle.

“Also, they wanted to know that if they were going to hang on to them for, say, 10 years then they would still be able to recoup some of their investment in the form of resale value.

“Because they were so keen on making sure the equipment wouldn’t break down, they also wanted a fairly strict servicing regime put in place to ensure we were on top of things before anything could go wrong.”

Danny says Toyota’s proven reputation for manufacturing forklifts that last the test of time is one of the key tenets of the Toyota Advantage.

“We call it ‘QDR’, which is short for quality, durability and reliability,” he says. “Toyota has a highly refined production control system that stops production immediately when a problem occurs, thus preventing defects and producing high-quality machines.

When you buy one of our forklifts you know it’s not going to let you down.”

Beta Spuds’ Matthew says during his due diligence process, servicing was heavily factored into the equation.

“We ran the numbers and realised that it was not only the forklifts’ purchase price and lifecycle that we were interested in, but also the servicing frequency and cost,” he says.

“We compared that to the cost of our previous forklift downtime and that became a big part of our purchasing decision. A strict servicing schedule combined with quality equipment was our insurance against suffering any further down time. Also, ideally

MHD MATERIALS HANDLING

Beta Spuds has invested in nine new Toyota forklifts. we wanted the servicing with a single vendor in order to secure the most efficient visitation cycle.

“And, yes, residual resale value was a consideration. At the moment our plan is to put the Toyota forklifts to work and work them as seamlessly and for as long as practical in order for us to recover our investment in them. But resale is definitely a contingency and knowing Toyota forklifts have a high resale value was certainly another factor in our purchasing decision.”

Danny says TMHA’s Nationwide Parts & Service is another feature of the Toyota Advantage. Its factory-trained technicians are equipped with the latest diagnostic equipment. This ensures fast, accurate diagnosis and they carry an extensive range of genuine Toyota spare parts to maximise equipment up-time.

Matthew notes that an investment in nine Toyota forklifts was a large one for the business.

“We had never gone in the outrightpurchase direction before, so for us to buy such a large number of machines at once was a big step,” he says. “When you’re paying for a piece of equipment up-front there is an element of risk associated with it so we did everything we could to mitigate that risk through our due diligence process. We wanted to be sure to have confidence in the ability of the forklifts to last a long time, and there’s no doubt Toyota’s reputation for longevity played into the purchasing decision.”

TMHA’s Danny says another contributing reason for the forklift’s purchase was the

“

Toyota has a highly refined production control system that stops production immediately when a problem occurs, thus preventing defects and producing highquality machines.

”

Federal Government’s generous Instant Asset Write-Off scheme which allows for eligible businesses to claim an immediate deduction for the business portion of the cost of an asset such as a Toyota forklift.

Matthew says Beta Spuds has a long history of innovating with technology designed to streamline the process of delivering fresh potatoes as quickly and efficiently as possible. Beta introduced the first-ever wash-packer with vibrating screen-sizer to Western Australia in 1996. The following year, the company was the first in WA in the potato industry to be quality-assured SQF2000. In 2010, it became WA’s first, and then only, four-stage washing process with a hydro-cooler.

It’s unsurprising, then, that the business capitalised on the opportunity to provide all its new forklifts with Toyota’s I_Site telematics system, which helps fleet and logistic managers to understand vehicle status, driver performance and overall productivity in their material handling operations.

Matthew says the I_Site system dovetailed perfectly with Beta Spuds’ technological ideology. “It made sense because we wanted to be able to have better visibility of our operations and the I_Site system captures highly useful data in that regard,” he says.

“Our approach is to design-in or engineer our success so the I_Site system was a logical extension of that ideology. We knew the data and the visibility of what the forklifts and operators are doing would be beneficial for the business.

“The I_Site system was implemented to specifically suit our production process and in combination with other factors it is a contributor to reducing our operating costs.” ■ For more information freecall 1800 425 438 or visit www.toyotamaterialhandling.com.au

High quality, durable forklifts means less downtime for Beta Spuds.

MHD JUNE 2021 | 43

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MHD WAREHOUSING

WARGAMING – SIMULATING FOR SUCCESS MHD talks with Jeffrey Triantafilo and Alwyn Van Zyl of Fuzzy LogX about how virtual simulation of warehousing is changing the intralogistics game.

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ccording to Jeffrey Triantafilo, Director of Systems and Distribution Centre Design at Fuzzy LogX, the specialist consulting firm’s primary goal is to “future-proof warehouses”.

Although the firm has a passion for automation, Jeffrey says that Fuzzy LogX prides itself on taking a holistic approach with its clients – and advising and implementing tailored solutions for their specific needs.

“We are focused on warehouse engineering, seeing the system as a whole with all the moving parts, not just one component of it,” Jeffrey says. “We pride ourselves on our independence while maintaining good relationships with all vendors. But we sit completely client side.

When we work with a client, we become a part of their team and carry their banner. No kick-backs from vendors – only what’s best for our client.”

Jeffrey says that one of the key services Fuzzy LogX has provided since its founding roughly six years ago is testing of warehouse systems.

“We found that while many vendors and consultants were happy to support clients in the design process of a warehouse system, after that clients were often left to their own devices,” he says.

“Our focus was on testing systems to make sure they did what was promised.

We would review what a vendor had promised, and then either after, or as it was being installed, we’d come in to make sure everything was working as it should. But there is always a potential gap between something working on paper and working in practice – between contractual delivery of a system and its actual functionality.”

While testing of warehouse systems was, and is, an important service, Jeffrey

With 3D simulations Fuzzy LogX can wargame warehouse scenarios in advance and reduce risk. says its biggest limitation is that it’s after-the-fact. “A lot of times we’d be brought in when a system was already designed or even installed,” he says. “At that point it’s a matter of proving it does what was contractually promised – ‘Prove to me that your Ferrari actually does go 300km per hour’ – rather than thinking of and anticipating future problems.

“But as things become more complex, there is a higher risk factor when you’re building systems that need to anticipate the needs of 10 years from now,” Jeffrey says. “And this is where simulation comes in – taking that testing of systems into the virtual world.”

ENTERING THE VIRTUAL Alwyn Van Zyl, Intralogistics Consultant at Fuzzy LogX, says that there are basically three types of simulation – from the broad to the highly specific. And the more specific a simulation gets, the more excited Alwyn and Jeffrey are about its possibilities.

“We break down our simulations into three categories: strategic simulations, tactical simulations and Digital Twin simulations,” Alwyn says. “With strategic simulations we’re talking a higher or

more general level. Businesses might need validation that a system within a warehouse works, or that it will work.

Usually a 2D schematic works best here rather than a 3D model. Strategic simulation is lower cost and more focused on identifying material flow bottlenecks.

“The next stage is what we call ‘tactical’ simulation,” says Alwyn.

“Tactical simulation is more detailed, with accurate process maps and task times required. This can be done with either 2D or 3D simulation, although 3D adds the additional dimension of space and time and makes visualising an operation easier. This level of simulation helps to validate the actual process times and provides more of an operational insight into the system design.

“The highest stage of simulation is when we create a Digital Twin, a 3D replica of an actual operation,” he says.

“With a Digital Twin you get to run an operation in real time, before the system has been implemented or gone live. Direct inputs from warehousing systems can be fed into the 3D simulation, and we can create a virtual reality that is very accurate and replicates the actual system that is being implemented. These models MHD JUNE 2021 | 45

MHD WAREHOUSING

While some vendors only simulate for ideal conditions, Fuzzy LogX simulate for practical, real world scenarios.

are great for running detailed operational simulation scenarios for insights ahead of time.

But they’re also great for virtual onboarding – a person starting tomorrow can put on 3D goggles and figure out where in the warehouse the restroom is.”

WARGAMING FOR DECISION MAKERS “Most people aren’t doing Digital Twin level simulation, or even lower-level simulations” says Jeffrey. “A lot of people are still doing scenario modelling or analysis on a spreadsheet. But we want to scream the virtues of simulation from the rooftops!

“As things get bigger and more complex, decision makers are really putting their necks out there,” he adds. “While vendors may provide a simulation or schematic on a high level – perhaps with some minor bottleneck analysis – to prove their product works in ideal settings, with our simulation models we actually factor in real-world considerations, like how long it takes a person to walk from point A to point B.” Jeffrey says that simulations are becoming critical in ensuring the smooth running of a warehouse, but that companies will struggle to automate every aspect of their warehouse.

“You’ll only automate some component of it – whether that be pallet storage or picking or something else. The vendor might simulate the blackbox automation that they’re installing, but what if it’s all the surrounding processes that create bottlenecks?” asks Jeffrey.

This, he notes, is where Fuzzy LogX comes in with its client-side simulations.

The company focuses not just on the black box process, but also everything else in the warehouse. Unlike the vendors who supply the systems, it is brand-agnostic when it comes to what simulation software it uses, so it can 46 | MHD JUNE 2021

“

While vendors may provide a simulation or schematic on a high level – perhaps with some minor bottleneck analysis – to prove their product works in ideal settings, with our simulation models we actually factor in real-world considerations, like how long it takes a person to walk from point A to point B.

”

focus on maximising its clients’ operational readiness rather than abstract system readiness.

“Although to give credit where it is due,” Jeffrey notes, “I must say that we have achieved a lot of success designing simulations with Glenvern Associates and their ‘Emulate3D platform – which is an incredibly powerful simulation engine.

They’re really amazing at building a virtual twin world.”

He says that Fuzzy LogX goes above and beyond to develop a playbook for a system in advance of its implementation, when it’s still offline.

“I like to call it ‘wargaming’,” he says.

“So, if you’re going to run a promotion like Black Friday, or you need to simulate COVID conditions, we can game for that scenario and tell you: ‘This is what will happen, and this is how you can deal with it.’

“And although the concept of testing still plays a vital role – with our capability for cutting-edge simulation, only validating a system’s limitations through testing after something has been installed starts to seem a bit antiquated,” Jeffrey says. “With simulations we can fix the problems before they even occur.”

And while simulation – particularly 3D Digital Twin simulation – is high tech, Jeffrey believes it’s really a way of making things simple. “We work with mum-and-dad online retailers all the way up to companies with billion-dollar supply chains,” he says. “From one shed to a hundred sheds.

“It might be true that a picture tells a thousand words, but a simulation tells the whole story. It changes the game completely because you know a system’s strengths and weaknesses in advance, and can play to the former while avoiding the latter.” ■

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MHD Supply Chain

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MHD SUPPLY CHAIN

HOW ORDER MANAGEMENT CAN BOOST SUPPLY CHAINS Esker Worldwide Chief Operating Officer, Emmanuel Olivier, writes how the top AI-based analytics deliver benefits to order management that drive greater efficiency in your supply chain.

G

lobalisation, mergers and acquisitions, and changing customer demands have made production and distribution processes increasingly complex. As a result, today’s supply chain leaders are looking beyond traditional cost-saving measures to instead pursue analytics-driven solutions that create a more interconnected and strategic supply chain. As one of the key indicators of a supply chain’s performance, order management is naturally a top priority for businesses seeking to sharpen their competitive edge. One way to achieve this is through automation, which can reduce errors and increase efficiency, driving greater efficiency in supply chain operations.

OPTIMISING PROCESSES Many supply chain professionals rely on traditional order management techniques to run their supply chain, including basic ERP technology and a reliance on manual processes. If employees are manually entering order data, analytics and reporting are unable to run at their full potential due to the time involved and risk of error, and in some cases, service level agreements (SLAs) are not being met. With evolving customer demand resulting in a need to move faster, a supply chain that relies on manual processes cannot keep up. ERP systems can reduce the manual touch points and use of paper in the supply chain, but more is needed to reach endto-end efficiency.

Order management automation has emerged as a popular and effective solution to many of these challenges.

Automation can reduce or eliminate manual effort, and many automation solutions also integrate with existing

SAP and other ERP applications without disrupting business continuity or creating any unwanted IT complexities.

FOUR KEY BENEFITS OF AUTOMATION Increase visibility where it’s needed The sheer volume of activities, logistics, and channels that are now involved in the supply chain make visibility a must – especially during critical period milestones such as the end of the month, quarter or year. Best-in-class order processing solutions come equipped with customisable dashboards that provide instant access to the metrics that matter most to users (for example, when an order has been received, confirmed, and shipped, or the associated supporting documentation).

Spot problems before they get worse The dashboards built into many automation solutions also allow managers to grain greater control over their operations by enabling them to drill down into employee performance and react quickly to prevent problems or capitalise on opportunities.

Improve the customer experience The faster an order can be captured and accurately fed into the supply chain, the more time customer service employees have to focus on actually serving customers, therefore increasing the likelihood that customer SLAs will be met or exceeded.

Eliminate waste and reduce operational costs One of the biggest causes of waste in the supply chain is order processing errors.

In Esker’s experience, the average cost

Emmanuel Olivier, Esker Worldwide Chief Operating Officer. of reworking an order is $200-$250, including shipping costs. Automation eliminates these costly errors (along with the extra labour and consumables), avoiding the potentially negative impacts the business may incur as a result.

TIME TO AUTOMATE Traditional order management practices are often inefficient, and today’s supply chain leaders understand that they must revamp their order processing initiatives to remain competitive.

Automation technology, such as sales order processing automation from Esker, can help by erasing the burden of manual processes. By automating the order management process, organisations can create an optimal supply chain environment and reap the benefits that come with complete, end-to-end efficiency. ■ To learn more, visit: www.esker.com.au/ solutions/order-cash/order-processing MHD JUNE 2021 | 49

MHD MATERIALS HANDLING NORD has integrated this high-efficiency IE5+ motor in a single-stage helical gear unit to optimise system efficiency.

WHEN TWO BECOMES ONE Nord Drivesystems speaks with MHD about the release of its IE5+ motor as well as the DuoDrive, a world-first gear unit and motor combination.

Z

oom in on the moving parts in any warehouse and you will find anywhere from 50 electric motors in smaller operations through to over 4000 units in some of the largest DCs that are popping up all around the world.

These motors are the literal driving power of the DC. This is a focal point for the European Union in seeking to reduce energy consumption. In 2009, the EU identified that a large percentage of energy across the continent was being consumed by electric motors. Europe has approximately 8 billion electric motors, which consume an astounding 50 per cent of all the electricity the EU produces. As a result, the EU introduced an Ecodesign requirement for manufacturers and suppliers seeking to sell their motors in the EU. It was a move that Max Jarmatz, MD of Nord Drivesystems Australia, witnessed 50 | MHD JUNE 2021

first-hand, as the German company adapted to the changing regulations. He tells MHD that the rules made sense, given the vast amount of energy that could be saved through energy efficient design.

The EU Directive became a mandatory standard with the enforcement of International Energy (IE) efficiency classes. The EU has offered a staged approach to allow OEMs like Nord Drivesystems to gradually increase their motor efficiency over time. From July 2021 this year, the new minimum standard is the IE3, however the EU has defined standards for efficiency going up to IE5.

Australia, Max notes, has been slow to take on the increased energy efficiency requirements. He says that Australia is one of the last developed countries in the world with IE2 as its minimum standard. That being said, where the

government has taken its time to increase its expectations on energy standards, the private sector has rushed them.

Companies understand that improved energy efficiency is not just about their ecological footprint, but can lead to significant cost savings on electricity bills.

“Australian companies, especially intralogistics companies and airports, are requesting IE4 and IE5 rated motors because they want higher efficiency motors,” he says. “Companies in Australia understand that they need to consider their annual costs to run their motors – not just the upfront investment – when it comes to the technology they choose. The payback period can be as short as 1.5 years when they go with the highest possible efficiency standard.

They want us to go beyond even IE4 and IE5 efficiency standards.”

Nord Drivesystems has responded to

MHD MATERIALS HANDLING this demand with its IE5+ motors. Max notes that companies should not be deceived by the branding. If you were to draw a linear graph to represent energy efficiency, the IE5+ would be closer to an IE8. However, because the EU has yet to set the standards for anything beyond IE5, they can only call it the IE5+.

Max notes that increasing the efficiency of the motor is just part of the equation.

In addition to the remarkably efficient IE5+ motor, Nord Drivesystems has been able to further increase efficiency through a new concept that incorporates the motor and gearbox in a single design.

“Gearboxes can lead to some real losses,” he says. “This can vary from 98 per cent efficiency, down to 40 per cent efficiency, when considering the different power transmission technologies. You really need to account for the intricacies of a complete system to make it optimally efficient.”

The acute understanding behind this technology allows Nord Drivesystems to produce the DuoDrive solution where maximum efficiency gain is achieved via a single-housed design motorised gearbox.

“Nord Drivesystems has optimised this gearmotor and have realised that we have not only the lightest and most efficient, but also the most economical product, via the combination of an IE5+ motor and gearbox,” he says. “We have been able to eliminate further friction losses. This allows us to achieve smaller dimensions and higher overall efficiencies.”

The DuoDrive is ideal for conveyor applications. Max says the design was based on feedback received from some of their biggest partners.

One such important consideration was easy installation. Companies advised Nord Drivesystems that they were spending a lot of money on contractors who needed to be trained to install advanced technology. So, Max says Nord Drivesystems designed the DuoDrive to be relatively basic for installers by incorporating plug and play technology. This in turn allows companies to save money by spending less on specialised technicians.

Another important characteristic of the new DuoDrive is flexibility.

“You cannot just design a system that

operates at constant speed and load continuously. Those are design methods from the past,” he says. “Now customers want to be able to adjust to consumer demand. You might have a normal day, followed by a busy Friday, then you might need to ramp up to 300% around Christmas for example. We need to give our customers that flexibility.”

Having a range of speeds also means that the same unit can be used in multiple applications. A huge benefit of this, Max explains, is the reduction of geared motor variants and the simplified maintenance of spare parts for future replacements.

By bringing all these aspects together, Max is confident Nord is helping to drive warehouses and DCs Australiawide at a time when they cannot afford any downtime.

“These systems need to be very reliable,” says Max. “Logistics centres are running two to three shifts a day, with no downtime. If you get any downtime then parcels cannot be processed and supply chains inevitably are delayed. These days, motors and gearboxes need to be more flexible to meet this demand.” ■

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MHD INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY Flinders Port Holdings facilitates more than $25 billion in international trade annually.

CONNECTING SOUTH AUSTRALIA TO THE WORLD With the recent addition of a Warehousing & Distribution arm, Flinders Port Holdings continues to consolidate its presence as a complete port-based logistics provider.

MHD talks to Michelle English, Flinders’ Business Development Manager.

M

ichelle English, Business Development Manager at Flinders Port Holdings (FPH), says the organisation’s mission is to provide a complete port-centric logistics solution to facilitate trade for South Australia.

“By combining all the services that our group provides, FPH is able to offer customers an innovative, efficient and competitive solution,” Michelle says.

“FPH is the leading privately owned port operator in South Australia, handling the vast majority of the state’s imports and exports each year.”

FPH was originally established in 2001 through the acquisition of the 99-year land lease and licence for the operation of Port Adelaide and six regional ports across South Australia – Port Lincoln, 52 | MHD JUNE 2021

Port Pirie, Thevenard, Port Giles, Wallaroo and Klein Port. It also operates three other commercial ports in South Australia on behalf of third parties at Whyalla, Port Bonython and Ardrossan.

Through the provision of port infrastructure, stevedoring and logistics services, Michelle says FPH is working towards its goal of connecting South Australia to the world. This is achieved through FPH’s four main operating entities: Flinders Ports (FP), Flinders Adelaide Container Terminal (FACT), Flinders Logistics (FL), and its latest addition, Flinders Warehousing & Distribution (FWD).

“FP is the port operator for our group’s seven ports, and also performs marine operations at other commercial ports, as well as having a hydrographic

survey division,” Michelle says. “FACT is South Australia’s only container terminal operator, handling international containerised imports and exports; and FL is our bulk logistics and stevedoring services providers – focusing on the mineral, oil and gas sectors in Australia.”

ADDING VALUE WITH FWD With FWD in the mix, Michelle says the group can now provide full supply chain storage and handling. “The establishment of Flinders Warehousing & Distribution further strengthens our ability to offer a fully integrated supply chain solution by improving landside logistics,” she adds.

The addition of Flinders Warehousing & Distribution to the group – which operates from two sites, one of which is

MHD INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY ambient temperature controlled and both connected to the container terminal and the empty container park. This allows for containers to be transferred quickly and without road transport.

“We can manage import biosecurity risks by doing rural tailgate inspections, fumigation, heat treatment, washing, general inspections, as well as the specialised handling of seasonal hitchhiker biosecurity pests, and the like. On the export biosecurity side, we can manage risk through our storage, packing, and inspection services, as well as the treatment of prescribed exports,” Michelle says.

For 3PL operations, Michelle says FWD offers extensive storage solutions. “We have seven weather protected loading bays, an undercover transport corridor of over 220 metres, and heavy rated hard stands for storage of containers,” she says.

Michelle adds that FWD also has “unrivalled expertise” in managing Out of Gauge cargo, cargo that cannot be loaded into regular containers because of size, in a timely manner. This eliminates

the need for permits from the first leg of transport to unpack containers.

Because FWD is integrated with Flinders’ empty container park, equipment can be transferred from the park to FWD for packing or unpacking, thus removing the need for road transportation. “This is another way we remove cost from the supply chain,” Michelle says.

LOOKING AHEAD In early 2021, Flinders Port Holdings completed its first master plan, which sets out the future of the company’s ports and infrastructure over the next 50 years.

“This plan builds on the group’s previously released Sustainability Plan,” Michelle says. “It includes numerous provisions to align Flinders Port Holdings’ logistics and port operations with emerging environmental, social, and governance standards.”

FWD was established in 2019, which in retrospect might seem a rocky time to have embarked on such a project given the COVID-19 pandemic that hit the following year. But Michelle says one must always

be prepared for the unexpected.

“The only thing certain in logistics is constant change, and you have to be prepared to adjust to trends and challenges as they present themselves,” she says. “We have just continued to focus on meeting the demands of our customers, whether that be as a result of heightened biosecurity risk, or international trade relations. For us, ensuring that our suite of services reflects industry needs is paramount.”

Given its track record, Michelle has strong grounds to be optimistic for Flinders’ prospects moving ahead.

This year, the group celebrates its 20th anniversary.

“Since our founding as Flinders Ports with a staff of 191, we have expanded into one of the most important private companies in the state,” she says.

“Through our operations, we facilitate over $25 billion in international trade annually, employ over 700 people, and indirectly support a further 6000 jobs in South Australia. And the more we grow, the more we connect South Australia with the world at large.” ■

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MHD TRENDS IN IOT

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INFRASTRUCTURE THAT DELIVERS E-COMMERCE EXTENDS TO IOT MHD sits down with Craig Stanford, Director of Active Supply Chains, to talk about the power of the e-commerce consumer, and the impact of the Internet of Things (IoT).

W

hile we’ve all heard of the “keyboard warrior”, Craig Stanford, Director of Active Supply Chains, says that much of the future success in the e-commerce space will depend on the “Google ratings warrior”.

The empowerment of consumers in rating products and services means a brand can suffer grave damage – or build quite a reputation – almost overnight, depending on how all aspects of their supply chain are handled in getting the product to a consumer.

“For people who have been in supply chains a long time, e-commerce is quite different from what they are used to,” Craig says. “It has a very strong speed to market focus, it has a very strong focus on predictability, and the consumer is more empowered than ever to direct immediate and often brutal feedback at the service or product, as many consumers don’t differentiate between the two.”

So, what are some of the key things supply chain professionals must consider in this consumercentric environment?

“With e-commerce more companies are looking at holding stock forward,” says Craig. “Fulfilment centres can’t just be in Melbourne or Sydney anymore. That may have been convenient in an earlier era, because of the big population centres and so forth. But now companies are looking at holding stock forward in places like Perth, while perhaps not even 54 | MHD JUNE 2021

Craig Stanford, Director of Active Supply Chains. holding stock in places like Sydney, which might be controversial from a traditional perspective. Certainly, you can hold stock in places like Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth, and get same day or next day delivery to roughly 85 per cent of the Australian population.

However, as the consumer gets more demanding and new same day and 4-hour offerings come into the market, holding decentralised stock forward and close to the consumer will become increasingly critical.”

Craig says that using Australian sources where possible is another way in which businesses can improve their resilience, and thus their reliability in the eyes of the end-point consumer.

“On a broader scale, I think the last year has drawn attention to the necessity of diversifying supply points on a global scale,” he says. “We all know that people can be over-reliant on one country or one sourcing point.

So, I think companies will look more and more towards diversifying their inbound supply chains and where they source from. Speaking for myself, I’m certainly for companies co-sourcing with an Australian supplier where possible so as to give more resilience to their supply chains and reinvesting in our great country.”

“Additionally, I think another important thing to consider infrastructure-wise is how you integrate your systems,” Craig says.

“It’s not good enough these days in e-commerce for an online retailer to say: ‘We despatch within 48 hours.’ As a consumer, you don’t really care. You want to know when you’ll get it, which has a lot more to do with geography, transport modes available, and other factors. That’s where the need for closer fulfilment centres comes in, and the ability for retailers to tell from your street address when you will actually receive your order.”

THE POWER OF IOT Craig says that IoT has many current and potential uses in tracking supply chains and guaranteeing successful product delivery.

“We at Active Supply Chains have deployed an IoT solution for a major automotive parts and accessories client which connects to Thinxtra’s national 0G [Zero G] Network to track the very expensive stillages that protect automotive freight,” he says. “We can remotely track the location of these

stillages within about a ten metre accuracy. We use an IoT solution from our partner Loscam which connects to the national Thinxtra 0G Network.

It has worked better than I could ever have imagined.”

Craig believes that the same technology could be deployed for home deliveries – such as groceries or fresh meals. “The point is that they need to be temperature controlled,” he says.

“So, with IoT you could imagine putting a device such as an RFID device in every esky, put the esky in the vehicle, and the vehicle has an IoT device in it which links into 0G or 4 or 5G for that matter. Let’s say the IoT monitoring device shows no temperature breach – the sender will be very happy that they haven’t sent a consumer something which has gone off. But where there is a temperature breach, then a company has the opportunity to stop it, check it, tell the customer there’s been a delay, and tell them when they can expect a replacement item. This means more integrity for the brand, and as a consumer it gives you more confidence there has been no break in the coldor temperature-chain.”

And as Craig says, ensuring the integrity of the product is paramount in this era of Google ratings warriors: “Because if something goes seriously wrong with storage of perishables, for example – and a temperature breach leads to disappointed, or worst case sick, customers – then your brand can be smashed.”

Yet, while Craig sees great potential in tracking the location and condition of goods through the IoT, he notes that uptake is just starting at scale.

“I think the value of it is high, but people have to move their mindset.

The e-commerce model is largely based on a percentage of cost of goods sold. A lot of people in the retail space don’t intimately understand the cost of logistics components, but they do understand the percentage it represents as part of their cost of goods. If you’re in a market where you’re always pushing to be price competitive, then investing in tracking or monitoring technologies can still seem like an unnecessary cost.”

He argues that retailers will need to change their mindsets to realise the value of IoT in combination with

other technologies such as RFID. Or it will simply be consumer driven, as consumers increasingly demand proper tracking and controls over products from retailers.

“Certainly a change of mindset was needed on the part of our organisation when we decided to track stillages with the Loscam Track & Trace IoT solution using the 0G Network,” Craig says.

“That cost us money and it cost our client money. The payoff was that we didn’t lose these expensive stillages, we could reduce the size of the pool and our client’s costs, and we got better relationships due to improved reliability. But that investment took a leap of faith that the technology would pay off.”

IOT AND THE CHAIN OF CUSTODY The value of IoT might seem obvious in terms of basic business-to-business or last-mile verification purposes, but Craig foresees greater importance for IoT on the horizon in ensuring the integrity of supply chains and chains of custody. Something that the end customer already demands.

“Increasingly we are having conversations around slave labour, conversations around ethical trade,” he says. “The US and Europe have been taking firmer positions, and I think Australia will increasingly take a firmer line on these issues, too. Increasingly the ‘last mile’ won’t be important unless the first thousand miles is done right. If we have an ethical product and

its chain of custody then destroys its ethical component – or destroys its carbon footprint aspirations, to take another example – then the product loses its value in that dimension.”

That is why the ability to track the chain of custody using IoT and Thinxtra’s 0G Network will only get more important, Craig says.

“Again, we return to the notion of the Google-ratings warriors and the demands they will be making on the receiving end in terms of ethical, environmental, or any other kind of chain-of-custody consideration,” he says. “The more you have under control in your first thousand miles, the easier you’ll be able to answer those questions from the consumer, and you’ll have the right product at the right time for that last mile. You won’t be caught flat-footed by the new demands of a changing market.”

Loic Barancourt, Co-Founder and CEO of Thinxtra, adds: “We know that, for any organisation, deploying IoT solutions at scale for the first time can be complex and challenging. You just don’t know what you don’t know.

This is why we focus so much on working closely with our clients and partners to simplify the process and make the business case work. Craig Stanford, his team at Active Supply Chain and partner Loscam are setting a great example for unlocking the value in a collaborative and customer centric way.” ■ For more information, visit Thinxtra.com

Thinxtra solutions will be essential in ensuring chain of custody integrity.

MHD JUNE 2021 | 55

MHD PROPERTY FOCUS

INDUSTRIAL & LOGISTICS MARKET OUTLOOK The team at Colliers discuss the big uptake in industrial land, and project that demand will remain strong in the year ahead.

T

he run on Australian industrial and logistics real estate continues, with significant momentum being recorded in both the occupier and investment markets.

Colliers’ latest Industrial Research and Forecast Report has found that the strong outcome has been aided by the exponential rise of e-commerce, the improving economic outlook and a focus on efficiencies and automation as occupiers accelerate their supply chain innovation agendas.

“2020 was a year where the industrial and logistics sector outperformed all other commercial asset classes and this is expected to persist in 2021 given the strong macro drivers supporting demand,” says Luke Crawford, Head of Industrial and Logistics Research at Colliers.

Over the past 12 months, the industrial and logistics sector has featured a more transformational change than in perhaps the past decade. The disruption of global supply chains throughout 2020 meant significant investments in technology

David Hall, National Director, Industrial at Colliers. and automation have occurred as occupiers accelerate their supply chain innovation agendas. Similarly, new market entrants into the investment market, both local and offshore, continue to add to the significant weight of capital chasing assets in the market, which Colliers estimate to be around $40 billion.

“E-commerce has been the big benefactor over the past 12 months,” Luke says. “While the rate of growth

Hugh Gilbert, National Director, Industrial at Colliers. is expected to ease throughout 2021 from the heights recorded in 2020, it will remain elevated by historical standards and will drive major precommitments in most markets. With online retail sales requiring three times the amount of warehouse space when compared to traditional brickand-mortar sales, further growth will buoy demand levels as retailers invest in their online store platforms. The warehouse will be front and centre of this investment.”

OCCUPIER MARKET In Q1 2021, just over 1 million sqm of gross take-up was recorded nationally (for leases above 5,000 sqm), dominated by the Sydney and Melbourne markets. This follows a record year of demand in 2020 where just over 3.2 million sqm was leased.

Take-up over the quarter was led by the transport and logistics and retail sectors at 28 per cent and 25 per cent respectively.

“As a result of above average levels of take-up, the national vacancy rate fell sharply to 4 per cent in Q1 2021, 56 | MHD JUNE 2021

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

“

2020 was a year where the industrial and logistics sector outperformed all other commercial asset classes and this outperformance is expected to persist in 2021.

Gavin Bishop, Head of Industrial Capital Markets at Colliers. down from 5.2 per cent in Q4 2020. In select submarkets such as Sydney’s Outer West and Melbourne’s South East markets, the rate is closer to 1 per cent,” says Luke.

“Looking ahead, take-up for 2021 is expected to exceed the 3.2 million sqm recorded in 2020 and will mean another record year. The strong result will be supported by a pick-up in the Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth markets after a subdued 2020.”

Active enquiry levels in most capital cities is significant, however, finding a suitable warehouse for these occupiers is limited in some submarkets due to the lack of leasing options.

“In Melbourne’s West, which has been the most active industrial and logistics market in Australia over the past two years, there is currently almost 400,000 sqm in active briefs in the market above 10,000 sqm,” says Hugh Gilbert, National Director, Industrial at Colliers. “A further 275,000 sqm is being prepared by occupiers to go to market with a request for proposal, with the transport and logistics and retail sectors accounting for the bulk of these enquiries.”

David Hall, National Director, Industrial at Colliers noted: “In Western Sydney, there is currently 887,000 sqm of active requirements in the market and of this total, 41 per cent stems from the transport and logistics, manufacturing and wholesale trade sectors.”

He continued: “Active enquiries in April 2020 measured just 384,000 sqm – less than half where it is today and highlights the strength of leasing demand, as occupiers progress ahead with their long-term plans.

Luke Crawford, Head of Industrial and Logistics Research at Colliers.

“With more land coming online in the Mamre Road precinct, Sydney is able to accommodate occupiers seeking new facilities, particularly at the larger end of the market which hasn’t always been the case.”

INVESTMENT MARKET 2021 is shaping up as a record year of industrial and logistics investment activity, headlined by the recent announcement that ESR and GIC have acquired the Blackstone Portfolio (Milestone Logistics Portfolio) for $3.8 billion. In addition, there are a number of other large assets in the market or in due diligence and include LOGOS’s acquisition of the Moorebank Logistics Park for approximately $1.65 billion and the Best & Less distribution centre in Eastern Creek (~$130 million).

Collectively, these three deals alone will mean investment volumes for 2021 will have surpassed the levels recorded in 2020.

“As a result of the strong pricing

”

recorded for recently completed or soon to be completed deals, a significant re-pricing of industrial and logistics yields will occur,” says Gavin Bishop, Head of Industrial Capital Markets at Colliers. “Prime core assets in Sydney and Melbourne are currently trading below 4 per cent in some instances. Yields at this level are unprecedented in the sector and it highlights the significant growth in values and re-pricing that has occurred over the past three years.”

Notwithstanding the level of demand, it remains challenging to enter the sector with limited stock being marketed, as investors are preferring to hold onto their assets with the view of further upside through both yield compression and rental growth.

“Given this, we expect a large share of assets to be brought to market in 2021 will stem from corporate groups and privates as they look to capitalise on the strength of the market,” says Gavin. ■

MHD JUNE 2021 | 57

MHD FROM ASCI

ASCI2021 Upcoming highlights from the ASCI2021 Conference, to be held from 28 to 30 July.

WEDNESDAY 28 JULY

JANET SALEM Program Officer, Innovation for Circular Economy, United Nations Take a tour of the world through the eyes of the United Nations to demystify circular economic business models through global case studies that show how supply chains can support multiple sustainability goals.

become fully synchronised and strive to always remain customer driven. Let’s review together the key emerging forces that are changing our world, how it is shaping our supply chain thinking, our current footprint and aspirations, as well as interventions that have worked well for us at Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health.

CEDRIC LEMETTER

MARK PEARSON

Supply Chain Head for Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health Australia New Zealand In a continuously evolving consumer landscape with rapidly changing market dynamics, building an agile and resilient supply chain is crucial. To continue enabling sustainable profitable growth, global supply chains need to

Head of Planning, Bega Dairy & Drinks In 2020 cyber criminals infected multiple points of our Australian business, causing total failure of major operating systems and demanding a ransom for their restoration. We will outline the challenges, key activities and subsequent learnings from our experience leading the recovery from

an event that crippled Supply Chain and business infrastructure.

Risk management teaches us to mitigate issues, but what to do when the problem has already arrived? And how might we apply these insights to other business situations?

DOUGLAS KENT Executive Vice President of Strategy and Alliances, Association for Supply Chain Management The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Association for Supply Management IMPACT project: Building frontier and humanitarian supply chains to support the Ministries of Health in sub-Saharan Africa. The ultimate impact will: • I mprove last mile product availability • I ncrease public knowledge of health

ADDITIONAL SPEAKERS

Gordon Barrett – Global Supply Chain Manager, Nufarm

58 | MHD JUNE 2021

Chris Purcell – Head of Logistics, Metcash

Mark Watson – Group Forecasting and Planning Manager, Motion Asia Pacific

Adnan Qureshi — Category Manager, SA Health

MHD FROM ASCI

THURSDAY 29 JULY

and humanitarian supply chains across the supply chain community • D ecrease the knowledge gap between commercial and public health and humanitarian supply chains • C reate lasting community support through ongoing meetings and discussions.

LAURA MASSON Navy Centre for Innovation Manager The race for sovereign capability. A discussion on Australian and New Zealand Defence partnership and pathways.

the scale is unprecedented. Now more than ever, radical thinking for radical transformation is required. How might your supply chain capture value in a sustainable way and increase its resilience?

contractors in the area to acquire a comprehensive overview of the activity and opportunity for supply chains. A keynote address from the State Government will also provide plans for employment and economic stimulus for the area.

Masterclass:

ISHAN GALAPATHY

Capability Unlimited Rising above the chaos Understand the common pitfalls of why businesses often don’t get the best from their teams.

Moderated by Amanda Brisot, General Manager, Western Sydney Business Connection ■

FRIDAY 30 JULY

Masterclass:

JENNI PHILIPPE

Circular Economy Principal, Edge Taking tangible action to build circular supply chains.

In 2020, supply chains have been disrupted once more, but this time,

Western Sydney Airport Briefing Delegates will meet with Western Sydney Airport and Aerotropolis key stakeholders including Councils, Precincts, and major

ADDITIONAL SPEAKERS

Ellen Hudreaux — Director CS&Q,Global Supply Chain CXPacific, Schneider Electric

Hatem Abu Nusair — Master APICS Instructor

Nick Kapotis — ANZ Supply Chain Director, PPG Industries

Andrew Perkins — Country Manager, Systecon

Join ASCI and take steps towards your professional career pathway in 2021. Membership starts at $275 with concessions available upon evidence of your employment situation or membership to another association. Visit: www.asci.org.au/Join Scan the QR code to buy your ASCI2021 Ticket.

MHD JUNE 2021 | 59

MHD SCLAA

AUSTRALIAN SUPPLY CHAIN & LOGISTICS AWARDS 2021 Submissions are now open for the 60th annual ASCL Awards.

Read on for details on this year’s award categories.

ASCL INDUSTRY EXCELLENCE AWARD

ASCL SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT AWARD

Prestigious Industry award presented to an outstanding individual who has had an impact across the industry or an impact benefitting the industry as a whole and/or across time.

Criteria: • Must be an Australian resident.

• Achievement that has provided change, improvement, education, support, development, implementation or significant results that has bettered their own or general supply chains or the industry as a whole.

Supply Chain Management (SCM) is the oversight of materials, information, and finances as they move in a process from supplier to manufacturer to wholesaler to retailer to consumer.

This award recognises an organisation that can demonstrate significant achievement or improvement within a section or across their entire supply chain.

Criteria: • M ust be an organisation or company not an individual – open to all industries.

• Nominees should be able to clearly

The ASCL Industry Excellence Award will be presented to an outstanding individual who has had an impact across the industry.

60 | MHD JUNE 2021

state the design and achieved results of the project or process envisaged and then implemented.

• Must be a general measurable improvement of the entire supply chain or a part thereof.

ASCL FUTURE LEADERS AWARD This award provides an incentive and recognition to an outstanding Supply Chain Industry Future Leader and to encourage and support leadership across the industry.

Criteria: • A ny person under the age of 30 that has shown proven commitment

ASCL FUTURE LEADERS AWARD PRIZE SPONSOR

The winner of the 2021 Future Leader Award will receive enrolment into Leadership Management Australia’s (LMA) “The Performance Edge” 10-week development course.

LMA has been delivering our proven leadership, management, sales and team training and development solutions to clients for over 45 years in Australia.

“We improve the productivity of organisations by improving their people, making them better organised, better communicators and better equipped to resolve issues. Our learning process is unique, proven and guaranteed, producing measurable results and an identifiable R.O.I. providing our participants lasting attitudinal and behavioural changes. We don’t train people, we develop them and there’s a massive difference.”

For further enquiries please contact LMA on 1800 333 270

MHD SCLAA

The ASCL International Supply Chain Award is given to a company, institution or an individual that operates internationally.

to learn and gain knowledge and has applied their achieved skills to deliver improvements within their supply chain field.

• Particular attention will be given by the judges where nominees have been encouraged and able to use new techniques, technology or developed new processes.

ASCL AUTOMATION, ROBOTICS OR EMERGING TECHNOLOGY AWARD The supply chain world is changing quickly, and physical technology is making a huge impact. This inaugural award recognises that, in addition to data management, significant impacts are occurring through devices, robotics, automation, wearables and other emerging physical technologies.

Criteria: • Open to organisations who have implemented or who consult on, or implement, emerging technologies to improve supply chains or an aspect of the supply chain.

• Outline the business issue that was addressed.

• D emonstrate how this was implemented and the measurable impact of that change.

ASCL TRAINING, EDUCATION & DEVELOPMENT AWARD Training, education and development remains a vital part of allowing knowledge to be utilised for new ideas and supply chain improvements to be discovered and then implemented. This award will be presented to a company that can best demonstrate their commitment, application and results of providing training, education and development of their people.

Criteria: • Open to all training, education and development initiatives where benefits to the company and/or employees is demonstrable. (In the case of training bodies or Academic institutions, impact on the industry as a whole will be considered.)

• M ust demonstrate commitment to, investment in or active ongoing development of supply chain industry participants.

ASCL INTERNATIONAL SUPPLY CHAIN AWARD In recognition of global supply chains, the ASCL International Supply Chain Award is given to a company, institution or an individual that operates internationally. Either: an Australian entity with international impact; an international entity with

impact on the supply chain industry in Australia; or an Australian company impacting supply chain internationally.

Criteria: • M ust demonstrate impact on Australian supply chains, or the expansion of ideas, products, systems or processes from Australia to overseas markets.

• Can be an individual or organisation.

• Must have an international aspect to the submission under definition.

ASCL ENVIRONMENTAL EXCELLENCE AWARD The ASCL Environmental Excellence Award recognises corporate leadership or projects within our industry contributing to environmental corporate responsibility, the circular economy and/or protecting the environment.

Criteria: • Must be able to demonstrate leadership towards environmental goals or a project relating to the improvement of the environment.

• The result(s) must be measurable.

• A service or initiative that clearly contributes to sustainability through a change in processes, or reduction or re-use in energy, waste, materials or natural resources.

MHD JUNE 2021 | 61

MHD SCLAA ASCL BIG DATA, IT & BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE (BI) AWARD This Award focuses on digital innovations that improves or offers a new way of delivering value to the supply chain using Big Data, IT and BI. Award nominees will demonstrate where applying use of existing or new digital technologies, methodologies or frameworks have provided significant improvements to their management of information and/or their supply chain processes.

Criteria: • Must be a software, data, application or systems improvement.

• Must explain the issue being addressed.

• Nominees will demonstrate where the use of Big Data, IT, BI or datadriven systems have significantly impacted their IT management and/ or their supply chain processes.

ASCL START-UP AWARD ASCL recognises that any start-up company faces a tough road. This award recognises those tenacious individuals and companies who push through from inception to success.

Criteria: • Open to all industries related to supply chain and can be from any sector servicing the supply chain.

The Big Data, IT & Business Intelligence Award focuses on digital innovations that improves or offers a new way of delivering value to the supply chain.

• M ust be under 5yrs old as a registered entity.

• Must have essentially started the business/service/ company from scratch (i.e. not inherited or purchased an ongoing business).

ASCL LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT AWARD The recipient of this Award may stem from nominees for any of the other SCLAA awards, at the judges’ discretion, where the demonstrated achievement, improvement or results have required a logistical approach to improvement or major change to their logistics management.

The winner of this Award can be an individual or organisation working or

operating in Australia. The recipient of this award is nominated by the Judging panel, the SCLAA Board or can be selected from any of the submissions. The nominees will be judged on their demonstration of a clear application of logistics improvement that is unique, innovative or reforming to the organisation or the industry. ■ To make a submission, www.cognitoforms.com/ SCLAA1/_2021AustralianSupply ChainLogisticsAwards For other information or inquiries call 1300 364 160 or email secretary@sclaa. com.au

The Logistics Management Award may stem from nominees from any of the other SCLAA awards, at the judges’ discretion.

62 | MHD JUNE 2021

MHD ALC

ALC TECHNOLOGY SUMMIT COMING TO MELBOURNE IN JUNE The Technology Summit, taking place in Melbourne, will launch the Single Freight Data Standard, and discuss other key trends affecting the industry.

T

he Australian Logistics Council (ALC) invites you to attend its long-awaited Technology Summit in Melbourne, VIC on Wednesday 30th June 2021.

The 2021 Technology Summit has an impressive line-up of speakers, and will cover key policy issues that the industry is facing now and defining its future.

Join more than 100 industry and supply chain leaders, operators, customers, and government representatives.

“This is a really important event. Due to COVID last year we couldn’t have these important conversations,” says Rachel Smith, Director - Policy & Advocacy. “It makes this year all the more important for the industry. Some of the biggest supply chain policies to effect change within our industry have been identified at past ALC Tech Summit events. They are a key forum to drive the future agenda that is critical in keeping Australia as a global supply chain leader.”

A full day and evening event with an outstanding program and speaker line-up, you won’t want to miss out on taking part in this important gathering.

KEY PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE: A Single Freight Data Standard for Australia Launch Commonality of data language is key to advancing the traceability of goods down the Australian supply chain. The Standard answers a need recognised by both industry and government.

At a meeting held on 7 December, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack MP said: “The Australian Government acknowledges the need for a single data standard to enable governments and

industry to make data-driven decisions.”

The Data Standard is designed to provide the framework for the interoperable sharing of information about the movement of freight and vehicles as they travel the supply chain.

The Single Freight Data Standard will be one of the industry’s biggest opportunities for productivity and efficiency growth for the year.

National Freight Data Hub The Australian Government has committed $8.5 million to improve national freight data. Access to robust freight data will help industry and governments plan, make better operational and investment decisions and be more resilient and responsive.

The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications has been working closely with industry, governments and other stakeholders on the Hub prototype, and is now ready to unveil its progress to the Tech Summit audience.

Critical Infrastructure Bill With recent amendments to the Critical Infrastructure Act now passed by Parliament, impacted industry sectors are racing to get ready. Representatives from Home Affairs, the cybersecurity sector and industry will discuss the impact of the changes and answer your questions.

The Security Legislation Amendment (Critical Infrastructure) Bill seeks to expand the scope of the Critical Infrastructure Act to cover critical infrastructure entities in a wider range of sectors, including health, financial and education services. The Bill further seeks to introduce mandatory cyber incident reporting requirements and enhanced cybersecurity obligations.

Future of Fuels Electric and hydrogen vehicles are the future of Australia’s supply chain economy. However, the fledging product technology is currently climbing the apex of what must be considered Australia’s Mt Everest of legislative hurdles to get a foothold in the Australian freight and logistics market.

Australia is a single national economy. Yet so much of the regulatory framework that impacts on businesses is designed and enforced at a State or local level. For those operating businesses in the freight logistics sector, this means daily confrontation with a hodgepodge of legislative and regulatory hurdles that variously confound and complicate the process of transporting freight safely and efficiently.

States have rushed to the finish line determined not to be left behind to establish their own state specific sets of road user pricings. The result is that they are strangling an infant commercial market with excessive unit cost increases before it has even managed to establish its first breaths.

Uptake of alternatively powered vehicles is the future of Australia’s commercial and consumer economies.

Consistent taxation mechanisms for road access is key to supporting Australia to remain competitive in the global market.

We gratefully acknowledge the support of our partners Telstra and MT Data. ■ Don’t miss out on this key event for the year, spaces are limited and filling up fast. Registrations are now open – go to https://www.austlogistics.com.au/events/ to secure your place.

MHD JUNE 2021 | 63

MHD PRODUCT SHOWCASE

AUTOMATE YOUR FLOOR CLEANING PROCESS WITH NEO 2 BY AVIDBOTS Designed for cleaning and sanitising vast commercial spaces with hard-flooring, Neo 2 by Avidbots delivers a fully autonomous floor clean that is efficient, consistent and measurable. With Neo 2 autonomously cleaning the floors, organisations can reallocate their workforce labour to revenue-generating activities. With advanced dynamic planning and real-time obstacle avoidance, Neo 2 maximises cleaning productivity while minimising human intervention. Neo 2 is a world-leading, fully autonomous, floorscrubbing robot platform.

To find out more, visit www.avidbots.com

GEOTAB’S GO9 DEVICE Completely redesigned and enhanced, the Geotab GO9 device is optimised for the collection and analysis of near real-time vehicle data. The GO9 features a faster processor, more memory, and a gyroscope. Expanded capacity allows even more and ongoing vehicle support, including better fuel usage support, and increased electric vehicle compatibility.

Using Geotab’s patented tracking algorithm, the GO9 accurately recreates vehicle trips and analyses incidents. The GO9 also offers in-vehicle alerts to instantly notify drivers of infractions and – with hardware Add-Ons – provides live coaching for driver’s on-road performance.

To find out more, visit www.geotab.com/au/vehicle-tracking-device

TOYOTA’S LEVIO LPE200B ELECTRIC PALLET JACK Toyota Material Handling Australia (TMHA)’s recently released Levio LPE200B electric pallet jack, which is a pared back version of its existing LPE200 model. It has proven itself popular at a costeffective price-point with no compromise on productivity, reliability and safety. The LPE200 and the new LPE200B are essentially the same machines, having all the standard equipment and usual TMHA service and support. The only difference is that the 200B comes as-is, with fewer additional options available for it. The Toyota LPE200B electric pallet jack has many standard features including pin-code entry, safety gates, speed control, heavyduty load wheels and fixed battery-locking. It is also warehouse fleet management system compatible. Ideally suited for highperformance horizontal transportation, order-picking, docking applications and with pedestrian/walk-behind functionality, both the Toyota LPE200 and LPE200B models have garnered a reputation as reliable, safe and robust electric pallet-jacks.

To find out more, freecall 1800 425 438 or visit www.toyotamaterialhandling. com.au

64 | MHD JUNE 2021

PACKSIZE X7 The Packsize X7 is the fastest, most reliable, and smartest automated on demand packaging machine on the market, giving e-commerce companies the ability to reliably package and ship right-sized singleand complex multi-item orders.

You can speed up your corrugated box production and reduce your reliance on packaging labour by integrating the X7 into your fulfillment process. The X7 gives you the ability to pack and ship an order in just three seconds.

The X7 seamlessly integrates with PackNet production and optimisation software. An advantage for high-volume centres, this technology integration assesses and creates the most efficient and proven custom box-making experience in the e-commerce marketplace. The X7 can help you achieve operational savings while delivering the many benefits associated with making a right-sized box for every order, such as reducing the impact of your packaging on the environment and delivering a tamper-proof user-friendly box to your customer.

To find out more, visit au.packsize.com

SEPT 2021

MELBOURNE

NOMINATIONS

NOW OPEN SPONSORED BY Department of Transport

HELD IN CONJUCTION WITH

AUSTRALIAN BULK HANDLING EXPO

2021

www.mercuryawards.com.au

MHD PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE A monthly wrap up of the latest appointments in the supply chain, materials handling and logistics industry.

NEW PROJECT MANAGER JOINS MANHATTAN ASSOCIATES

TOLL GLOBAL EXPRESS ANNOUNCE NEW CEO

NEW PACIFIC RESEARCH LEADER AT CBRE

Camille Co will bring her regional project management and WMS software expertise to market leading Manhattan

Allegro Funds, which recently announced it would acquire Toll Global Express, has chosen former Australia Post CEO Christine

CBRE has appointed Sameer Chopra to head its Pacific research team and spearhead ESG research for the Asia

Associates as Project Manager.

Holgate to be Global Express’s future Group Chief Executive Officer. Christine will lead the transformation strategy for the

Pacific Region. Sameer is currently Head of Australian Research at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and will commence

growing parcels and logistics organisation upon Allegro completing its acquisition of Global Express from Japan Post.

his new role with CBRE in July.

PROLOGICAL APPOINTS NEW ANALYST

MICROLISTICS APPOINTS NEW VP GLOBAL SALES & MARKETING

CBRE APPOINTS NEW HEAD OF NSW RESEARCH

Michelle Powell has joined Prological Consulting as an Analyst, Michelle has more than 25 years’ experience in the FMCG and textile manufacturing sector, including

Microlistics has promoted Archival Garcia to be VP Global Sales and Marketing.

This appointment extends Archival’s responsibilities from overseeing sales in the Asia Pacific to also recognise his

Sass J-Baleh has been recruited by CBRE as Head of NSW Research and Australian Industrial & Logistics Research. Sass will join the firm from JLL, where she was the National Director

leadership and contribution to Microlistics’ rapid growth in other global regions such as EMEA and the Americas.

of Industrial & Logistics Research.

15 years at Kimberly-Clark. Her broad experience covers business and supply chain analytics, supply chain planning, process improvement and inventory optimisation.

Do you have career news to share? Email Edward Cranswick at Edward.Cranswick@primecreative.com.au to be featured.

66 | MHD JUNE 2021

®

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Productivity. Safety. Uptime.

The InfoLink Touch Display provides a familiar touchscreen interface for the operator with the ability to display highly visual messages during operation. Its features include: • • • • • • • •

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InfoLink® 7’’ Touch Display

To learn how InfoLink® can help get the most out of your operators and your forklift fleet call 1300 283 390 or visit www.crown.com