MHD OCT 2020

OCTOBER 2020

COVER STORY

INSIDE AUSTRALIA’S FAVOURITE ONLINE SUPERSTORE Catch invests in automation with Körber

BEYOND BARCODES

A new IoT network is optimising the supply chain

A NEW OPPORTUNITY

How synergies between printing and materials handling are moving the industry forward

Flexible and Scalable Automation

Körber's AMR Solutions

Autonomous Mobile Robots Körber leads the way in AMR success for supply chain proving up to 400% increase in efficiencies.

Partner with Körber’s dedicated AMR team to enable diversified applications of AMRs from improving floor operations such as picking, moving and sorting through to table-top sortation. AMRs offer flexible automation

Diverse AMR Portfolio Körber’s AMR solution stack is designed to maximise variety, applications and best-in-class quality. It features Körber AutoSort Mobile table-top sortation solution and the diverse offerings

by Geek+, Locus Robotics and Fetch Robotics, all expertly integrated

by Körber.

with significant cost savings, rapid deployment timeframes and phenomenal throughputs.

1300 66 93 94 info.sc.mel@koerber-supplychain.com

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.primecreativemedia.com.au

THE TEAM CEO: John Murphy Publisher: Christine Clancy Group Managing Editor: Sarah Baker Managing Editor: Melanie Stark Journalist: Brittany Coles Business Development Manager: Bowie Phillips Design Production Manager: Michelle Weston Art Director: Blake Storey Graphic Designers: Kerry Pert, Madeline McCarty Client Success Manager: Janine Clements

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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.

A PEAK PERIOD LIKE NO OTHER

B

efore the pandemic hit, Australians spent approximately $63 billion on domestic and international travel. With domestic travel largely restricted and most international flights grounded for the foreseeable future, what will Australians do with this spare cash?

If recent trends in consumer spending are set to continue, it looks like Australian households will be spending big this Christmas. A UBS report found that consumer spending is up since the pandemic began, with retail sales growing by $2 billion in June compared to February this year.

Online sales have surged 40 per cent and category winners include supermarkets, liquor, furniture, electrical goods, hardware and sporting equipment.

A healthy consumer economy will help drive the Australian economy to recovery and there are already some positive signs emerging.

At the time of writing, Commonwealth Bank economists have upgraded their economic outlook, suggesting that the September quarter would now be positive.

This will end the technical recession in Australia, which is defined as two quarters of negative growth.

Underpinning this economy, is the industry that keeps consumers spending.

Efficient, reliable and swift delivery are fundamental factors of any online shopping experience and this industry is innovating and investing at record pace to meet the increase in volume and demands.

Online mega-sales days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday are fastapproaching. With consumers now very comfortable shopping from their sofa, volumes are likely to reach record heights this year – with a bumper Christmas set to follow.

I recently interviewed Jeff Triantafilo, Systems Consultant at supply chain consultancy Fuzzy LogX who says that COVID-19 has made the warehouse the most important asset to a business. This is because the entire business is making a promise that the warehouse fulfils.

With consumer purchasing set to drive the Australian economic recovery, supply chain and logistics has never played a more critical role in the nation’s future growth.

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.

Melanie Stark Managing Editor melanie.stark@primecreative.com.au

MHD Supply Chain

MHD OCTOBER 2020 | 3

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OCTOBER 2020

ISSUE #9 VOLUME 50

THIS ISSUE COVER STORY

14 Inside Australia’s favourite online retailer

SUPPLY CHAIN 12 Supply chain resilience 42 Keeping moving 50 Openness in a new COVID world 52 Better together

TECHNOLOGY

14

COVER STORY

23 Beyond barcodes with IoT 35 Accelerating slow movers 44 Resilience and agility 56 WMS: a guide 58 Raising the bar 60 Automation collaboration

MATERIALS HANDLING 19 From print media to materials handling 27 Delivering a better customer experience 39 A true electric alternative MHD SUPPLY CHAIN SOLUTIONS

48 Inside JMP’s palletising solution 54 Powering automation

OCTOBER 2020

64 Electric force

OCTOBER 2020

COVER STORY

INSIDE AUSTRALIA’S FAVOURITE ONLINE SUPERSTORE Catch invests in automation with Körber

31

E-COMMERCE 31 Ramping up retail 46 Frustration free packaging

BEYOND BARCODES

A new IoT network is optimising the supply chain

66 Home for christmas

A NEW OPPORTUNITY

How synergies between printing and materials handling are moving the industry forward

STORAGE SOLUTIONS 62 Increasing density

DEPARTMENTS AND REGULARS 06 News 10 In the warehouse

ON THE COVER

68 Property focus

MHD goes behind the scenes at Catch Group to find out about Körber’s deployment of more than 100 AMRs for the leading online retailer.

70 ASCI

52

72 The last word 74 ALC 76 SCLAA

MHD OCTOBER 2020 | 5

MHD NEWS

Amazon launches new Uber-like delivery service

A

mazon Australia has announced its new delivery service, Amazon Flex. Similar to Uber, people will have the opportunity to be their own boss, and earn extra money in their free time delivering Amazon packages to customers.

Amazon Flex will launch in Brisbane, in a bid to supplement its delivery capacity in the Sunshine State, ultimately speeding up deliveries for customers.

This announcement follows Amazon’s first Queensland fulfilment centre in Lytton, Brisbane, to open before Christmas.

Amazon Flex launched in Australia in January this year, and currently has more than one thousand delivery partners earning extra money by delivering packages to Amazon customers in Sydney and Melbourne.

Interested delivery partners in Brisbane that have their own car can sign-up, choose delivery blocks that fit their schedule and deliver packages, all using the Amazon Flex app.

Amazon Flex launched in Australia in January this year.

They simply download the app (available for Apple or Android), sign up, complete the background verification process and they are then ready to accept delivery blocks.

Delivery blocks are around four hours, during which delivery partners collect packages from an Amazon Delivery

Station in Brisbane and deliver them to customers. Amazon Flex delivery partners will know the estimated duration and minimum payment for each block in advance – providing transparency around their earnings – and will receive payments weekly by direct deposit.

Toyota upgrades its service van fleet

T

The Toyota service van has been completely redesigned for the first time in 15 years.

6 | MHD OCTOBER 2020

oyota Material Handling Australia (TMHA) is progressively upgrading its 300 plus-strong fleet of service vans to Toyota’s newestgeneration HiAce, providing multiple benefits for its service technicians, the business’ footprint and the same high degree of service and support for its customers, nationally.

TMHA General Manager – Service, Mal Paterson, said the entire fleet of HiAce service vans will be replaced with the new model, which has been completely redesigned for the first time in 15 years.

The first new service van has already hit the road and a further 32 will follow it in the following weeks.

A global partner with deep expertise for the life of supply chain Conquer supply chain complexity – with KÜrber.

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MHD NEWS

Global investor demand for modern logistics assets

O

ccupier demand for industrial and logistics facilities remains high for global investors.

Australia’s investable industrial

property space has been estimated at $90 billion and most investors in the sector are looking to build a portfolio of between $1.0 billion and $1.5 billion.

Global investors have identified Australia as an important market for deploying core capital.

Global investors have identified Australia as an important market for deploying core capital, in a recent survey by JLL of 38 global investors collectively holding close to $2 trillion of assets under management.

Half of all respondents plan on increasing their exposure to Australia by the end of 2021. Given the strong underlying drivers for logistics real estate, 81 per cent of survey respondents plan on increasing their exposure to this sector by the end of 2021.

JLL’s Head of Capital Markets, Industrial and Logistics – Australia, Tony Iuliano said investor demand for modern logistics assets has remained firm with multiple capital sources seeking to enter Australia or increase their industrial and logistics exposure.

Myer signs 3PL deal with Australia Post

M

yer has entered into a multi-year agreement with its e-commerce fulfilment partner, Australia Post, to provide warehousing and online fulfilment services. The agreement will enable a streamlined supply chain for customers online purchases, clickand-collect and home delivery.

The department store has reported

Myer has reported strong online growth during the pandemic.

8 | MHD OCTOBER 2020

strong online growth during the the COVID-19 pandemic and these new warehouse and fulfilment arrangements will underpin the next stage of growth in Myer’s online business, to further strengthen the fulfilment capacity and improve efficiency, delivering benefits to Myer’s customer as well as providing significant cost savings.

The partnership with Australia Post, Australia’s largest e-commerce fulfilment and delivery network in Australia, will also provide extra capacity to support online growth, particularly during peak trading periods, with more than 90,000 products to be housed at the 26,000sqm Australia Post facility.

Bringing together two leaders in supply chain and property with capabilities that no other consultancy has

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MHD IN THE WAREHOUSE

MHD Supply Chain

This month we showcase the latest from Ferag, Jungheinrich, Dematic, KĂśrber, Packsize and Dexion.

E D I S IN D H M THE E S U O H E R A W

SERIES 2 FORKLIFT TRUCKS With capacities of up to 2000 kg, Jungheinrich’s Series 2 forklift trucks offer maximum manoeuvrability on level surfaces where space is at a premium. In addition, they combine optimum energy and cost efficiency with maximum performance. This is enabled by its PureEnergy technology concept.

For more info, visit: www.jungheinrich.com.au

DEMATIC TT SERIES AGV Small and nimble, the new TT (Table-top) Automated Guided Vehicle is the smallest and most agile in the Dematic AGV fleet.

It has the capability to carry 3x its own weight of up to 1,500kg, with a smaller turning circle than a forklift truck to easily manoeuvre in tight spaces.

For more info, visit: www.dematic.com.au

DENISORT TILTING TRAY SORTER Conveying, sorting and order picking: the very flexible Denisort tilting tray sorter from Ferag kills no less than three birds with one stone. Thanks to its robust and proven design, the system can be used seamlessly for all three processes, even in the third dimension. This means that Denisort not only allows a continuous flow of materials across several levels, but also fully meets intralogistics requirements in the e-commerce and retail sector.

For more info, visit: www.ferag.com/en/materialhandling-solutions/denisort/

10 | MHD OCTOBER 2020

MHD IN THE WAREHOUSE

M1 MACHINE A first-of-its-kind print functionality for z-Fold®, appropriate for QR codes, box markings, handling instructions, barcodes, numbers, small logos, and more; _ A multi-bay z-Fold® infeed system makes it possible to produce boxes for up to eight corrugated bales. Different corrugated grades, sizes or multiple same-sized bales (depending on single-piece flow or batch production methods) can be simultaneously connected to the M1™, which enhances productivity, maximizes corrugated use, and reduces trim waste.

For more info, visit: www.packsize.com

DEXION PRO90 SMART GUARD Dexion’s new Pro90 Smart Guard safeguards your upright from serious damage and protects your pallet racking investment in the long term.

The simple hook and loop attachment method combined with the smart clips makes it fast to install and remove for re-locations or rack inspections, saving you time and money.

The Dexion Pro90 design eliminates the need for securing straps, fixing bolts or interference fit like other protectors on the market.

For more info, visit: www.dexion.com.au

KÖRBER AUTOSORT MOBILE Maximise your operational capabilities through flexible, affordable and scalable automation.

Körber AutoSort Mobile allows dynamic sortation, taking the shortest and most direct path. Now you can free up space in your DC and reduce your investment in traditional and fixed automation.

For more info, visit: www.koerber-supplychain.com

MHD OCTOBER 2020 | 11

MHD SUPPLY CHAIN

SUPPLY CHAIN RESILIENCE

Lynette Schultheis, Operations Manager at FM Global Australia explains why supply chain resilience in a disrupted world demands data-driven tools.

A

s someone in the business of risk management, looking back at articles in January 2020 forecasting key trends for supply chain management in the coming year is an interesting exercise. Many articles reference multiple factors which were then forecast to add complexity to supply chain managers work this year – geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty, trade agreement changes, consumers’ shifting expectations and consumption patterns, and changing costs.

Mark Hermans, a Managing Director at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, said in order to survive in this environment, supply chains need to be agile, smarter and faster – more than ever before.

That fact is, we all now know that the greatest disruption to supply chains in living memory – COVID 19 – was just around the corner when these predictions were made. Whatever complexity was forecast then is nothing compared to what businesses would ultimately face – showing the need to think broadly when undertaking risk planning exercises.

In the case of supply chain resilience, many businesses are being forced to reassess their resilience and do an even deeper dive into their supply chains. The difference this time is that there are even more factors to weigh.

What was already clear prior to COVID-19 was that a lean supply chain could heighten risks when there was a bottleneck. While globalisation of business and expansion of supply chains overseas has reduced costs, made firms more competitive, increased consumer choice and convenience and supported business and economic growth, on average, companies worldwide experience supply chain disruptions that last a month or longer every 3.7 years, even prior to COVID-19.

With many traditional suppliers 12 | MHD OCTOBER 2020

disrupted during lockdown, there’s renewed conversation on the need for diversification - beyond one country to multiple countries or regions. At the same time, trends such as protectionism and consumer demand for ethical and sustainable products are also set to play a key role in our supply chains in coming years.

Research shows that 91 per cent of consumers want brands to use sustainable ingredients or materials, and 92 per cent believe sustainable business practices should be standard. More than half of people think it’s important that products are fully made from recycled materials, according to Monash Business School’s Australian Consumer and Retail Studies unit (ACRS).

Supply chain professionals looking to future-proof supply lines must now juggle this laundry list of short and longer term factors. By doing so can they not only ensure that immediate disruption is minimised but that any solutions stand up to scrutiny long term.

With so many factors to consider as they re-shape the supply chain to navigate disruption and meet evolving customer and stakeholder expectations in 2020 and beyond, it’s never been more important to take a data-driven approach to strengthening supply chains. Only in this way can supply chain professionals take the holistic view of potential risks and opportunities, while lightening the load when it comes to making more informed decisions about a complex array of factors.

Doing so is critical if businesses are to avoid further costly disruptions as they look to recover from the pandemic.

New McKinsey data shows that a single prolonged production-only shock would wipe out between 30 and 50 per cent of one year’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) for companies in most industries. If the event disrupts

distribution channels the losses could be even higher.

Fortunately, new technologies are making it possible to gain more visibility by mapping the extended supply chain, without serious loss to efficiency. In addition, data-driven tools such as FM Global’s Resilience Index are helping businesses identify countries that provide the best opportunities to reap the cost, materials and innovation benefits of an extended supply chain.

By ranking 130 countries on 12 economic, risk quality and supply chain-related measures it allows businesses to understand the impact of domestic and international factors on a country’s resilience to disruption.

It allows businesses to take a two-tofive-year view of exposure to risks into consideration when planning supply chains, taking natural disaster risk and other relevant measures such as visibility and standard of corporate governance in their intended supply chain hub.

Facing increasing uncertainty with potentially profound impacts on their businesses, senior executives can use the Resilience Index to compare the countries their current and prospective suppliers are located in quickly and easily, examine five-year trends and export data into reports and presentations. This is invaluable support when making decisions about where to locate supply chains, or to operate or expand facilities.

While complexity has increased in 2020 beyond what most people could have imagined even as recently as January, one of the most strategic decisions any supply chain professional can make is what tools they will use to support their next move. With the right insights and support, businesses can proactively integrate the latest trends into their planning and become more agile in the face of disruption. ■

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MHD COVER STORY

INSIDE AUSTRALIA’S FAVOURITE ONLINE RETAILER MHD goes behind the scenes at homegrown e-commerce pioneer Catch Group to find out about its recent partnership with Körber. We discover how Catch will be able to fulfil an extra 2,000 orders an hour with a new automated solution and the crucial role this investment plays in the e-commerce leader’s goal of same-day delivery.

C

atch Group is one of Australia’s first e-commerce marketplaces.

Founded by two brothers in 2006 with the aim of transforming Australia’s online retail landscape, Catch has grown to become one of Australia’s largest online retailers.

Catch operates out of two distribution centres and sells thousands of products across a range of consumer categories, including home decoration and furnishing, fashion,

sportswear, health and beauty and also dry pantry goods – a category which the organisation saw a huge increase in during the early stages of COVID-19.

With an item sold every two seconds on its award-winning digital platform, the retailer has been ramping up its

fulfilment capabilities in order to meet the ever-increasing consumer demand.

In June last year, Wesfarmers acquired the business for $230 million. Commenting on the acquisition, Rob Scott, Managing Director at Wesfarmers said Catch offered an opportunity to accelerate Wesfarmers and Kmart Group’s digital and e-commerce capabilities, with Kmart and Target able to lean on Catch’s

Catch has recently added thousands of products to its already extensive portfolio.

14 | MHD OCTOBER 2020

MHD COVER STORY expertise in e-commerce fulfilment and digital marketing.

Ian Bailey, Managing Director at Kmart Group also spoke of a new digital era for Wesfarmers. “Catch has built a successful first-party and fast-growing marketplace business underpinned by a leading technology platform and data capabilities. We look forward to leveraging our capabilities to grow the business and accelerate the customer-driven, omnichannel initiatives across Kmart and Target,” he said.

A COMPETITIVE MARKET The online marketplace in Australia is becoming an increasingly competitive space. Australian online consumers are more sophisticated than ever and expectations around delivery timeframes are rising higher and higher.

Global e-commerce giant Amazon is aggressively increasing its footprint in the Australian market. In June this year, the online retailer announced it would build a new fulfilment centre in Queensland as well as revealed plans it will build its first robotics fulfilment centre in Australia.

Despite its heavy investment in the region, Amazon is still struggling to return a profit in Australia. In 2019, the company reported a $4.7 million loss for the year, albeit up on its previous loss of $5.3 in 2019.

COVID-19 prompted a revolution in online shopping and has sent e-commerce penetration across Australia to a record high, meaning online marketplaces such as Catch Group are set to grow even further.

In June this year, Wesfarmers reported early wins across its online retail channels.

A significant player in this growth was Catch Group, with total sales in the second half of the financial year (FY20) growing by an impressive 68.7 per cent. The company was already on a growth trajectory before the impact of COVID-19, with Catch reporting a 21.4 per cent sales growth in the first half of FY20.

Wesfarmers commented that Catch was providing the Group with “pleasing progress” with strong growth across both in-stock and marketplace segments as well as ongoing growth in its Club Catch subscription base.

ONLINE ACCESS TO AUSTRALIA’S LARGEST HOUSEHOLD NAMES While Amazon sees Australia as a major opportunity, Catch has the added benefit of being part of the Wesfarmers family – ­ which is home to some of Australia’s much-

Catch has deployed more than 100 AMRs at its site in Victoria.

“

The AMRs will provide Catch with the ability to pick an additional 2,000 orders an hour.

With its growing consumer base and the increased demand for timely and efficient delivery across Australia, this solution will play a crucial role in Catch being able to deliver the excellent customer experience the retailer is known for.

”

loved high street brands.

In early July this year, Catch added thousands of new products to its already extensive product portfolio online marketplace. To meet this new demand, Catch has partnered with global supply chain leader Körber to broaden its automation capabilities across its fulfilment operations.

“Catch has experienced phenomenal success since its inception as an early innovator in the e-commerce market in Australia. With COVID-19 driving more consumers online, Catch is very well placed to meet this rise in demand and this investment in automation ensures that we continue to increase and improve our product and service offering for our rapidly growing consumer base,” Richard Whetton, Head of Fulfilment at Catch Group says.

A FAMILIAR PARTNER Körber (formerly Cohesio Group) has previously worked with Wesfarmers-owned retailer Kmart on a number of technology solutions for improving fulfilment rates.

Most recently, the retailer has rolled out Körber’s Android Voice solution across a number of stores and DCs and has made the news as the first retailer in Australia to deploy such a solution.

“Kmart was one of our very first customers and we are thrilled to be working with another retailer in the Wesfarmers Group. Catch Group is an absolute pioneer in the e-commerce landscape in Australia and I’m excited to work with them to improve fulfilment rates and help them deliver in this competitive marketplace,” Nishan MHD OCTOBER 2020 | 15

MHD COVER STORY

The AMR deployment will take only three months to complete for the online retailer.

Wijemanne, Managing Director of Körber Supply Chain Asia Pacific and global leader for AMR Solutions at Körber says.

With the addition of thousands of SKUs to its range, Catch wanted to explore smarter ways to pick and pack without having to dramatically increase its warehouse footprint and workforce.

“We went through a rigorous process to find a solutions provider that could help us continue to deliver our fast fulfilment rates with this significant increase in SKUs. Körber has a wealth of experience in delivering this kind of automation, and we really loved their honest and practical approach,” David Matheson, General Manager – Fulfilment Operations at Catch Group and former Chief Operations Officer for Kmart says.

For Richard, Körber’s relationship with Kmart, also part of the Wesfarmers Group, stood the technology provider in good stead. “We knew that Kmart has been having a great run with Körber over the past few years. They’ve become a real trusted advisor and are a very important player in Kmart’s innovation and improvement processes,” he says.

Catch operates some large-scale automation processes at its distribution 16 | MHD OCTOBER 2020

centre in Victoria, but up until now its picking processes have been largely manual. Seeing an opportunity to improve fulfilment rates, Körber has developed an AMR solution, powered by global technology provider Geek+, for the online retailer.

The solution consists of more than 100 automated mobile robots operating across 3785 sqm within the 30,000 sqm facility. The robots will have the capability to manage an additional 80,000 SKUs on top of the retailer’s previous range. This will be the largest AMR deployment of its kind for an e-commerce marketplace in Australia and New Zealand.

“The AMRs will provide Catch with the ability to pick an additional 2,000 orders an hour. With its growing consumer base and the increased demand for timely and efficient delivery across Australia, this solution will play a crucial role in Catch being able to deliver the excellent customer experience the retailer is known for,” Rizan Mawzoon, Head of Transformation at Körber Supply Chain says.

The deployment will take only three months to complete and the solution

will offer Catch flexibility and agility.

“The beauty of AMR is that it is flexible, so it can adapt to wherever Catch sees a spike across specific SKUs, it can be redeployed depending on where the fastest moving SKUs are,” Nishan says.

Geek+ and Körber recently announced a global strategic partnership to provide businesses with smart AMR solutions worldwide. This partnership is an extension of the success that Körber and Geek+ have had in the Asia Pacific region and will see the innovative AMR solution reach new markets.

In addition to the AMRs, Körber will also project manage the deployment of a conveyor solution that will play a significant role in improving fulfilment rates. “We’ve done all the design and architecture of the conveyor system,” Rizan says.

Furthermore, Catch has also engaged Körber to enhance its WMS capabilities.

By working with Körber across a number of different facets of their supply chain, the retailer has the added benefits of synergies across its entire supply chain, with Körber offering a truly end-to-end solution.

“This investment is a significant step for Catch Group in its move to offer

MHD COVER STORY faster and more convenient fulfilment options for its growing customer base. By adding more products to Catch’s online store, we are providing Australian’s with easy and convenient access to their much-loved high street brands. We are excited to see where this technology deployment takes us and to seek out further opportunities where we can utilise this kind of agile and flexible technology,” Richard Whetton, Head of Fulfilment at Catch Group says.

SAME-DAY DELIVERY SET TO BECOME A REALITY Catch currently operates from two sites in Victoria but has plans to expand into an additional DC in New South Wales.

With the current trend to move closer to the consumer, these strategically located distribution centres will set the online retailer up for being able to deliver same-day delivery, which is an aspiration for the business.

“When you can pick and pack at these kind of rates with the AMRs, the possibilities are endless. We know that a major priority for our customers is faster delivery times, so with this investment we are setting ourselves up to be able to deliver next- and same-day delivery,” Richard says.

This is echoed by Saar Davidi, Fulfilment Centre and Project Manager at Catch. “We are always looking at ways we can get the order faster to the

“

We went through a rigorous process to find a solutions provider that could help us continue to deliver our fast fulfilment rates with this significant increase in SKUs. Körber has a wealth of experience in delivering this kind of automation, and we really loved their honest and practical approach.

”

customer, this investment will allow us to hold more products ready for immediate picking, meaning we can ship most orders out the same day the order comes in,” he says.

An added benefit for Catch, was Körber’s approach to safety. “With the implementing of automation, it’s important to ensure that all workers who work around or interact with the solution are kept as safe as possible.

Sometimes, with conveyors workers need to step up on to a ladder but with our solution it’s automated so it has the added benefit of being much safer,” Rizan says.

Online marketplaces have radically changed the way consumers shop and competition across the e-commerce landscape is fiercer than ever before. Fulfilment capabilities are set to be the key differentiator in the race to the top, with the backing of one of Australia’s largest listed companies and a significant investment in automation, Catch Group is ready to deliver. ■

Cohesio Group, rebranded to Körber as part of a global rebrand on 1 September 2020.

The Körber Business Area Supply Chain is part of the international technology group Körber. This includes Aberle, Aberle Software, Cirrus Logistics, Cohesio Group, Consoveyo, DMLogic, HighJump, inconso, Otimis, Langhammer, Riantics and Voiteq.

Körber has proven success with thousands of companies worldwide. All companies will officially transition to the brand name ‘Kӧrber’ in late 2020.

L to R: Ravi Nath, Head of AMR Solutions ANZ at Körber Supply Chain; John Green, DC Manager at Catch and Rizan Mawzoon, Head of Transformation at Körber Supply Chain.

MHD OCTOBER 2020 | 17

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MHD MATERIALS HANDLING

FROM PRINT MEDIA TO MATERIALS HANDLING With a long history in the printing industry, Ferag offers a fresh approach to materials handling. MHD sits down with Philip Batty, Managing Director of the company’s Australian arm to find out more.

Vandelande. He also previously held the position of the National Service Manager at Ferag Australia from 2005 until 2008.

“During my time at Vandelande I worked on some of the biggest materials handling projects in Australia, including the Australia Post sites in Sydney and Melbourne. I was lucky to have a broad exposure to materials handling and the different systems and solutions in this space,” Philip says.

SYNERGIES ACROSS THE TWO INDUSTRIES

Philip Batty is Managing Director at Ferag Australia.

W

hen it comes to materials handling, the newspaper and printing industry is one of the most challenging and time-critical industries to operate in.

The term “hot off the press” refers to the newspapers coming straight off the production line and straight into the hands of the reader at record speed, hence the newspaper still being warm.

At the printing press, trucks wait eagerly in the early hours of the morning to ensure that the nation has access to its daily news intake.

Operating a seamless next-day delivery model before e-commerce and logistics giants like Amazon started to infiltrate the consumer space, the printing industry is logistics at its best.

“When you look hard at the printing industry, it’s materials handling. We take the newspaper from the press and we process it. From here, we either roll it up or stack it and strap it and then we distribute it, all within less than a day,” Philip Batty, Managing Director at Ferag Australia says.

One business that has been at the centre of the global printing industry is Ferag. Founded in 1957 and headquartered in Switzerland, the company is highly regarded as the world leader in the development, manufacture and marketing of postpress processing systems.

The company is represented in more than 18 countries and employs more than 550 people worldwide. Here in Australia, seasoned materials handling specialist Philip Batty has recently joined the company to lead the business locally as it expands and moves into the rapidly growing materials handling and intralogistics markets.

“Since 2014 Ferag recognised that there were many synergies between the printing industry and the materials handling industry and as such has begun expanding into this area,” Philip says.

Philip is an experienced logistics professional. He has worked for some of the biggest names in materials handling, including SwissLog and

Ferag very quickly realised that while the printing industry will always be a major part of its business, it was important to diversify its offering when some of the printing industry started to decline. From here, it made perfect sense to move into the materials handling industry.

“We will never leave the printing industry; we will always be there, and we are committed to our customers in this space. But as the industry started to decline, Ferag has to evolve and the materials handling industry offers great opportunity,” Philip says.

Ferag operates in this space across three different models. Firstly, they partner with the major integrators.

Secondly, they work closer with the smaller integrators who may have expertise in control systems or automation but do not have the hardware to support this and finally they operate in a direct to customer relationship working with major logistics providers.

Approaching the industry with a different background and experience than many other materials handling providers has enabled Ferag to come up with some really innovative solutions such as the Denisort, which is a highly MHD OCTOBER 2020 | 19

MHD MATERIALS HANDLING flexible tilt-tray sorter and the Skyfall, an overhead conveyor used as a unique pouch sorter.

“The compact version of the Denisort is ideal for a customer who needs to do smaller size sortation. It’s a costeffective solution that is modular and also moveable, which can be hugely beneficial when you compare this to other sortation solutions that are not modular,” Philip says.

Ideal for say a third-party logistics provider as it can be repurposed to another customer if a contract ends.

Similarly, the idea for the Skyfall overhead conveyor solution came from the newspaper industry and is offering a highly efficient, cost-effective and space saving solution for fashion logistics and e-commerce.

FAMILY-OWNED AND COMMITTED TO AUSTRALIA Ferag is a family-owned business and has been since its inception more than 60 years ago. Philip’s appointment is part of a larger strategy to commit

Ferag equipment is engineered and manufactured in Switzerland.

20 | MHD OCTOBER 2020

Over recent years Ferag has been expanding into the materials handling industry. and develop Ferag’s market share in Australia.

Philip is the first Australian MD for Ferag Australia and brings a wealth of local experience to the role. The Australian team also boasts five engineers with more than 140

years of Ferag expertise in their collective experience.

All of Ferag’s equipment is engineered and manufactured in Switzerland and the business prides itself on its quality and commitment to innovation. ■

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MHD TECHNOLOGY

BEYOND BARCODES WITH IOT

Adam Trippe-Smith, founder of innovative rental keg businesses Kegstar and Konvoy, sits down with MHD Editor Melanie Stark to discuss his latest business venture and the benefits of being an early adopter of IoT technology.

A

dam Trippe-Smith is the founder of Kegstar, a company that began in 2012 with a start-up mentality and a pool of 880 kegs. Fast-forward three years, and the company was sold to logistics giant Brambles. Kegstar now services more than 600 customers around the world with a 700,000strong fleet of kegs.

With a background in accounting and corporate finance, Adam’s first delve into the logistics and supply chain was through his entry into the beverage business in 2008. Adam started his own craft beer company in the early wave of the independent craft brewery scene. The industry has been flourishing over the past 12 years, and according to research

by IBISWorld has experienced a 9.7 per cent average growth rate between 2014 and 2019.

“That was my introduction to logistics.

Coming from a finance background I was suddenly running a brewery with moving parts and assets – it really was a baptism of fire,” Adam says.

Adam quickly understood the challenges of running a keg fleet and the common pain points felt across the industry and wanted to establish a better way. “We started a rental keg business to teach the whole market, from the pubs, to the beverage producers to the warehouse and logistics providers that renting kegs and having someone else look after them made good business sense,” he says.

Since then, Adam has immersed himself in the beverage industry. He is dedicated and passionate about brewing and the industry at large, and was a founding board member of the Independent Brewers Association, a professional body to represent those operating in this space.

In true entrepreneur style, Adam arrives to our video meeting after taking a call from an investor. This comes off

Adam Trippe-Smith (right) and the Konvoy team. the back of a press release announcing a new acquisition in New Zealand for his latest business venture, Konvoy.

Formed by Adam in 2019, Konvoy was formed to take the keg rental industry to the next level. “This wasn’t about starting a competitor to Kegstar, for me it was about unfinished business,” he says.

Adam believed there was a way to build a leaner, faster and more customer focused way of moving kegs around the supply chain and he understood that track and trace technology had to be at the forefront of this venture.

AN EARLY ADOPTER When Adam formed Kegstar in 2012, track and trace technology was in its infancy and although he reached his goal of running the first keg fleet in the world that was 100 per cent uniquely identifiable and 100 per cent tracked, the

technology had its limitations.

“This was 2012 and the cost of networks like GPS and 4G tracking just didn’t make sense economically for an asset with a value of around $150. So, we went with barcode tracking and RFID technology,” Adam says.

However, this kind of technology relies on someone scanning the keg which Adam says is impossible to achieve 100 per cent accuracy. There is also the behavioural challenge of asking, for example, a 30-year-old privatelyowned logistics company to scan kegs with a smart phone, which was just not something they had previously done.

Furthermore, with RFID, there are moments of accurate data, but it’s not consistent and not in real time. The data only gives so much and in the world of premium craft beer, there is a focus on quality that comes with a need for more dimensional data MHD OCTOBER 2020 | 23

MHD TECHNOLOGY

Konvoy’s beacons run on Thinxtra’s Zero-G (0G) network. than what RFID can provide.

“Independent brewers are often not pasteurising the beer, so it needs to be treated more like milk. It needs to be stored cold and that information needs to be checked regularly, RFID does not have the capability to communicate this kind of data or accuracy,” Adam says.

IOT: THE BETTER WAY A huge driving force for Adam when he started Konvoy was to develop the next evolution of keg tracking. He recognised this would have benefits for every step in the supply chain and his first goal was to find a technology that could offer increased transparency, real-time data and more useful information for Konvoy, but also the beverage producers and the pubs.

“When we started Konvoy it really was just a whiteboard and we were asking ourselves how we can make this business simpler and better for the customer? How do we track kegs better for our own benefit, but also for our customers?” Adam says.

Knowing that technology had improved significantly over the seven years between when Adam launched Kegstar and when he began brainstorming ideas for Konvoy in 2019, he engaged Sydney-based Internet of Things (IoT) telco Thinxtra and its nationwide Zero-G (0G) Network, powered by Sigfox technology.

“From here, we set on the project of designing our own beacon, a 24 | MHD OCTOBER 2020

small wireless sensor, and running it on Thinxtra’s 0G Network, which covers 84 per cent of Australia’s population,” Adam says.

The 0G Network offers real-time visibility of assets across Australia as well as worldwide coverage for when the kegs are exported globally and has been set up in Australia by Thinxtra. Thinxtra is the exclusive Sigfox 0G Network Operator for Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Macau and is one of 70 Sigfox Operators around the world providing local service and global scale.

As a keg owner, Konvoy lends out its assets to 100s of different users who then lend out their kegs to potentially thousands of different locations. With IoT as opposed to RFID, there is total visibility of the asset, its location and its performance in real-time.

CHALLENGES ALONG THE WAY Any project that has been delivered during COVID-19 has had its fair share of complexities, and the Konvoy journey is no different.

“We work with a hardware partner in Asia, with network partners in Australia and New Zealand – it’s a global project and not having everyone in one room to go through any issues, challenges and teething troubles was certainly a challenge for us,” Adam says.

However, Adam says his greatest learning was recognising that you need expertise in IoT technology from the get-go.

“We class ourselves as beverage people, with an interest in logistics and technology. If I started this whole thing again, I would have hired a Head of IoT from day one. In fact, we are doing that right now,” he says.

This is only the beginning of Adam’s IoT journey. “There is plenty of data out there, but the real value is in the information. If you can have more useful information and make it usable for both yourself and your customers, then why wouldn’t you deploy this technology?” he asks.

The first step for Konvoy is to run its own keg fleet better, but stage two is to help other keg owners run theirs more efficiently. From here, Adam and his team will start to look into opportunities for other assets of a similar value that could benefit from IoT. “A keg is a $150 asset, so your cost of running the network and beacon has to be relative to the cost of your asset.

We will be looking at other assets in the $100 to $2000 that could benefit from this proposition. A few years back when IoT was in its infancy, there was an economic hurdle for assets of this value.

But by tracking this on the 0G Network the economic issue just isn’t there anymore,” Adam says.

According to Adam, two or three years ago IoT was more of a buzzword but now he sees huge potential in the technology and this as a game-changer for not only the beverage industry but any industry that has a requirement to track assets.

Konvoy currently has more than 200 customers, including well-known craft breweries Moon Dog, Fixation, Parrot Dog and Hawkers.

Adam says Konvoy will be the first and only keg fleet in the world to be tracked with IoT technology and by November this year all of the kegs in the fleet will be retrofitted with beacons.

“We currently have 60,000 kegs and we have ordered 70,000 beacons. They will be retrofitted into our current fleet and any new kegs will be manufactured with our beacons,” he says.

Adam’s commitment to his industry is evident in his continued efforts to improve efficiency and customer service for every step of the beverage supply chain. His curiosity and interest in new technology has led him to explore IoT technology which has given Adam the opportunity to not only revolutionise, but also simplify the beverage industry. ■

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DELIVERING A BETTER CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE WITH DIMENSIONING TECHNOLOGY As the number of parcels being moved through Australia’s supply chain network increases, having the ability to accurately measure the dimension and weight of a parcel is providing significant benefits for some of the nation’s largest third-party logistics providers.

I

n early 2020 Australia Post reported strong growth across its parcels division resulting in the highest revenue growth in over a decade for the business.

This was before e-commerce numbers reached a record high as a result of COVID-19 restrictions forcing physical shops to close their doors to consumers.

With letter revenue down, the nation’s postal service continues to shift its focus to parcel processing and is investing in automation capabilities to meet the ever-increasing demand of the e-commerce consumer.

SICK’s Dimensioning, Weighing and Scanning systems offer visibility and accuracy.

With a significant increase in parcels moving through Australia’s supply chain network, there is a need to be able to provide accuracy regarding the dimensioning and weighing of the parcels.

“As Australia Post and many other 3PLs shift their business towards sorting and delivering more parcels, there is an increased requirement to have accurate scanning and inventory capabilities,” Jean-Michel Maclou, Intralogistics and Transport Sales Manager at SICK says.

SICK has seen significant growth in the demand of its dimensioning, weighing and scanning solutions across its key customers in the 3PL space.

According to Jean-Michel, revenue recovery plays a huge role in this requirement.

“Often businesses rely on customer-declared weights and dimensions to calculate charges, which are often

inaccurate, often rounding a number off or down and it’s the 3PL that then has to carry this cost,” he says.

With so many retailers now investing and developing their e-commerce capabilities, JeanMichel says this is a huge opportunity for 3PL providers.

“Only a few weeks back we saw Myer sign a three-year deal with Australia Post to manage its online fulfilment, my view is that we will see more and more retailers outsource this part of their supply chain in the coming months,” Jean-Michel says.

A 3PL must ensure that they can provide full visibility of the stock is in the warehouse for a number of different customers. They must have accurate data of what it looks like, weighs and where it is located.

SICK’s Dimensioning, Weighing and Scanning systems (DWS) offer this visibility and accuracy.

“The product code, what type of product it is and the barcode are all captured and communicated straight into the Warehouse Management System (WMS),” he says.

A further issue with 3PLs is that goods can arrive damaged, but with DWS capabilities, as soon as a product enters the warehouse an image is taken ensuring there is no dispute over when the damage occurred. The camera also has the ability to take a black and white image of every side of the box, giving five different images in one and a complete view MHD OCTOBER 2020 | 27

MHD MATERIALS HANDLING of the entire parcel.

Additionally, as we import more goods from different parts of Asia, sometimes the quality of the label is not up to Australian standards. But with the ability to utilise camera technology, there is a much higher capability to read some of the poorquality barcodes.

DWS solutions play a crucial role in the overall running of a state-ofthe-art warehouse. “Lots of 3PLs have invested in large-scale automation to provide more efficient handling and an increased speed to market. A critical role within this kind of offering is accurate inventory management,” Jean Michel says.

When choosing a 3PL, a retailer will want to know what kind of capabilities they offer regarding accuracy and real-time information. SICK’s DWS technology ensures that there is consistent scanning, dimension and weighing of any products so that everyone in the supply chain is given full visibility, including the customer.

“Once the parcel is moved from a racking system and onto the conveyor it can be sorted very quickly and allocated to the suitable location. From here, the parcel is

With SICK solutions, a parcel is tracked from the conveyor to the consumer.

28 | MHD OCTOBER 2020

Barcodes can sometimes be difficult to read, however the SICK solution will take an image creating a more accurate record. accurately tracked until it reaches the end customer,” Jean-Michel says.

This benefit was a key factor for Australia Post as the business is committed to improving customer service. “People want to track their parcels; they want to know where they are and when they can expect delivery. Australia Post Acknowledges that the SICK DWS solution is a key element in their process to provide a better customer experience,” Jean-Michel says. ■

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RAMPING UP RETAIL As brick and mortar stores re-think their route to market, Arthur Dardoumbas, Director – Supply Chain Solutions at ThreeSixty says many companies are driving their implementation plans forward before considering the strategy, which is having a significant impact on their ability to service customers.

A

truly omnichannel offering creates a single customer experience across an entire brand, with sales and marketing aligned to create a consistent experience for the consumer regardless of the platform used to purchase or browse.

While many retailers are moving in the direction of a full omnichannel experience, Arthur Dardoumbas, Director - Supply Chain Solutions at ThreeSixty says this development should be considered a major shift for the entire business, not just the supply chain. “This isn’t just about the supply chain or distribution; this is about every department in the business. IT, HR, marketing, sales, web design and finance – every single person in the business has a role.”

Arthur and the team at ThreeSixty, an Australian-based supply chain consultancy, have held senior roles in a number of different global organisations servicing multiple industries. This experience has given them the ability

GOLDEN ABC is home to some of South East Asia’s best known fashion brands.

to approach any project with an overarching view and consider all aspects of the business rather than seeing supply chain as a siloed entity.

Bringing a mixture of different capabilities across a number of disciplines, ThreeSixty offers more than supply chain consulting, with capabilities in property, systems, project management and change management.

According to Arthur, these disciplines are absolutely crucial in any successful omnichannel project.

“Omnichannel is a change in mindset.

Real omnichannel is holistic. It’s about what channel you use to reach your market and customers, and how your distribution supports that. If I can’t navigate your website, I’ll jump onto the next one. If the pricing and marketing campaigns are different across the different platforms, you will lose me as a customer,” he says.

A CASE STUDY: GOLDEN ABC The strategy of approaching omnichannel with a holistic lens has been central to the recent work that ThreeSixty has been doing with a major fashion retailer in the Philippines.

GOLDEN ABC is a multi-brand international fashion enterprise that is home to some of the most iconic brands in the region, including Penshoppe, Regatta and Oxygen. Founded in 1986, the retailer now has more than 1,000 strategically located sites across South East Asia and has been growing at a record pace, with the opening of 200 stores last year alone.

“The Philippines is the second most populated country in South East Asia, with a population of nearly 110 million people and GOLDEN ABC has been experiencing an overall growth rate of around 30 per cent year on year, through a 200 per cent increase in e-commerce without having the appropriate omnichannel pillars in place

to take e-commerce to even greater volumes,” Arthur says.

GOLDEN ABC selected ThreeSixty to implement their omnichannel strategy after experiencing first-hand the way they approach every project with commitment and dedication to the entire business. “Many consultants come into a business and present to the Board their capabilities, and that’s it. When we arrived at GOLDEN ABC, we went out of our way to understand their business. We visited their physical stores across the multiple brands, and we spent time in their distribution centre in jeans, boots and a vest. Only then could we develop the right strategy,” Arthur says.

When Arthur and Derek Tan, Director of Project Services at the consultancy, first started working with GOLDEN ABC, the main goal was to build an automated DC to help the retailer meet the projected growth in retail and e-commerce across their multiple brands.

“After the design phase and into the implementation of their new automated DC, GOLDEN ABC asked us to support them with their omni-channel implementation. When we worked with the team and delved into the detail, we noticed how keen they were to execute immediately. Our job was to help them see how to align the entire business to deliver on the important channels to market,” Arthur says.

As a result of working closely with GOLDEN ABC and identifying their requirements, ThreeSixty was then able to develop a true omnichannel strategy for them. “With omnichannel, it’s not just about building a new DC with increased processing power and speed to market, you have to look at the integrated supply chain across the physical retail stores, your e-commerce customer, the online marketplaces, the website, everything, and we needed to ensure these steps were considered holistically,” Arthur says.

MHD OCTOBER 2020 | 31

MHD E-COMMERCE ThreeSixty hosted a number of strategy days where every area of the business was represented in a board room to cover the current fears, frustrations and challenges. From there, the team built a strategy and a road map with recommendations for the short, medium and long-term targets

COVID-19 CHALLENGES When COVID-19 hit and put many international projects on hold, GOLDEN ABC’s plans were significantly impacted.

“We have integrators working on the new DC from all around the world and we are of course based in Australia.

We could no longer travel to the Philippines,” Arthur says.

But the team at ThreeSixty soon adapted and were having regular conference calls with GOLDEN ABC to keep the project moving. However, the biggest impact to the project was COVID-19 restrictions causing all of the retailer’s physical stores to be impacted, with their huge consumer base forced to shop online. This accelerated the omnichannel strategy and implementation plan ThreeSixty had developed.

“The best way GOLDEN ABC could reach their customers now was through their website or an e-commerce marketplace,” Arthur says.

Before COVID-19, GOLDEN ABC’s total e-commerce sales were around two per cent of overall volume, but the new DC was being designed to support around 20 per cent of total volume.

However, like most retailers, COVID-19 has seen a huge acceleration of GOLDEN ABC’s e-commerce volumes, and the retailer found itself dealing with nearly six times the volume with processes that could not service this demand.

“They were using legacy systems to pick and pack orders as well as trying to apply the same processes for store picking to the e-commerce customers.

From my experience this does not work,” Arthur says.

The three-year plan for the new DC was designed with flexibility built in, ensuring that if volume increased there would be no issue dealing with demand.

“Our modelling included scenarios such as this level of demand, and the DC would have been able to cope no problem,” Arthur explains.

As a short-term solution, ThreeSixty is 32 | MHD OCTOBER 2020

currently working with GOLDEN ABC to adapt aspects of the initial omnichannel strategy so that some of the benefits can be realised now, to meet the demands of its growing online consumer base.

“As we can’t wait for the new DC to come online to service the major spike in e-commerce volume, we are working with GOLDEN ABC and reviewing their data and current processes and coming up with a new strategy that will work within the constraints of the footprint and systems they have,” Derek says. The need to service the online customer is paramount, and we all needed to adapt and find interim, quick solutions that were part of the longer-term strategy.

Some of the initiatives include utilising a model to increase speed to market, ensuring that the IT systems are aligned, and increasing customer service capacity to handle the increased communication needed with customers.

The customer service element is a fundamental part of the e-commerce puzzle and according to Derek, if this is overlooked the impact can be detrimental to the business. “The e-commerce consumer is unforgiving. If you mess up an order, you will know about it.

They will post online and share their experience with their friends and the wider market,” Derek says.

As the orders started to pile in, GOLDEN ABC’s first approach was to increase its picking staff and extend operating hours, but because the style of picking was not adapted to meet the demands of e-commerce, this led to delays and an increase in errors as well as a lack of integration between IT systems.

“We have developed a systems, process and people approach to determine what the right solution is. We’ve changed the pick and pack process without the heavy capital investment of a new DC, and have managed to increase GOLDEN ABC’s e-commerce output. They have also seen a dramatic reduction in pick errors and order cancellations,” Derek says.

ThreeSixty is now implementing some of the strategies that were regarded as long-term goals in a three-year project timeline, in the space of two to three months.

THE INNER CIRCLE According to Arthur, ThreeSixty is more than a supply chain consultancy, and this is evident in its commitment to its customers during challenging

times. “GOLDEN ABC don’t just see us as their supply chain advisors – we’re a trusted partner - and involved in the entire business and decisions that need to be made. This is true omnichannel strategy because the supply chain touches every aspect of the business,” Arthur says.

COVID-19 has seen a huge acceleration of GOLDEN ABC’s e-commerce volumes.

Derek echoes this sentiment and says that the relationship between the two organisations is very constructive and beneficial. “We’re not afraid to give direct feedback and ask them to take a step back and consider what the objective is, and whether a particular initiative supports that,” he says.

There is a distinct cultural alignment between the two businesses and Arthur says that the way GOLDEN ABC looks after and grows its people is a reflection of ThreeSixty’s own approach.

“We’re very happy with the strong business relationship we enjoy with ThreeSixty. It’s based on a cohesive partnership anchored in mutual trust and respect, and has allowed us to transform our supply chain,” Bernie H. Liu, Chairman and CEO at GOLDEN ABC says.

“The success of this project won’t be in the property or the automation, it will be in the people who work on this project and make it happen, and those who operate it going forward,” Arthur concludes. ■

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MHD TECHNOLOGY Horizon Inventory Planning is an ERP turbocharger.

ACCELERATING SLOW MOVERS Directors of Horizon Inventory sit down with MHD to discuss how its unique approach to improving supply chain and inventory management is helping leading Australian brands achieve never before seen solution capabilities.

I

n today’s advanced supply chain climate, it’s never been more important to be more efficient and agile. How can you tackle current challenges with outdated inventory methods? A decade in the making, Horizon Inventory is being recognised for its unique approach to optimising supply chains. The company’s distinctive suite of tools is improving inventory levels for major Australian brands and pushing the boundaries in stock management innovation.

Horizon Inventory Director, John Allen, says the Horizon Inventory planning software is an ERP turbocharger. Most clients have multiple warehouses, even hundreds and that can translate to millions of SKU locations. Generally, Horizon Inventory’s clients have around forty to fifty thousand items. John says the company’s record was 980,000 SKUs but that was recently eclipsed with a new client.

Besides being large, the other aspect that characterises these sorts of

portfolios is just how slow moving they are. Typically, one third of the products only move once within a year, and these and other slow movers can often generate more than thirty per cent of revenue and parts usage. Therefore, it is so important to handle the slow movers efficiently.

“The products we help clients manage may well be slow moving but we and they need to be fast moving to address the peculiar challenges associated with these sorts of product sets,” John says.

He emphasises that you simply cannot use techniques that are more suited to FMCG type supply chains when you are dealing with slow moving items and very large ranges. “That is where the Horizon Inventory solution excels,” John says.

INNOVATION PARTNERSHIPS CRITICAL John says Horizon Inventory excels when they partner with clients to develop new solutions that are especially suited to the challenges of slow moving product ranges.

The company has had a long term relationship with Motion Asia Pacific, formerly Inenco, the holding company for Consolidated Bearing Company, BSC Motion Technology and others.

General Manager Operations, Crispin Dobson joined Inenco a few years ago.

His background was with Tier1 ERPs and similar solutions for Inventory and Supply Planning. He would often sceptically say, in regard to the Horizon Inventory system, “Oh, I bet it cannot do that” only to discover that there is much in the Horizon solution that can’t be found anywhere else.

The Horizon solution is policy and rules driven. This allows Motion Asia Pacific to avoid the need for human review and auto release nearly all their replenishments from their central DC in Melbourne to the hundreds of downstream warehouses across Australia.

The engine harnesses a lot of intelligence to make sure that the stock is put in the right place at the right time.

This has allowed Motion Asia Pacific MHD OCTOBER 2020 | 35

MHD TECHNOLOGY to optimise their inventory settings. They also auto-release external purchase orders for thousands of items. “This translates to significant productivity improvements and inventory savings, driving major benefits and significant capabilities for Horizon’s clients,” John says.

SUPPORT WAREHOUSES Easily defining support warehouses has been an attractive feature popular in the market due to Horizon’s unique solution. Mark Watson, the Motion Asia Pacific Group Forecasting and Planning Manager, came up with the idea and Horizon extended it and made it more flexible.

In the Brisbane metropolitan area, Motion Asia Pacific replenishes its branches normally from the Melbourne DC. They however have a state DC in Brisbane and have defined this as the support warehouse for the Queensland branches. So, if they do not have an item in a branch, they can call up stock from the nearby support warehouse.

“This is all very easily set up through rules and the software’s modelling capabilities.

You can quickly define the sweet spot that optimises service levels and inventory investment,” Mark says.

The value of having a support warehouse network running concurrently with the primary replenishment network really showed its value when Motion Asia Pacific had to respond to Covid-19. Mark was able to rapidly adjust the way their network performed, and improve cashflow and working capital utilisation, which were so critical at the nadir of the Covid-19 shock.

Mark was able to say, via rules, shift the demand for more expensive really slow moving parts from the Brisbane branches to the state DC. The parts could then be still delivered very quickly but with a two million dollar saving in Queensland alone, and millions more across Australia. “I have not come across this level of capability in any other planning software. It is easy to set up with rules and then model to confirm the right settings. The trick is to easily reassign the demand and in effect accelerate the velocity for the otherwise slower moving parts,” Mark says.

DYNAMIC SUPPLY CHAIN RECONFIGURATION Another client, the Auto Parts Group (APG), was able to double its revenue over two years while holding its purchasing headcount and inventory levels flat. One of the features that helped was what Horizon calls Dynamic

36 | MHD OCTOBER 2020

“

You can quickly define the sweet spot that optimises service levels and inventory investment.

”

Supply Chain Reconfiguration (DSCR). APG’s parts can be very bulky and are normally best imported directly into each capital city, rather than be imported to one city and then transhipped interstate.

There are times however, especially with the very long tail of slow movers where it is smarter to nominate one warehouse as the central one, and then distribute to the others as downstream warehouses. This concept is embodied in Horizon’s DSCR solution where every item is assessed as to the best supply chain configuration to adopt, based on demand and carrying and logistics costs.

DSCR is particularly helpful with slow moving parts that have high MOQs and gives you the opportunity to evaluate the optimum supply chain. “Should you import directly into every capital city of Australia or might it be better to, for example, import to Brisbane and then use back loading rates to split the stock across the other cities?” John says.

Horizon’s solution evaluates alternate supply chain configurations continually, which can help its clients run with far lower stock levels rather than being stuck with high MOQs.

ZERO OBSOLESCENCE

“

The Auto Parts Group was able to double its revenue over two years while holding its purchasing headcount and inventory levels flat.

”

“The very worst scenario is at the end of life for slow moving parts. It is all too easy to take a big profit hit and to write off the stock at end of life,” says Horizon Inventory Director, Omer Ingber. He says the Horizon solution can use Vehicle On Road data for auto industry clients to predict when the usage of parts will drop to zero.

“By predicting the end of life, you can in essence predict when you really must not have any more stock of a product.”

“Rather than looking in the rear view mirror to establish what is obsolete, the Horizon capability allows you to avoid ordering the stock in the first place and genuinely gives you the opportunity to plan for zero obsolescence, that certainly makes your slow movers accelerate,” Omer says.

He highlights that it’s not only slow movers that can be made faster. Horizon’s approach is to use a rapid Proof of Concept that proves the solution while implementing at the same time. “It’s a bit like going on a date, getting engaged and getting married.

It helps manage the level of investment and risk for both parties. We typically get a PoC done in 6-8 weeks but have done it in just three,” Omer says.

“The Horizon solution is developed here in Australia. We welcome the opportunity to partner with organisations that also want to be agile and really stretch the innovation boundaries.” ■

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MHD MATERIALS HANDLING

A TRUE ELECTRIC ALTERNATIVE Toyota Material Handling Australia has launched a new high-tonnage dedicatedelectric Traigo counterbalanced forklifts. MHD finds out more.

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oyota Material Handling Australia (TMHA) has added four new counterbalanced forklifts to its line-up. Introducing the 9FBMT Traigo, which is is a top-of-the-range, heavyduty dedicated-electric counterbalanced forklift in the form of six, seven and eight tonne load-carrying capacities.

The four models are named 9FBM60T, 9FBM70T, 9FBM80T and 9FBH80T, designating their six-, seven- and eight-tonne load-bearing capabilities.

Previously, TMHA’s dedicated battery-electric models covered one to five tonne capacities. The new additions to the range open vast opportunities for businesses seeking to reduce their emissions and also seek reductions in noise, harshness and vibrations (NHV) for their fleet and operators.

Customers with large-scale solar photovoltaic systems particularly would benefit from such models, given that, previously, such high-capacity forklifts were solely reliant on internal combustion engines.

TMHA Counterbalance Product Manager, Glen Ryan says the new range of high-tonnage dedicated electric forklifts are designed and manufactured in Europe to Toyota’s standards. “The range has been available in Europe for some time now and we’re really excited to now have it here in Australia,” Glen says. “We have recently added a 9FBM70T to our demonstration fleet so we can showcase this range to customers”.

Glen says there are several advantages of the latest range of dedicated electric forklifts, from an emissions and cost of ownership point-of-view and also in terms of reducing noise and vibration for the operator. “The range is essentially designed and built as a true alternative to an engine-powered forklift dual-fuel models,” he says.

“Traditionally our core counterbalanced range is internal

The new forklifts are manufactured in Italy. combustion engine-powered, however there is certainly a shift towards battery electric.

“Previously our dedicated electric forklifts were in the 1.0 to 3.5 tonne capacity, then we added 3.5 to 5.0 tonne, but now with the launch of our new higher tonnage dedicated electric forklifts we can handle 6.0 to 8.0 tonne configurations. Now we can go from one tonne all the way up to eight.”

Manufactured by Toyota Material Handling Manufacturing Italy (TMHMI), the four forklifts benefit from being built to the same high standards of the Toyota Production system, as employed globally.

“All models benefit equally from the famed Quality, Durability and Reliability (QDR) resulting from the Toyota Production System,” Glen says. “ TMHMI employs the same exacting Toyota Production System used internationally, so customers are assured of the same high levels of QDR – a cornerstone of our Toyota

Advantage – with these new models.”

A thoughtful feature of the new models is their easy battery extraction.

“It’s a unique feature compared with smaller-capacity Toyota dedicated electric battery forklifts,” Glen says.

“The bottom of the forklift’s chassis is cut-out in a U-shape so if you have to change batteries over the course of multiple shifts, all you have to do is drive underneath it with a capable forklift or specialised pallet mover, raise the battery and drive out.”

According to Glen, a notable advantage of the machines is their ride quality. “They have a full floating cabin, so the cabin sits on four suspension dampers which reduces vibration transmission to the operator, making for a very comfortable ride,” he said.

All models also feature electronic power steering (EPS) which for a highcapacity forklift make it feel nimble.

“For such a large-tonnage forklift it has a minimal turning circle and is effortless to manoeuvre, giving you MHD OCTOBER 2020 | 39

MHD MATERIALS HANDLING

The forklifts feature a new design with a futuristic appearance. the feeling that you’re driving a much smaller machine.” he said.

“They also have shock-less landing, so when you’re lowering the mast down to the ground there’s a nice, soft, cushioning effect. There’s no jolting and the load is protected.”

Another new feature is an automatic park-brake as standard. “Normally, a forklift has a car-style hand brake lever or foot-activated parking brake, but with these new machines they automatically apply the parking brake when standing still, when the operator leaves the seat or can be manually engaged by the operator pressing a push button .

“Also, another benefit of the automatic park brake is when you come to a stop on an incline, the forklift won’t roll back. And when you apply the accelerator to take-off again, there’s no lashing or jolting motion.”

Like all Toyota Material Handling counterbalanced forklifts, the 9FBM60T, 9FBM70T,9FBM80T and 9FBH80T feature Toyota’s exclusive System of Active Stability (SAS) as standard.

SAS is a cornerstone of the Toyota Advantage, as Glen explains. “SAS is the first system in the world to monitor and control their forklifts through a combination of advanced sensors linked to an on-board controller, enabling assured loadhandling performance and, therefore, safety.

40 | MHD OCTOBER 2020

Another aspect of the models’ design is a futuristic appearance. “They have really appealing looks with dynamic lines and European style,” Glen says.

“I think all our forklifts look good but these models are particularly impressive.”

The operator interface is similarly futuristic, with a well laid-out dashboard, which has been designed around the operator, including minilever controls and armrest, plenty of storage and a multifunction display screen with features including a wheel direction indicator, speed indicator, load indicator, battery discharge meter, as well as in-built pre-operational check list questions (if Telematics is included as an additional option) to name a few.

Ergonomics and visibility are standout features of the range. “Operator comfort and the all-round visibility is excellent, which can assist to reduce fatigue and increase productivity and safety gains.”

All models are 80-volt batteryelectric, providing a comparatively long battery life / run time.

“Another advantage is the driving behaviour software. This detects how the machine is being used, which in turn provides predictable and intuitive forklift control with wide fine-tuning possibilities. The 9FBMT also has a remaining operating time (battery power) indicator, three different power-select modes, programmable

speed setting and an auto-off function (if the forklift is left idle for a predetermined amount of time),” Glen explains.

Glen also praised the range’s capacity-retention at height. “They can take a large load from the ground and not relinquish much capacity as the mast rises,” he says. “They all have excellent capacity-retention at height.”

Another bonus for customers is an extended servicing interval of 1000 hours or 12 months (whichever comes first). Also, from a servicing point-ofview, the machine is very accessible for technicians. “The response from our technicians has been extremely positive regarding access and component locations, particularly how this can assist with faster turnaround times on preventative maintenance.” Glen says.

Glen says that although a batteryelectric forklift has a higher initial purchase price than an internal combustion engine-equivalent, it can yield a better return-on-investment and lower total cost-of -ownership.

“Charging a battery of course costs money, but it’s not as much as traditional fuel costs,” he said. “The new models have been designed to replace IC equivalents. There will still be some scenarios where an IC- powered counterbalance forklift would be a more suitable fit, but all in all battery-electric is the way of the future.”

Quick 9FBM60T, 9FBM70T, 9FBM80T and 9FBH80T facts: • 80-volt

counterbalance batteryelectric • Load

capacity of 8000kg up to 5 meters vertical • T oyota’s System of Active Stability • AC drive, lift and steer motors • Electric Power Steering (EPS) • Full Floating Cabin • Open-chassis

design for battery extraction • LED lighting as standard • Easy access for service • Outstanding

visibility, ergonomics, safety • The

quality, durability and reliability that forklift users have come to expect from a Toyota. ■ For more information free-call Toyota Material Handling Australia on 1800 425 438.

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MHD SUPPLY CHAIN

LIMC Cargo Care Group offers a truly multimodal supply chain operation.

KEEPING MOVING

MHD catches up with Carlo Cutinelli Executive General Manager for Customer and Business Development at LINX Cargo Care Group to find out how, despite the impact of COVID-19, its role in the supply chain hasn’t skipped a beat.

L

INX Cargo Care Group offers combined capabilities across ports, automotive, roads, rail and forestry. Offering supply chain solutions across a truly intermodal supply chain, the Group boasts some of Australia’s largest blue-chip companies as its customers.

Having invested heavily in its intermodal capabilities over recent years, LINX Cargo Care Group is dedicated to ensuring that its customers can reduce complexity in their supply chains and run as efficiently as possible.

“Because we are truly intermodal, we’re not as rigid as our competitors.

We look at unique opportunities where we can assist our customers and pass on our expert knowledge about how to run a much more efficient supply chain,” Carlo says.

Developing relationships with its customers is a key driving factor for Carlo and the team at LINX Cargo Care Group and this is evident in the way that it was able to flex quickly and service its customer base during the early challenges of COVID-19.

“We operate in the FMCG sector and have many customers in the Riverina, NSW. COVID hit off the back of an economically challenging drought period for this region and it was absolutely critical for livelihoods 42 | MHD OCTOBER 2020

in this area to keep goods moving regardless of the challenges presented

by COVID,” Carlo says.

Carlo is proud to report that LINX Cargo Care Group was able to flex quickly and adapt its supply chain to keep these valuable goods moving.

“This industry is used to having to adapt quickly. We have robust work programmes in place for managing safety, fatigue and recruitment and it’s this kind of ability to adapt that meant

Linx Cargo Care Group has been able to flex quickly during COVID-19.

we were able to deal with COVID very quickly and keep delivering,” he says.

LINX Cargo Care Group has a significant footprint throughout Australia and New Zealand, with more than 3,600 skilled personnel operating across more than 70 sites. “We handle more than 11 million tonnes of bulk cargo per annum and maintain more than 130,000 square metres of warehousing space nationally,” Carlo says.

With corporate offices in Sydney,

MHD SUPPLY CHAIN Melbourne, Perth and Newcastle, as well as key operations across Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Northern Territory, Western Australia and New South Wales, including a major transport hub in the Riverina, LINX Cargo Care services many of Australia’s largest logistics operations.

COVID-19 caused many customers to rethink their supply chain operating models and LINX Cargo Care Group was able to advise its customers what the best route to market would be.

“We had to flex very quickly and make mode changes to assist our customers. Some may have usually moved their freight on road, but we realised that might work better on rail in this instance and vice versa,” Carlo explains.

According to Carlo, a lot of the initial disruption during COVID-19 was caused by panic and shock as well as a lack of communication. “It wasn’t really the supply chain that couldn’t cope it was more about communications across the supply chain. While there was the issue of empty shelves, it was more about getting the goods onto the shop floor quick enough than a failure in the backend of the supply chain,” he says.

LINX Cargo Care Group is also finding efficiencies for its customers in coastal shipping, where many other logistics providers do not have capabilities in this kind of logistics offering. “Coastal shipping can offer some significant benefits for interstate freight and we are working with a number of our customers on this strategy at the moment,” he says.

C When it comes to the logistics and supply chain industry at M large, Carlo praises LINX Cargo Care Group’s ability to respond and react quickly. “We ensured we had our compliant, High Y Risk COVID-safe Plan in place very quickly. We changed our CM working environment ensuring social distancing was adhered MY to and the appropriate PPE was worn, right down to our road CY linehaul drivers having sanitiser and doing regular safety checks. But this is testament to the entire logistics industry, we CMY all did what needed to be done,” Carlo says.

K Carlo is proud to report that the LINX Cargo Care Group supply chain didn’t skip a beat. “Even in the strictest lockdowns we were able to support our customers and ensure that they got their goods to market in the most efficient, safe and timely way,” he says. ■

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MHD TECHNOLOGY

RESILIENCE AND AGILITY IN THE GROCERY INDUSTRY Raghav Sibal, Managing Director, ANZ, at Manhattan Associates presents his thoughts about what the new normal for grocery retailers will look like post COVID-19.

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his year has been a year of significant upheaval for economies, societies, and organisations across the globe. Except for health care, no other industry has been more visible at the forefront of the world’s battle with COVID-19 than the grocery industry; working tirelessly to keep food on tables during this time of uncertainty, vulnerability, and isolation.

Perhaps not surprisingly, having been so close to the frontline of the pandemic, the Australian grocery industry of today looks substantially different than it did earlier in the year. As non-essential retail begins to return to countries across the globe and most states in Australia, it’s time for grocery retailers to take stock of their achievements to date and start considering what the ‘new normal’ is going to look like and how grocery retailers can initiate a new strategy for meeting consumer demands and expectations moving forward.

The Australian grocery industry of today looks substantially different to how it did earlier this year.

44 | MHD OCTOBER 2020

ADAPTING TO A NEW LANDSCAPE Firstly, since it began, COVID-19 has altered the way supermarkets of all sizes physically look and feel. Wider aisles, increased levels of cleaning and hygiene management, increased use of contactless and card payments, protective screens around checkouts and selfservice areas, removal of self-service product dispensers, fewer stock-keeping units on-store, and more pre-packaged goods to reduce touch transmission of the virus. These are a range of physical adaptations to the grocery market; changes that will evidently be a part of the future of commerce.

Secondly, the pandemic has had a fundamental impact on the psychology of how and when consumers now purchase goods. A recent study from Adobe reported that the pandemic has accelerated the growth of e-commerce by as much as six years, leading to an increase in the overall share of mobilefirst e-commerce and significant increases to relatively new hybrid

approaches to purchasing, such as buy online, pickup in-store (BOPIS) and even curbside pickup.

Furthermore, there have been significant shifts in the number of visits consumers are willing to make to physical stores. This has resulted in increased basket sizes, underlining the consumer aversion to physical shopping trips and a willingness to spend more per visit to reduce the risks presented by public spaces and often the public transport needed to get to such locations.

As the traditional narrative around consumer psychology and spending habits continues to change to a more hybrid, pragmatic approach, the grocery industry will need to evolve to fit the new landscape it now occupies. This means grocers need to be taking decisive action to adapt to this new normal and what it will mean for the foundations of the industry from both a consumer and a supply chain perspective.

ALIGNING WITH CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR CHANGE On average, it takes around two months before a new behaviour becomes automatic – while the time it takes to form an entirely new habit can vary widely depending on the type of behaviour, the person, and the circumstances. The last six months can certainly be classified as an exceptional circumstance, and we have all had plenty of time on our hands to form new habits out of necessity, such as switching to e-commerce and mobile commerce.

It is a safe bet to continue to believe that the changes to consumer psychology and the way that grocery as an industry has adapted to the pandemic is no shortlived flash in the pan. After all, who would discover a more efficient way of

MHD TECHNOLOGY doing something, only to revert to an outdated, less effective way of operating? This sea-change is likely to be as representative of consumers as it is for grocery stores themselves.

While the boom in e-commerce and a general ability to pivot to options like BOPIS has certainly insulated much of the grocery industry against the very worst effects of COVID-19, there are a number of secondary challenges that organisations must be aware of. For example, grocery businesses need to be aware of the challenge that e-commerce has created from a fulfilment perspective. Offering BOPIS, curb-side pickup or even using stores as ‘mini-warehouses’ are great short-term options, however, the logistics of actually fulfilling these various alternatives can put significant pressure on supply chains if the correct strategy or technology is not in place.

NORDTHE DRIVE SOLUTION Reliable. Versatile. Global.

THE E-COMMERCE BOOM IS HERE TO STAY With few signs that the e-commerce explosion accelerated by COVID-19 is going to retreat anytime soon and the increasing popularity of purchasing options such as BOPIS and curbside pickup, the grocery industry post-COVID-19 will need to focus on two key areas. These areas include putting a true, authentic omnichannel customer experience at the core of its offering, and having scalable and agile technology solutions that provide warehouse, DC, supply chain and transportation management teams with the flexibility and scalability to pivot and innovate in response to any new challenge.

While many in the grocery space have been watching the e-commerce business grow rapidly, e-commerce fulfilment represents a number of challenges too. Firstly, it represents a much higher cost to the business, meaning grocery retailers need to look at more efficient, often automated or robotic, picking solutions in their distribution centres and dark stores where possible. Secondly, e-commerce offers the consumer many more service options.

Whether it’s delivery slots for home delivery, BOPIS, curbside collection or suggestions for items that are out of stock, all of these options require systems that can collaborate and communicate from a basic inventory level, right through to picking, transportation, delivery and customer communications.

THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT; THE FUTURE IS OMNICHANNEL No area of global commerce has been left untouched by COVID19, yet even now, there is an opportunity to reinvigorate and reshape the grocery industry landscape. Effective e-commerce and hybrid fulfilment methods, true omnichannel capabilities, and a relentless pursuit of customer experiences - be it through social media channels or physical in-store experiences - will prove crucial to business flourishment, as will a revised view of technology.

Additionally, a willingness to be proactive and develop a strategy to shield your business from the impending winds impacting the grocery industry will be the differentiator for coming out on top.

Despite the challenges many in the grocery industry have faced over the duration of 2020, technology remains a top priority.

As we finally look ahead toward a future post-coronavirus, ask yourself this; are the solutions you currently operate fit for purpose against what is now such a dynamic and fast-paced industry backdrop? Whether it’s digital self-service or pick-up or delivery alternatives, more effective inventory management, super-fast dark-site activation, or true omnichannel capabilities, solutions exist that can help you and your team navigate the challenges of the ‘new normal’ in the grocery industry. ■

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MHD E-COMMERCE

FRUSTRATION FREE PACKAGING On-demand packaging is reducing waste and cost while also improving the experience for the e-commerce consumer. MHD finds out more.

R

ecent research by Packsize, a global packing solutions and packaging automation supplier, revealed that the second most common complaint for an e-commerce customer is about the packaging not being suitable for the product.

Nearly every online consumer can relate to the frustration of receiving a small item in a box big enough for a several pairs of shoes and since COVID-19 Australian consumers are shopping online more than ever before.

We’re now comfortable ordering almost anything online, from toiletries to gym equipment to furniture to pantry goods.

For retailers and the logistics providers fulfilling these orders, on-demand packaging is providing significant benefits related to cost, customer satisfaction and reducing waste thus reducing our environmental impact.

Sean Ledbury, Managing Director at Packsize Australia says the driving principle behind the global on-demand packaging provider was to reduce waste from tertiary packaging.

“Historically, manufacturers or

distributors would buy boxes of a varying size and volume, and they would select a box and use void fill to make it fit,” he says.

Realising that there had to be a better way, the founders of Packsize created the first on-demand packaging solution.

“Our solution has a constant feed of corrugated board being fed into a machine that will cut the exact size box needed for the particular order. We’re building a box that is exactly the right size for the product, so you greatly reduce or completely eliminate the need for void fill,” Sean says.

Void fill is often made up of plastic and is largely unrecyclable, so by creating a better fitting box, there is also the added benefit of sustainability. “Our mission is ‘Smarter Packaging for a Healthy Planet’,” Sean says.

Producing a box that is the right size for the product, also has the roll-on effect of saving transport costs by using less space in a truck, container or aircraft.

Furthermore, with a box that is made specifically for its contents, there is less chance for the product to get damaged.

“Our packaging solution saves

Packsize solutions create a bespoke box for every online order.

46 | MHD OCTOBER 2020

packaging costs of between 20 to 30 per cent, but it also enables our customers to ship 30 per cent more orders per container or truck. So, they can save costs, reduce their environmental footprint and also greatly improve the end customer experience,” Sean says.

E-COMMERCE AND COVID-19 Packsize entered the Australian market five years ago and has seen rapid growth in this region. “As the e-commerce market grows here, so has our business,” Sean says.

With COVID-19 pushing e-commerce volumes to a record high, Sean says the business has grown significantly since the pandemic reached Australia.

“E-commerce is a big driver for us and COVID has created a huge demand in our goods and services,” he says.

The reason for this is two-fold, while many retailers are dealing with a much higher percentage of their sales through their online store, creating a need for more on-demand packaging, there is also the issue of many businesses looking for cost-effective solutions.

“There have been two drivers for our growth over this past year, of course there is the increase in e-commerce but there is also a desire for businesses to become leaner,” Sean says.

Some of Packsize’s new business in Australia has come from organisations who have contracted during this time but are looking at ways to reduce cost.

A further benefit for businesses who are looking to reduce costs but may not have the capital available to invest in new machines or products is that Packsize offers a model whereby the customer does not need to purchase the machine.

“The most common way that we go to market is that we place the machine with no capital outlay required by our customer. We find our customers are able to make packaging cost savings of around 20 to 30 per cent without any

MHD E-COMMERCE investment at all,” Sean says.

This also comes into play as customers start to see spikes in demand. “We have machines that can do 200 boxes an hour up to 1,200 boxes an hour. So, if a customer is seeing their volume increase, we can come in and swap out a machine to give them more capacity and this doesn’t need to cost them anything,” he says.

This also creates opportunities for retailers to explore installing on-demand packaging capabilities in the back of a bricks and mortar store to fulfil orders from a central location or service click and collect orders, an option that many retailers are currently exploring.

THE ABILITY TO SERVICE REMOTELY Packsize has a footprint across the entire country and has customers and service technicians in both rural and urban areas of nearly every state.

For many businesses, COVID-19 restrictions made servicing customers extremely difficult. However, for Packsize it was not an issue. “We have

Packsize’s on-demand packaging solution reduces waste and the environmental impact of packaging.

remote access to every single one of our machines so if there were any issues and we could not get onsite; we could help them remotely. In fact, 95 per cent of issues can be dealt with remotely so we can just connect to that particular customer and fix it,” Sean says.

Many packaging providers have followed in Packsize’s footsteps in offering on-demand packaging and

Sean says this has been a shift for the industry into establishing more sustainable practices.

“Packsize invented on-demand packaging to reduce waste and the environmental impact of packaging.

We’re proud to say that we have done not only that but have also reduced costs and improved the end-customer experience as well,” Sean concludes. ■

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MHD MATERIALS HANDLING

INSIDE JMP’S PALLETISING SOLUTIONS Supply chain begins with the equipment that enables product fulfilment.

JMP Engineering shares how NORD Drivesystems’ solution enables them to service one of the world’s largest food and snack corporations.

A

New Zealand company, JMP Engineering has been designing and manufacturing palletising and conveyor systems since it started out in 1972. It has four factories in NZ, and has installations around the Globe.

A large American multinational food, snack and beverage corporation, trusts JMP Engineering to leverage its productivity targets. The company manages its product line supply across branches in North American, Australia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia and many more. Chris Augustin, Technical Manager at JMP Engineering, says in North America alone, they operate 550 JMP Palletising systems.

“We supply most of their plants with palletising solutions and reasonably large volumes of materials handling for conveying. This is through a onedesign machine, as well as utilising our custom-designed palletising solutions,” he says.

Chris credits NORD Drivesystems, one of the major leaders in drive technology worldwide - for both

mechanical and electronic solutions which help JMP provide exceptional systems on a global scale.

GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP Two years ago, JMP reached out to NORD Drivesystems, to further innovate and establish the company as a market leader in Robotic Palletising Systems. Following successful samples, significant projects have been underway.

Chris says the manufacturing and engineering company switched its standard over due to the advanced technology of NORD Drivesystems.

“We’ve switched our variable frequency drives over to their units and in that process, we changed from cabinet mounted drives to field mounted drives. The motor gearboxes are more efficient and arriving pre-packaged, it dramatically decreases our installation time so we can continue to get the job done,” he says.

Previously, drives were located in a central cabinet and every single motor drive would have an individual

cable. “We were making quite a lot of connections to every motor, with a large amount of cabling. We stopped to think how we could minimise this and NORD Drivesystems was the perfect choice,” Chris says.

He says the ability to data change motors off the one cable using NORD Drivesystems allows a new level of applying integrated control. “To change the philosophy of what we do, we went from direct online motors to now running almost everything via VSD, which gives us functionality improvement in a costeffective investment,” Chris says.

“By making this change, we’ve seen some enormously large efficiency changes in both the set-up times and our workshop on-site.”

Chris says the company has a basic line of VSD that they can use for conveyors, but also the same drive can be enhanced for positioning, brake control and more - under one application package. “We can offer clients a competitive advantage in down-time because an issue can be solved in two minutes rather than shutting down the whole production line for hours. In manufacturing, time is money - so watching clients’ eyes light up when they see our applications in process is really rewarding.”

FIT FOR PURPOSE

JMP switched over to NORD Drivesystems.

48 | MHD OCTOBER 2020

“I think our biggest advantage with our products relationship is the notion that a supplier has taken the time to find out the benefits of the market they’re trying to sell in, hence our long-term partnership with Leading Multi national companies, supplying them with flexible and unbeatable solutions,” Chris says.

He believes NORD Drivesystems fits into the company’s values. “We

MHD MATERIALS HANDLING have delivered day-to-day operational gains which have benefited customers from better product stability using our VSD system,” Chris says. But he also highlights NORD Drivesystems collaboration with JMP Engineering’s trolley systems as a major benefit to the company’s partnership.

Chris says prior to integrating NORD Drivesystems, they used an older system.

“Now we use absolute encoders and they are all built in and integrate with the VSD and the positioning controller.

The solution is so much smoother and faster now,” he says.

“We are able to go from a product offering that could do 60 pallets an hour, to now 110 pallets an hour - for the same floor space and equipment usage! This was all done just by updating the controls.”

JMP’s palletising solutions are always fit-for-purpose. Chris says some palletising systems are running 120 cartons a minute and some are running 10-20 cartons a minute. “This is why it is essential to have a flexible product. It enables us to choose one design and put it

Chris says utilising NORD Drivesystems products is a no-brainer investment.

in many applications,” he says.

Taking their trolley drives as an example, Chris says JMP Engineering only needs to purchase one loader, VSD, gearbox combination and they run that on one trolley that goes up to two-anda-half tonnes. “It helps the spare parts, the design and flexibility built into the drive system that takes all the hassle and work out for our designers to be able to handle certain perimeters,” he says.

Ultimately, Chris says utilising NORD

MiR

Autonomous Mobile Robots

Drivesystems products as part of its operation is a no-brainer investment.

“We chose a highly bespoke solution and our customer gets a bonus out of that.”

“Instead of having 50 conveyors with over 14 different motors just two years ago and we needed very customised ratios to manage the parts. Now, in the same installation, we only have 4 or 5 product part numbers and have the flexibility of the drives and covers the wide-range of applications we require for our clients.” ■

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MHD SUPPLY CHAIN

OPENNESS IN A NEW COVID WORLD T

C.H. Robinson’s Container Prioritisation Tool is the latest technology the logistics provider has rolled out for its customers, providing them with greater transparency into their supply chain.

he Container Prioritisation Tool allows customers to optimise their container delivery by identifying any inefficiencies within their international and coastal transit and warehousing of goods. An insight that empowers its customers with the information required to streamline their supply chains and reduce unwanted costs.

Since introducing the technology in 2019, it has been used by a number of both large and small customers particularly in the food and beverage sector to have a clearer visibility of where their goods are located and reduce damages that could occur during road or rail transportation.

C.H. Robinson’s Vice-President for the Oceania region, Andrew Coldrey says; “As Australian companies face unexpected consumer demands and capacity challenges during COVID-19, we’ve seen our customers rely on our technology more than ever.

“Our Container Prioritisation Tool makes it easier for customers to monitor, understand and manage their supply chain.

“The technology facilitates supply chain visibility, enabling customers to make decisions regarding labour management and identify areas to

50 | MHD OCTOBER 2020

improve efficiency,” Andrew says.

C.H. Robinson’s commitment to a solution focussed business that adapts its IT offerings to support customers has remained steadfast throughout COVID-19. Having region-specific IT support allowed.

C.H. Robinson to identify a cargo visibility gap for Victorian customers when they entered stage 4 lockdown.

Container Vision is a product created from the Container Prioritisation Tool, enabling all Victorian customers to track their containers via its SKU to determine its exact location and plan accordingly.

THE LOGISTICAL SOLUTION FOR AJ BAKER & SONS Family-owned refrigeration business, AJ Baker & Sons is just one of C.H. Robinson’s customers who have benefited from the effective technology.

After experiencing a lack of consistency and visibility from multiple logistics providers, AJ Baker & Sons chose C.H. Robinson to offer clear shipment tracking and communication that would allow for more positive customer experiences. Through close collaboration, a long-term supply chain road map and ongoing improvements, C.H. Robinson were able to help AJ Baker

& Sons meet their supply chain goals.

“With business all over Australia, we need to know where every shipment is all the time,” explained Amanda Kaur, Imports Coordinator at AJ Baker & Sons.

“While our previous logistics providers suited our needs for many years, by 2017, we had realised those relationships were no longer offering everything our company needed for success.”

The logistics team at AJ Baker & Sons recognised the time had come to change their transportation strategy.

THE SITUATION “When we first started looking for a new process, we had several goals in mind, including improve transit times, better visibility across the board, more effective container management tools, consistent pricing and the ability to accurately forecast deliveries,” Amanda says.

AJ Baker & Sons researched many logistics providers with their priorities in mind. Representatives from C.H. Robinson were the first to truly feel like an extension of the AJ Baker & Sons team.

According to Amanda, “Shaun at C.H. Robinson listened to us. He focused on our priorities and goals rather than pushing his own agenda.”

MHD SUPPLY CHAIN

CHOOSING C.H. ROBINSON’S GLOBAL NETWORK Ultimately, the team chose C.H. Robinson to lead their logistics transformation due to the combination of people like business development manager, Shaun Ennis and the extensive global suite of services offered at C.H. Robinson.

“When I started to work with AJ Baker & Sons, it quickly became apparent they needed a global logistics provider that could offer consistency, service and visibility across their supply chain,” stated Shaun. “I knew after just a few conversations that our ability to offer deep expertise would help them reach their goals.”

THE ROAD MAP TO SUCCESS With their list of goals, AJ Baker & Sons worked with their team at C.H. Robinson to hone a personalised road map for the entire supply chain process.

This included separate goals for each warehouse and division of the company to implement over time. C.H. Robinson’s experience working with the largest, most sophisticated shippers in the world helped AJ Baker & Sons eliminate many supply chain unknowns—including communication and visibility.

EMBRACING VISIBILITY AND NEW WAYS OF COMMUNICATING With C.H. Robinson’s technology, not only could AJ Baker & Sons monitor every single shipment from pickup to destination, their customers could also access the online tool to track their orders directly. Using technology built by and for supply chain experts led to a new level of visibility that reduced administration time, kept customers informed and offered a positive experience for customers that wanted to feel included in the shipping process.

“

When we first started looking for a new process, we had several goals in mind, including improve transit times, better visibility across the board, more effective container management tools, consistent pricing and the ability to accurately forecast deliveries.

”

“As the company’s Imports Coordinator, it’s my job to order all overseas sourced products for the business, including customs inquiries, payments and invoices,” Amanda says. “Our newfound visibility to shipments with C.H. Robinson was a game changer. Their online tracking system is easy to use while offering more detailed and accurate reporting than we previously had access to, which makes it easier to make smart business decisions. It’s been a positive change for my team and our customer relations as well.”

OUTCOME Choosing C.H. Robinson as their logistics provider has helped AJ Baker & Sons achieve many of their initial goals and create processes to achieve the rest. By working together with C.H. Robinson, AJ Baker & Sons has successfully improved their communication and visibility, applied proactive order tracking and forecasting technology to their strategy and improved their overall service to customers.

THE PLAN FOR CONTINUED TRANSPARENCY C.H. Robinson and AJ Baker & Sons will continue to focus on achieving all the changes set out in the logistics road map.

Through collaboration and innovation, they hope to develop an even greater level of customer service and expand their offerings to new markets.

“Before we started working with C.H. Robinson, we recognised we needed a logistics change. But until we sat down with them, I don’t think any of us realised how much we could possibly improve,” explained Amanda. “Looking forward, I see endless possibilities for our logistics strategy and know that C.H. Robinson is just the logistics provider to help us with it.” ■

MHD OCTOBER 2020 | 51

MHD SUPPLY CHAIN

TM Insight has worked on some of the largest warehouse automation sites in Australia.

BETTER TOGETHER MHD sits down with Travis Erridge, co-founder and CEO of TM Insight to learn more about a recent acquisition that will see the company quadruple its supply chain capabilities and double the headcount of its overall business. The strategic acquisition is set to supercharge the business to cope with the challenge of e-commerce volumes across the Asia Pacific region.

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he global financial crisis of 2008 sent shockwaves through the industrial property market and while Australia may have gotten off lightly compared to the UK or the US, many businesses made significant cutbacks and were extremely cautious with their spending.

As a result of these cutbacks, Travis Erridge and now business partner Milan Andjelkovic both lost their jobs at global property developer Goodman.

Seeing this as an opportunity to do things differently and fill a gap in the market, Travis and Milan joined forces to establish TM Insight, a specialist consultancy firm that offers services in supply chain, property and project management.

It wasn’t long before Travis and Milan found themselves winning major contracts with retail giants Kmart and Bunnings. Fast-forward to 2017, and the business has since experienced a

52 | MHD OCTOBER 2020

600 per cent top line revenue growth with consistently strong year-on-year growth. The organisation is now on track to become a $100 million revenue business and boasts a high-calibre team of experts across the property and supply chain spectrum.

MHD met up with Travis to learn more about an exciting new venture for TM Insight as it prepares to quadruple its supply chain capabilities through a major acquisition in the Asia Pacific region.

THE E-COMMERCE EXPLOSION As early as 2015, the team at TM Insight started to see the emergence in the demand of e-commerce and omnichannel operation capabilities as Australians started to warm up to the concept of online shopping. According to Travis, this shift to e-commerce is only going to increase in Australia.

“We’ve been talking about

e-commerce for a long time in Australia. But only a few years ago some of our biggest customers and Australia’s biggest retailers’ online consumers were less than five per cent of their total volume. COVID-19 has now driven that up to around 20 per cent in a matter of months and this has presented a massive challenge for retailers across Australia,” Travis says.

This level of uptake rips a supply chain to bits, Travis says. “When you look at the types of vehicles that go in and out of a site, it’s no longer the big semi-trailer trucks but small vans going to people’s houses. So, you have to rethink your entire operation to cater for this level of e-commerce growth,” he says.

Many of TM Insight’s customers have been doing exactly that. Travis and co have already worked on delivering major automation projects in Australia – including the completion of a fully

MHD SUPPLY CHAIN automated high bay distribution centre in Dandenong, Victoria with the total project value reportedly in excess of $500 million. The team are currently delivering a $2 billion pipeline of automated projects across Australia.

This was before COVID-19 supercharged the e-commerce uptake and changed retail forever. “COVID has fast-tracked the next three years of development into a matter of months,” Travis says.

To increase capability in this area, ahead of what Travis sees as a major period of growth, TM Insight is set to launch an e-commerce consulting business as it sees more of its clients requesting capabilities across this area.

The somewhat stubborn relationship that many consumers have with the traditional bricks and mortar stores has been completely transformed during COVID-19, and Travis jokes that to his surprise even the more senior members of his family are now scrolling and shopping.

By working on some of the largest distribution and fulfilment projects in Australia and New Zealand, TM Insight has a unique view into what the future of supply chain and logistics will look like.

The team often designs sites that have a four-year timeline from conception to go-live. Many clients are committing to 10- or 15-year leases, making the planning horizon around 14 to 20 years.

“A 15-year-old today will be 25-yearsold at the midpoint and you have to ask yourself, will they be shopping at a physical store or will they be using their phone?” Travis asks.

COMBINING ORGANIC GROWTH WITH ACQUISITIONS While TM Insight has been on a steep growth curve since its inception in 2010, part of its strategy is to grow the scale of its supply chain offering and breadth as well as move further into the Asia Pacific region.

As part of this strategy, the business has acquired its major competitor, XAct Solutions, in a move which will see TM Insight’s supply chain team grow from 15 to more than 65 as well as double the headcount of the entire business.

XAct Solutions offer supply chain and industrial property expertise across the Asia Pacific region and according to Travis between XAct and TM Insight, the two businesses will have been involved in more than 50 per cent of the major automation and industrial projects in the Asia Pacific region over the past ten years.

With investments and expansions in e-commerce and supply chain capabilities high on everybody’s agenda moving into 2021, this acquisition ensures that TM Insight can offer its clients more expertise and talent to deliver those increased throughputs and capabilities that will be required.

“XAct Solutions is our biggest competitor in this space so by bringing the two organisations and expertise together we can ensure we have the expertise needed to take our clients through this massive e-commerce and supply chain journey so many of them are embarking on,” Travis says.

The two businesses complement each other, TM Insight will have access to

XAct Solutions’ strong in-house supply chain expertise and its presence in Vietnam, Thailand and Japan, while XAct Solutions will benefit from TM Insight’s strong integrated offering in supply chain, property and project management.

There are lessons to be learned from both regions and shared synergies and opportunities to innovate. In parts of South East Asia there is a much more sophisticated e-commerce offering, which Australian businesses can learn from. With Australia’s high cost of labour, the region is ahead of the game when it comes to automation and can share some of those key learnings with South East Asian organisations looking to increase their throughput with this kind of technology.

“South East Asian organisations are looking at ways that they can adopt the supply chain strategies coming out of Australia. While they don’t have the challenge of the high cost of labour, they do have the challenge of finding people who want to work in a warehouse.

So, they are looking to flexible automation to become more efficient and competitive as volume significantly increases,” Travis says.

Travis sees automation as a necessity as volumes continue to rise. He also sees it as a way to make roles in the supply chain more attractive. “Some of the manual operations that warehouse workers are required to do are extremely strenuous. If you can automate that kind of work, then there is a great opportunity for people to upskill and move into roles with more opportunity and longevity,” he says. ■

TM Insight co-founders Travis Erridge (right) and Milan Andjelkovic.

MHD OCTOBER 2020 | 53

MHD MATERIALS HANDLING

POWERING AUTOMATION

As some of Australia’s largest logistics operations move further into heavily automated processes, Japanese innovator SMC Corporation has developed an award-winning solution to underpin this transformation.

Rodney Ryan, State Manager at SMC Corporation.

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ustralian businesses are introducing automation at a record pace. Leading grocery retailer Woolworths has opened a $125 million fully automated distribution centre in Victoria and earlier this year Drakes Supermarkets opened a state-ofthe-art $80 million distribution centre in South Australia.

The Drakes site incorporates more than $12 million of robotics as part of a high-tech warehouse picking system.

The trend towards automation is not only happening in the large-scale grocery supply chain, there are also many smaller businesses implementing this kind of technology to gain efficiencies and increase throughput rates in response to record consumer growth.

At the very foundation of these solutions is the robots ability to move goods safely and efficiently around the warehouse. “You can invest in a multimillion-dollar automation system, but if the robot cannot pick up the product it’s pointless,” Rodney Ryan, State Manager at SMC Corporation says.

Robots are being increasingly used in palletising and depalletizing, particularly in the grocery supply chain. “Many grocery retailers are using Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) and robots to unpack and palletise product before 54 | MHD OCTOBER 2020

sending to a store,” Rodney says.

There are two ways a robot can pick up product, either by mechanical grippers or by vacuum. “In logistics and warehousing you are usually working with large pallets and a mechanical gripper will not be suitable to pick up the products. So, 99 per cent of automated solutions use vacuum to move product around,” Rodney says.

SMC vacuum systems enables the robot to lift the goods to support whatever weight the robot needs to pick.

“The vacuum is only limited by the robot size typically, whether that be 100kg payload or 1kg payload the vacuum can lift it,” Rodney explains.

With the rise of e-commerce, many logistics providers and retailers are deploying collaborative and agile robots.

These robots also need to be nimble enough to pick up product and move it around the warehouse and this is also done via vacuum.

SMC Corporation is a global leader

SMC vacuum systems enables the robot to lift the goods to support whatever weight the robot needs to pick.

in its field and has developed vacuum solutions that uses compressed air as opposed to a vacuum pump, which is more commonly found in this solution.

Compressed air has historically been considered to be an expensive solution as well as not very energy efficient however Rodney points out that the SMC vacuum solutions have been designed with energy efficiencies in mind.

The vacuum generator solution has been fitted with smart equipment that senses and communicates when the vacuum needs to be turned on and off.

“If something is picked up, and there is a leak in the vacuum, the unit will ensure that it automatically creates enough vacuum to stop that product from dropping prematurely,” Rodney says.

The energy benefits from utilising a smart solution that increases the amount of vacuum when needed has delivered favourable results for a number of global blue-chip companies.

“A major focus for many businesses right now is sustainability. Many of our customers have sustainability and environmental targets they need to meet and our technology can help meet these targets,” Rodney says.

After realising the energy saving benefits through compressed air savings, some customers have introduced the technology across their entire automated operation, Rodney says.

A further benefit of compressed air over vacuum pump technology is the longer service life and reduced maintenance.

The smart technology that is utilised to improve energy efficiency also delivers added safety benefits. “The energy saving function ensures that if there is a leak, more compressed air is added to ensure that it does not drop.

By design this provides not only an efficient solution but a safer solution,” Rodney says. ■

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MHD TECHNOLOGY

WMS: A GUIDE Körber’s software team offers MHD readers exclusive answers to the common questions around warehouse management system implementation.

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his year’s peak period presents a huge challenge for retailers and logistics providers alike. With record parcels continuing to move through Australia’s supply chain since the first COVID-19 lockdown. For the first time ever, this year will see the busiest shopping period of the year take place almost entirely online.

Underpinning any retailer’s ability to meet customer expectations is its capabilities in warehouse management. With customer service and swift delivery at the top of most consumers wish lists this Christmas, retailers have a huge task ahead of them.

Many Australian retailers have already been delivering record online volumes since March this year, including Australian cosmetics and beauty products online retailer Adore Beauty. With more than 220

Gartner named Körber’s WMS solution a Leader in this year’s Magic Quadrant report.

56 | MHD OCTOBER 2020

brands, 15,000 products and a million transactions a year, its online-only model put the retailer in a great position to ride the COVID-19 wave of online consumerism.

In 2019, Adore Beauty invested in its warehouse management capabilities and installed Körber’s WMS solution, and as a result was well-placed to scale up to meet record volumes.

“Adore Beauty is very modern and fast-paced, we knew we needed a WMS that represented us and could grow with us,” Sarah Mullen, General Manager at Adore Beauty says. Since installing Körber’s WMS solution, Sarah says Adore Beauty is able to pick two to three times faster than before.

In this year’s Gartner 2020 Magic Quadrant for WMS report, Körber’s WMS solution was named a Leader.

The system can scale up and be

customised to the unique needs of small or medium size businesses, global enterprises and third-party logistics providers within a number of different industries.

It provides functionality, transparency and flexibility to revolutionise manual operations resulting in faster reaction times, lower error quotas, and offers optimal use of resources and shorter processing times.

Furthermore, Körber is committed to its customers success through every step of the implementation process.

With capabilities in providing end-toend service from discovery through to implementation and successful onboarding, the global team is dedicated to offering a high standard of direct implementation support.

Another Körber WMS customer is T2 Tea, one of the world’s largest tea retailers. In 2019, the Australia-based retailer experienced a 120 per cent growth across its digital channels and as such needed to rethink its WMS provider.

The Körber solution was originally designed to deliver over 10,000 shipments a week, which was modelled around T2 Tea’s busiest periods pre COVID. “It’s certainly streamlined the e-commerce picking and packing process. We’re getting efficiency gains of 30 per cent for our e-commerce picks and for general replenishment we’re still getting around 10 per cent efficiency again even though the process has remained much the same,” Aaron Calleja, Business Analyst at T2 Tea says.

According to Rohan Penman, Global Head of Technology at T2 Tea, the key for this implementation was to achieve those efficiency gains around e-commerce. “This is where the business sees a growth channel and this software has opened so many doors for us around flexibility and efficiency,” he says. ■

MHD TECHNOLOGY

THE MOST COMMON WMS QUESTION AND ANSWERS

BY JON KUERSCHNER - VICE PRESIDENT AND JAMIE STERLING, DIRECTOR OF INTERNATIONAL SALES AND OPERATIONS (APAC) AT KÖRBER SUPPLY CHAIN.

Q. What are the main challenges with integrating a WMS within an existing supply chain ecosystem?

A. The main challenge in implementations is testing the integrations. This can be seen in several different scenarios - and it is an item to watch for and prevent during project implementations. In some cases, the client may not have a test server or emulation capability to simulate the process and payloads back and forth. In other situations, the customer may not have test end points for IP addresses on the mobile devices (i.e., voice and/or RF units). That creates challenges on go-live due to fire-fighting network addresses when you should be focused on the people and processes. However, these challenges can be easily overcome and prevented with good project management.

Q. How important is a WMS in utilising the benefits of other technology such as RFID, automation, robotics etc?

A. The WMS orchestrates the overall solution. WMS creates work and the supporting technologies, such as RFID, voice and AMRs, execute the work and report back. To get the most out of the supporting technologies, you need a WMS to make the optimised decisions for material moves.

Q. What is the true life of a WMS before it is considered outdated?

A. With legacy table and parameter driven solutions, the end of life is much shorter than you see with process-driven solutions, such as Körber’s Warehouse Advantage.

With process-driven solutions, the client can self-manage change at the

adaptability layer and still maintain an upgrade path. That extends the life of the solution significantly. We have clients that have been running Warehouse Advantage for more 20 years and have adapted the solution to their business change while keeping up with our upgrades and the DB and OS compliance/security.

The WMS will evolve, and it is often the underlying tech that will cause a WMS to be end of life.

Q. What level of integration should you expect with your ERP or accounting solution?

A. Depth of integration is not an option, it is a requirement. The ERP solution needs to know in near real-time what it can commit to its customers. The WMS needs to continuously feed debits and credits regarding inventory position so the ERP/OMS solution can service the customer’s customers accurately with commitments to inventory and dates. On the 3PL side, as billable events are created, they are typically batched in the WMS within an accounting period and then posted to the accounting system to create the invoice to the end client.

Q. What kind of change management is required for this kind of project?

A. Grass-roots involvement and communication is key. This is dependent on the culture of the business seeking to buy a WMS. Change Management varies from business to business. But one key component is ensuring there is “buy in” from the top down. Ensuring the business is educated on what the changes will be and how these will benefit their day to day lives are a key milestone in ensuring a successful project.

Q. What sort of timeline is common from sign off to go-live?

A. This is highly dependent on the WMS pillar, complexity of the customer’s operation and resource availability on the customer team. We have done deployments in less than three months; others have taken years. A realistic expectation is six to nine months.

These are systems that touch a lot of existing business processes, systems and people. Allocate enough time to manage the change.

Q. What level of service does Körber offer for its solution in terms of training and implementation?

A. We guide our clients through the implementation to ensure success.

We also understand the difference between a system and a solution. We work with our clients to ensure the final solution is scalable, accurate and dependable before we turn over the keys. We also recognise that these implementations are also often the client’s opportunity to improve their business - beyond the IT side.

Q. What are the most common issues that Körber’s WMS solves?

A. Supply chain complexity. Körber’s unique proposition is to enable its customers to have full ownership over their solutions. Unlike other vendors, Körber’s WMS provides the toolsets that customers can leverage to configure, develop and enhance their own solution whether it be on the cloud - or not. In doing so, this allows the customer to be more nimble, disruptive and more competitive in their markets and encourages them to be a supply chain trend setter. At Körber, our job is to simplify your supply chain processes by providing sophisticated – yet ease-to-use solutions that work every day, all day.

MHD OCTOBER 2020 | 57

MHD TECHNOLOGY

The FuzzyLogX team wants to drive a better outcome for its customers through sharing knowledge and expertise.

RAISING THE BAR Five years ago a new consultancy launched with the aim of challenging the misconception that the warehouse is the ugly duckling of a business.

MHD sits down with the team at Fuzzy LogX to find out why finding the best solution for its clients is their badge of honour.

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stablished in 2015, Fuzzy LogX is led by Owner and Principal Consultant Bas Schilders. With a history working for some of the largest automation vendors in the world, including Swisslog and Schaefer, Bas realised he was limiting the outcome for his customers by only being able to offer solutions from one vendor.

This limitation was the driving force behind starting a new independent consultancy, Fuzzy LogX. “We want to raise the bar in this area and for every customer we work with we want to improve their warehousing capabilities,” Bas says.

After two years, Jeff Triantafilo joined the team as Systems Consultant and is now formally a part owner of the business. Jeff is passionate about automation and logistics. “For me, what we do is a unique brand of warehouse engineering and I would love this to become an engineering discipline in the future. I want to see people come out of university and know that this is a really 58 | MHD OCTOBER 2020

innovative industry to work in with great opportunity,” he says.

At its core, the team at Fuzzy LogX wants to drive a better outcome for its customers through sharing its experience and expertise. “We’re not here to sell hours, but to transfer as much knowledge as we can to our customers,” Bas says.

While some consultants are reluctant to share information unless it’s through a billable hour, Bas says Fuzzy LogX is bringing a fresh approach to the warehousing and logistics consultancy.

“The strength of what we do is in the relationships we build with our clients. We are working hard to bring a greater sense of transparency and ethical business practice to this industry through ensuring that we are driven by achieving better outcomes, not just billable hours,” he says.

THE IMPORTANCE OF INDEPENDENCE With so many large-scale automation projects currently taking place in

Australia, there is a rise in the number of vendors and solutions in this space.

This can lead to confusion for many businesses looking to benefit from automation.

“Every single solution is different, and every vendor has its own agenda.

We are in the privileged position of complete independence. We can look at all of the vendors, and all of the solutions, and help design a concept that works best for the client,” Bas says.

The Fuzzy LogX team is in the unique position whereby they have worked for and with all of the large vendors, so they have an intimate knowledge of the systems on offer.

“We are not tied to any vendor or property company so we can guarantee that whatever solution we put forward is in our client’s best interests,” Jeff says.

With relationships and connections across the entire automation spectrum with both large and small vendors, Fuzzy LogX prides itself on its

MHD TECHNOLOGY knowledge of the latest automated technology and innovation in bestpractise warehouse operations.

“We bring clarity to our clients projects because we offer a realistic view of what is achievable from different solutions,” Jeff says.

According to Jeff, it’s about nit picking a solution and ensuring that there is no wool being pulled over customer’s eyes. A sentiment that is echoed by Bas. “One of the things we’ve found in the last five years is that there is a lot of white elephants in this space.

Often automation is installed, but it doesn’t deliver the benefits that were promised,” he says.

A huge part of Fuzzy LogX role in these projects is to ensure that the benefits and throughput gains being quoted by the vendors are realistic so that the business case is accurate.

“I’m looking through vendor documents right now with a client who is spending more than $100 million on automation and it is my job to ensure that it stands up. Vendors always want to give you the big dream numbers, but this is an investment that is made maybe once every 10 to 15 years so it needs to be accurate and realistic,” Jeff says.

BECOMING PART OF THE TEAM From the get-go, Fuzzy LogX considers itself part of its customers team. “From the moment I enter

the building I am part of the team and I am dedicated to the business,” Jeff says.

This is also evident in the feedback the consultancy gets from its customers. “Our customers tell us that they love that we get to know the business and become an extension of who they are, but for us it’s the only way we can truly learn and understand what they do,” Bas says.

In any project, the Fuzzy LogX team ensures that they spend time on the ground talking to everyone involved. “I learnt from my father that you always talk to the forklift driver and all the workers on the ground. They are the ones doing the work and they can give you the best insights,” Jeff says.

According to Jeff, if you are not listening you are losing the opportunity to learn. “I may be an expert in warehousing, but they are by far the experts in their operation,” he says.

This relationship also empowers the customer to be able to get the most out of their investment by transferring knowledge.

“At some point we leave, and we aren’t the ones who will be running the warehouse. So, we transfer our knowledge onto them as much as we can so that there is a much higher chance of success for our customer,” Bas says.

FROM WAREHOUSE TO DISTRIBUTION CENTRE One outcome of COVID-19 is that the role of the warehouse has been elevated across businesses throughout the world, something that Jeff is very pleased to see happen.

“COVID has made the warehouse the most important asset of a business. The whole organisation is making a promise that the warehouse fulfils, that’s why it’s called fulfilment,” Jeff says.

Ultimately a business is concerned with meeting its goals and about delivering a good customer experience, and the warehouse is at the core of this.

Jeff sees this as a real opportunity for the warehouse and says he is thrilled part of the transformation of warehouses throughout Australia from dark, dingy and static sheds to world-class distribution centres of the future that are aligned with the overall business goals of the organisation.

While some of Fuzzy LogX implementation projects include multi-million-dollar automation investments, they also work with smaller organisations in search of the same outcomes.

“We will help anyone who has a challenge that they need to solve.

We work with large-scale and small-scale automation, but a large part of our business involves working with world-class manual operations,” Bas concludes. ■

Since COVID-19, the warehouse is the most important asset of a business.

MHD OCTOBER 2020 | 59

MHD TECHNOLOGY

AUTOMATION COLLABORATION Intralogistics specialist Swisslog reveals how its shuttle system delivers a data-driven distribution centre solution that cuts hardware costs by 25 per cent in warehouses.

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ith growing e-commerce demands and tight labour market pressures, today’s smart warehouses and distribution centres require increasingly datadriven technologies. Intralogistics operations need much more flexible, scalable, adaptable and user-friendly solutions in order to succeed in today’s demanding market.

Francis Meier, Managing Director for Swisslog Australia and New Zealand says intralogistics solutions contain various elements and a lot of moving pieces. “In order to bring all of these together and make them work in an efficient manner, we rely on powerful controls technology like Beckhoff provides,” he says.

Swisslog began to transition its portfolio to PC- based control technology, standardising on hardware and software solutions from Beckhoff Automation. “It offers the flexibility and scalability required, yet it is highly standardised making sure that engineers can easily move across projects. Once in operation, these systems allow us to be very responsive in support, remotely or on-site,” Francis says.

INTRALOGISTICS APPLICATIONS The Swiss company, which was founded in 1994 but has a history dating back to 1900, became fully integrated into the KUKA Group in 2015. While the headquarters for Swisslog Logistics are in Switzerland, the multi-division, global company maintains a presence across Europe, the Americas and Asia-Pacific.

The logistics division primarily serves major retailers, e-commerce and consumer goods companies, distributors and third-party 60 | MHD OCTOBER 2020

Flexibility must be built into any automation system from the beginning.

“

In order to bring all of these together and make them work in an efficient manner, we rely on powerful controls technology like Beckhoff provides.

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logistics (3PL) providers.

For intralogistics specialist Swisslog, addressing this challenge requires machines with greater intelligence, such as the CycloneCarrier shuttle system. Compared to similar systems on the market, the CycloneCarrier and other Swisslog solutions offer

key advantages due to a robust PC-based automation platform. “What differentiates Swisslog from others in the market is how we integrate our solutions and use information systems and software to improve efficiencies,” says Paul Douglas, Senior Vice President of Operations – Americas.

The world is talking about the Internet of Things and Industry 4.0. Francis says Swisslog’s latest development efforts push its capabilities into that space. Francis credits its partnership with Beckhoff Automation as a ranging system solution for all areas of automation in different performance classes.

“The use of Beckhoff products in Swisslog’s offering has enabled Swisslog to customise real-time control functions and integrate them in cost-effective solutions. Beyond the

MHD TECHNOLOGY open connectivity of Beckhoff hardware and software, these solutions provide a range of functions on a single and modular platform that allows Swisslog to create an adaptable, scalable and flexible WMS,” he says.

SMART SHUTTLE SYSTEM The CycloneCarrier is a high-throughput storage and delivery solution. The system transports cartons and totes, stores them and then rapidly picks them in sequence or groupings to designated pick stations or to palletising robots.

The vehicles’ load-handling arms extend to either side and can adjust the space between arms to safely handle items of varying widths. The shuttles unload items onto transfer conveyors that serve as buffers to dynamic single- or double-deck vertical lifts. Depending on the shelving size and number of shuttles, the system can achieve a throughput of tens of thousands of items per hour.

Swisslog and Beckhoff formed a framework agreement in 2011 based on a shared vision of what could be achieved.

Since then they’ve worked together to raise the expectation of the consumer goods, and logistics automation industries on what a control solution really is and have lifted the bar on what’s possible.

When Swisslog began CycloneCarrier development in 2013, the system benefited greatly from transitioning to Beckhoff’s PC-based control. Now, more than 1,000 machines worldwide that are equipped with Beckhoff controls and Swisslog’s intention is that it will transition every product offering to include PC-based control in the near future.

Francis says Swisslog Australia and New Zealand has been successful in deploying the CycloneCarrier in two major projects, one in New Zealand which has been operational for some time now and one in Australia which will go-live early next year. “The CycloneCarrier allows us to provide the high performance bin/carton storage machine feeding either robots or manual picking stations in a reliable and efficient manner,” he says.

KEEPING PACE WITH E-COMMERCE DEMANDS The adoption of goods-to-person technology with reliable automation technology is essential. Francis says Beckhoff offers wide-ranging system solutions for all areas of automation in different performance classes. “The use of

“

The use of Beckhoff products in Swisslog’s offering has enabled Swisslog to customise real-time control functions and integrate them in cost-effective solutions.

”

Francis Meier, Managing Director for Swisslog Australia and New Zealand.

Beckhoff products in Swisslog’s offering has enabled Swisslog to customise real-time control functions and integrate them in cost-effective solutions,” he says.

Francis highlights that beyond the open connectivity of Beckhoff hardware and software, the solution provides the industry what it really needed to meet today’s challenges. Swisslog required cost-effective and flexible technologies that could be used more than once, allowing the company to create libraries to use in various applications throughout the industry.

Flexibility must be built into the automation system from the beginning.

A recent project for a major U.S. retailer, for example, involved 65 shuttles working round-the-clock to process 650,000 SKUs per day. Implementing the CycloneCarrier system boosted throughput for the company while saving workers significant physical exertion.

While traditional palletising equipment usually remains in the same location, unchanged for a decade or more, new e-commerce solutions need to offer greater scalability to meet changing consumer or corporate requirements. The modular controls platform Swisslog implemented enables customisation to shelf and shuttle setups, whether to modify slightly or completely disassemble and rebuild the system in a different configuration, in an entirely different warehouse.

“Through our standard platform based on Beckhoff PC-based control, we could use a CycloneCarrier shuttle in a small system targeted to a specific application and then use the same machine in a much bigger facility doing a completely different job,” Francis says. ■ MHD OCTOBER 2020 | 61

MHD STORAGE SOLUTIONS

A HIGHER LEVEL OF WAREHOUSING EFFICIENCY THROUGH INCREASED DENSITY

APC is now the Australasian distributor for RadioshuttleTM, the original satellite racking solution. Combining high storage density with improved pallet and pick face access, the Swedish-made solution features 30 years of experience and innovation.

A

PC Storage has partnered with RadioshuttleTM for the past 20 years to bring the very first satellite racking solution to warehouses across Australia and New Zealand. RadioshuttleTM was developed in the early 1990s and the current version on the market is the sixth generation of the machine.

“RadioshuttleTM has been around longer than anyone else in the market, with more than 30 years of development and design in the solution,” Andrew Gordon, General Manager at APC Storage says.

While many others have established their own satellite storage product, there is great benefit in working with a product that has so much experience and development behind it.

“The RadioshuttleTM offers a robust design and construction. One of the major benefits of the solution is the ability to improve density in a storage facility. In a warehouse, aisles often

More than 30 years experience and innovation has gone into RadioShuttleTM.

62 | MHD OCTOBER 2020

take up more than 60 per cent of the floor space because of the need to provide an access aisle at every rack face, but as RadioshuttleTM enables deep storage, there is a great opportunity to better utilise the space available.

Satellite storage is suitable when there are many pallets of the same product being stored. When you don’t need individual pallet selectivity as there are multiple pallets of the same stock keeping unit (SKU), this solution offers the most efficient option. Each level of RadioshuttleTM racking can have a different SKU so, whilst the density is increased, there is still good availability to the products being stored.

The cold storage industry is a perfect example where density is crucial to minimising cost and carbon footprint.

It costs a lot of money to keep an area cold, so if you can reduce the amount of aisle space you will be able

to reduce your energy bills and the impact on the environment.

In many warehouses, the top 20 selling SKU’s make up 80 per cent of the volume, so a denser storage system makes sense. If you have multiple pallets of the same SKU, then this system can not only offer better use of storage space but also significant efficiency gains.

The RadioshuttleTM offers First In – Last out or First In – First Out applications and improves the put away and pick operation speeds. If you are usually unloading a truck and putting pallets into a warehouse you have to travel to every floor location within the warehouse. With the RadioshuttleTM, you have less forklift travel time as you are not having to drive to as many locations.

During the time that it takes for the RadioshuttleTM to put a pallet away or to retrieve a pallet, the forklift operator is already on the next cycle. The

MHD STORAGE SOLUTIONS

The satellite racking solution offers increased density in the warehouse.

two machines are working in sync.

By working this way, once an operation is managing around 2,000 pallets, the operation can achieve up to 200 per cent more pallet density in the same area with RadioshuttleTM. The speed of the warehousing operation can also be up to 15 per cent faster.

This is evident in the satisfaction that many of APC’s customers have once they install the machines. Many of their clients keep coming back and expanding their operation with additional RadioshuttleTM racking or planning new facilities with the RadioshuttleTM system at the core of the design. Andrew says APC’s clients are impressed with the

“

RadioshuttleTM has been around longer than anyone else in the market, with more than 30 years of development and design in the solution.

” Last-In/First-Out.

First-In/First-out.

quick return on their investment.

Benefits over block stacking include higher density as you are able to store more pallets vertically than most block stacking arrangements. There is better access to more SKUs and reduced product and pallet damage.

The RadioshuttleTM also provides key safety benefits over other storage systems. The operator does not need to enter the rack and this is where most damage occurs in typical drive in rack and other multi deep storage systems which can result in personnel injury, product damage and rack damage.

The RadioshuttleTM can also be suitable for smaller operations, with a recent customer of APC’s installing the solution for less than 400 pallets. “They were convinced it was a compelling case for their operation and made the investment. This is exciting for us as we know that the barrier to entry for automation is lowering and it’s becoming an option for smaller operations” Andrew says.

The RadioshuttleTM is battery operated and APC offer a number of different types, depending on the requirements of the operation. Battery types include both lithium and liquid gel and we offer long battery cycles with short charge times to ensure that the RadioshuttleTM can keep operating 24/7.

RadioshuttleTM has been installed by more than 1,500 businesses worldwide and moves more than 70,000 pallets every hour, every day. APC has recently completed projects in Australia for food production facilities, mining or bulk chemicals and packaging stores, as well as currently working on one of the largest cold store projects in New Zealand. ■ Contact APC for more information about RadioshuttleTM. MHD OCTOBER 2020 | 63

MHD MATERIALS HANDLING

Bing Lee relies on Jungheinrich’s lithium-ion-powered Electric Forklift Trucks for its 24 hour operation.

ELECTRIC FORCE Ken Poole, Logistics Manager at Bing Lee, one of Australia’s largest electrical goods companies, shares how its Sydney DC managed a 150 per cent increase in operations through its efficient forklift fleet.

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ing Lee – a great Aussie icon, whose story begins in the Western Suburbs of Sydney, has stood the test of time. It’s the largest privately held electrical retail business in New South Wales with over 35 stores.

Many of us are familiar with the Bing Lee TV and radio commercials of the last four decades. The catchy jingle “I like Bing Lee” is a part of the local pop culture and captures the essence of the family’s objective – to be a widereaching, low-cost electrical goods retailer bringing affordable technology to the hard-working Aussie family.

Bing Lee offers a range of TV, audio, computing, home appliances, cameras, communication and navigational devices to its customers. Ken Poole, Bing Lee Logistics Manager, says since the pandemic hit the company has experienced unprecedented volume.

He works at the main Distribution Centre (DC) in Old Guildford, NSW, managing direct home deliveries, stock replenishment into the store network and online order fulfilment.

“We’ve had to convert to a threeshift operation to cope with consumer demand,” Ken says. This has meant that

64 | MHD OCTOBER 2020

the Sydney DC is relying on its forklift fleet more than ever to get the job done - at a record rate.

RECHARGED AND REFRESHED For years, Bing Lee’s main DC in Sydney was running an afternoon and evening shift. Ken says five years ago the operation was having a lot of issues with battery control of their previous forklift fleet. “We had major issues with our forklifts holding charge,” Ken says.

He is thankful the company made the switch and upgraded to Jungheinrich’s lithium-ion-powered EFG. “It’s now been five years since we implemented the EFG units and we haven’t had any battery issues to this day,” Ken says.

“Now we are operating across 24-hours, we need to rely on quality units,” he says. Bing Lee has upgraded its initial fleet from 2015 with an additional four units, bringing the EFG fleet to a total number of 16 at the main DC in Sydney. The company also has a DC in Melbourne to fulfil online orders that has 2 Jungheinrich EFG forklift trucks on-site.

“The quality of the batteries is remarkable with Jungheinrich’s EFG

forklift trucks. They are able to provide batteries, chargers and forklifts that are perfectly synchronised.

We recently replenished our initial fleet from five years ago, and even though you could say they were coming towards their end of life, the trucks had absolutely no battery issues,” he says.

The versatile EFG counterbalance forklift trucks are designed for maximum performance at minimum energy consumption. Due to its Pure Energy concept, productivity-enhancing ergonomics and optimum safety, the units provide the highest efficiency for even the most demanding operations.

“Our operation has greatly benefited from fast charging times and zero maintenance due to the Jungheinrich lithium-ion batteries, which are the most economic energy source in the long run,” Ken says. Now the Sydney DC has shifted to a 24-hour operation, he says employees can be guaranteed not to worry that their forklifts will run out of battery - even if they’re rostered on the 3rd shift for the day.

“We have a quick and easy routine for swapping batteries and instead of being after every shift, we

MHD MATERIALS HANDLING can focus on fulfilling more orders and trust the forklift’s efficiency.”

RELIABLE FORKLIFTS Bing Lee has experienced 100 to 150 per cent increase in its operation across their Sydney and Melbourne DC’s since the start of COVID-19. During this time of unprecedented demand, Ken says it’s vital to have efficient machinery and processes in place. He credits the operation’s integrated fleet management.

“The trucks ensure continuous operation.

They‘re always ready for use, without any signs of fatigue,” Ken says.

Consumers have never been more demanding. Ken says the DC plays a role to ensure customers are receiving their goods at the fastest rate possible. “With our agile EKS electric forklift trucks, we can maximise our throughput performance in narrow-aisle warehouses,” he says.

“Our warehouse has narrow aisles, offering little room to manoeuvre. Thanks to their small and compact design, these trucks can easily navigate through, with the added advantage of our platform pickers.”

Ken says it’s important that the operation remains flexible to meet various consumer needs. “Minimal down-time is extremely important when your operation runs for

Jungheinrich Electric Forklift Trucks are designed for maximum performance at minimum energy consumption.

“

Our operation has greatly benefited from fast charging times and zero maintenance due to the Jungheinrich lithium-ion batteries, which are the most economic energy source in the long run.

” Jungheinrich’’s Electric Forklift Trucks maximise performance in narrow-aisle warehouses.

24 hours. Every minute of movement counts,” he says.

“Although order levels are slowly dropping as we head out of this COVID-era, the levels aren’t anywhere near normal. So, having reliable and ergonomic units that we don’t have to worry about, gives us reassurance our team have the right solutions and peace of mind for peak periods.”

FUTURE POWER “There was always an old saying in the warehouse that if your forklift ran out of gas… you were a million miles away from the gas bottles,” Ken says. He has been chuffed to hear the ease of Jungheinrich’s EFG forklift trucks when casual workers have come on-site and commented on the cleanliness and comfortability.

“We hire plenty of casuals who drive a wide range of different forklift trucks and the positive feedback we receive after they work on our site just shows the ease of operation,” Ken says. Jungheinrich’s EFG forklift trucks offer perfect seating comfort, best all-round visibility, and flexible operating options as people work around the clock to fulfil hundreds of customer and store requirements daily.

“No longer were our workers covered in sooty residue after a hard day’s work, Li-ion batteries are revolutionising electric industrial trucks and have proven to be beneficial for our warehouse efficiency and handling capacity,” Ken says.

“I can’t fault Jungheinrich. The company shows value in the products they deliver onsite and in their after-sales service. Bing Lee’s assured we have invested in the right infrastructure for our busy operation that will continue to meet our demands.” ■ MHD OCTOBER 2020 | 65

MHD E-COMMERCE

HOME FOR CHRISTMAS How will retailers cope with an increase of orders ahead of Christmas, on top of the peak they are already experiencing now? Khurshed Mirza, OPEX Director, Warehouse Automation, tells Brittany Coles how to manage the supply chain this holiday season.

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-commerce has been skyrocketing since late March, with no sign of plateauing.

According to the Australia Post’s August e-commerce update, online purchases peaked after Easter and rebounded even higher than the peaks in April.

If the Easter holiday season is any indication about what retailers can expect to see during Black Friday, Christmas and Boxing Day then, ensuring quick and accurate delivery of orders will likely be more of a challenge than 2020 itself.

With COVID adding to the delays in shipping and inventory struggles, shoppers may get started early this year rather than wait for typical deals in November. How will retailers cope with orders increasing during this current climate when it’s pretty much been Christmas every day for supply chains?

Consumers expect their packages to be home for Christmas. In July, Australia Post ran a consumer survey and found that 52 per cent of respondents think delivery from overseas is taking far too long and almost two thirds of people are buying local to support Australian businesses.

Our domestic supply chain has to cope with an ongoing mountain of orders for the foreseeable future. State restrictions have heavily affected delivery times, as seen in Victoria’s Stage 4 lockdown. However, Khurshed Mirza, Director, Warehouse Automation (APAC) at OPEX Corporation, says retailers have the power to apply the right automation and technology to offset some of the challenges with preparing for peaks in demand.

CREATIVE STRATEGIES 2020 won’t be a normal peak season, therefore traditional ways of handing orders in the past won’t suffice.

Khurshed says that it’s essential that retailers leverage unique strategies 66 | MHD OCTOBER 2020

and order management techniques by implementing advanced technology.

According to OPEX 3PL client, Radial, shoppers do not plan to significantly change their holiday spend compared to 2019. However, the data did reveal a stronger preference for online shopping, with 66 per cent of shoppers anticipating they will increase their online purchases during the 2020 holiday season.

Khurshed encourages retailers to look to 3PL companies that have experience and technology in place to

retailers offering store pickup via curb side, inside, or drive-through delivery options will see a 90 per cent increase in digital sales over the previous holiday season,” Khurshed says.

The rise of click and collect has advanced the rise of “dark stores” and Khurshed says this is the time to take advantage of reducing last mile costs.

“This is where automation becomes so critical. If you’re able to invest in automation that covers a small footprint, it becomes easy to pop-up in stores and delivering goods to consumers is a faster process.”

Khurshed Mirza, Director, Warehouse Automation (APAC) at OPEX Corporation.

maximise fulfilment. He suggests that retailers could also consider working with 3PLs that have the technology and people in place to help drive fast, efficient delivery and are located closer to your customers. “Our 3PL customers who were early adopters of automation have seen their business grow by leaps and bounds,” Khurshed says.

It’s not just 3PL warehouses that are as busy as Santa’s workshop. He says that stores will be critical this year as fulfilment centres. “We predict that

OFFSETTING ONLINE PEAKS According to a recent survey by Salesforce, parcels shipped by traditional delivery providers will exceed capacity by 5 per cent across the globe between the week before Cyber Week and Boxing Day. That’s potentially 700 million gifts that are at risk of not arriving in time for the holidays.

“Automation is the only way retailers can cope with this peak season and beyond. Equipment reliability is

MHD E-COMMERCE critical to efficiently capitalise on high order demand within the shortest possible time frame,” Khurshed says.

One of the most noticeable differences once a company selects an automated system is the extra warehouse space not just the floor footprint, but also the vertical height. Khurshed suggests using automation equipment that provides a greater storage volume per square meter of occupied footprint.

“By harnessing automation within the pick, sort and pack process, retailers can control costs and create efficiency, and that holiday readiness can make peak shopping times much more profitable,” he says.

Automated solutions can often be operated by a significantly lesser number of people. OPEX’s Perfect Pick automated goods-to-person technology enables an operator to stand at one location rather than walking throughout the warehouse picking items around other operators. Items are automatically presented directly to the stationary operator. “One such Perfect Pick project had a single operator standing at one pick station with access to around 24k storage locations; therefore, giving that operator the capability to pick around 290k unique SKUs from a single point,” Khurshed says.

Consumers are likely to get started on their holiday shopping early this year before peak sale days like Black Friday.

INVESTING SMART “No business wants to hire more casuals and increase human-contact during this time. Avoiding an army of people in a warehouse ensures a COVID-safe environment. This is why traditional picking

“

This is where automation becomes so critical.

If you’re able to invest in automation that covers a small footprint, it becomes easy to pop-up in stores and delivering goods to consumers is a faster process.

OPEX Perfect Pick goods-to-person system allows urgent orders to jump the queue in the picking line.

”

methods need to be updated to rely on automation for agility and ultimate order fulfilment efficiency,” he says.

Additionally, consumers don’t want to be told there is a delay in their order - especially before Christmas. Khurshed says smart investment in automation that can grow with your business not only enables significantly less initial capital investment but also provides an efficient way in which “hot orders” are managed & fulfilled resulting in a very quick order turnaround time.

“An automated solution like OPEX Perfect Pick goods-to-person system allows urgent orders to jump the queue in the picking line and exceed consumer expectations,” Khurshed says.

Hidden costs will be critical to avoid during this unpredictable climate and business reliability has never been more under the spotlight than now. “The essence of automation is to enable higher efficiency and accuracy. So, this reduces errors in fulfilment - which will be a lifeline as traffic from returned items is reduced and managed,” he says.

“If you’re evaluating your picking process, you need to be proactive. Equipment that is designed to have scalable storage capacity and throughput will ensure a profitable business model for the future.” ■ MHD OCTOBER 2020 | 67

MHD PROPERTY FOCUS

HOW TO LEVERAGE RENT RELIEF Daniel Shafferman, National Director of Industrial Real Estate Management at Colliers International shares his insights to guide tenants into a better leasing situation during this current climate.

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ndustrial occupier and investment markets remain well placed to ride out uncertainty caused by COVID-19.

However, this doesn’t mean industrial tenants and landlords are immune to the hardships that other property markets are navigating through.

According to a recent Colliers International research report, changing economic conditions will present opportunities for certain industrial and logistics markets and industries as demand is shaken up and businesses look to do things differently.

“As a result of the economic conditions of 2020, there are going to be some business’s that will experience a considerable contraction, but there are others who are experiencing a significant pick-up in business revenue,” said Malcom Tyson, Managing Director, Industrial at Colliers International.

Daniel Shafferman, National Director of Industrial Real Estate Management at Colliers International agrees that the fundamentals for industrial and logistics property remain sound over the long term and the sector is expected to be less impacted than others. However, he says that as we emerge from lockdown restrictions, more long-term leases and opportunities in the industrial space will emerge - but it’s important to focus on navigating relief if you’re an industrial tenant now.

68 | MHD OCTOBER 2020

landlords have approached their tenants and discussed rent reduction plans but are instead negotiating lease contracts.

“Landlords are pushing incentives for their occupiers at the forefront.

So, businesses can have access to assistance now, just by shuffling around immediate action to unlock rent-free and help secure the business in the premises.”

Daniel Shafferman from Colliers International.

RENTAL RELIEF Negotiating industrial property rent has been a major priority for landlords and tenants in the past few months as the impact of coronavirus is felt across the industry and property market. The negotiation of rent while industrial tenants’ incomes are heavily affected will be key for the viability of those businesses moving forward.

Daniel says that there are alternate ways to provide relief to tenants without additional rental rebates, which will be a cost-effective and sustainable approach to maintain a partnership between tenants and landlords.

“It turns out, most of the larger operators in logistics don’t fall under COVID conduct rules. This means that many business provisions didn’t apply because of the scale of operation,” he says. However, there has been some leeway. Daniel says major industrial

CARE FOR COMPLIANCE Buildings don’t live well without compliance, especially legislative compliance maintenance. Daniel says there are non-negotiable aspects to an industrial property that require constant maintenance, even under current restrictions.

As restrictions ease, especially in New South Wales and Victoria, Daniel says outside contractors will be able to be back in the picture. “We’ve been working with our clients, especially if there is a covid-case on-site, to reassure efficiency and ease despite the road-blocks of restrictions,” he says.

Furthermore, Daniel says a landlord should be using all reliable resources to retain tenants for as long as possible due to ongoing economic challenges. But, what should you be doing if you have an impending vacancy in the current climate?

“If a tenant is reliable and seeking to vacate, we’re working with landlords

MHD PROPERTY FOCUS

Colliers International are experts in compliance documentation from annual to monthly service requirements. to try to retain them in the property,” he says. He suggests opening the discussion up around the hidden costs of relocating to provide business security for both parties.

However, some vacates cannot be avoided.

This is especially true if a company has out-grown a space or is expanding to a new location. “It honestly all depends on a tenant’s shed. If you have an open space shed with endless capabilities, ensure its left in a desirable condition to grasp attention from future tenants - due to the presentation,” Daniel says.

He suggests following up with sustainability and energy efficiency initiatives following the exit of your current tenant. “You should be considering things like Solar, LED lighting upgrades and power factor correction - not only is their benefit to your incoming tenant but ongoing for your asset as well,” Daniel says.

INSTANT GAINS According to Colliers Industrial Research and Forecast report, 2020 was expected to be a record year in terms of demand. In 2019, approximately 3.8 million sqm of industrial space was leased (1,000sqm+), representing the second highest annual total on record.

“While enquiry levels remain healthy in most markets, demand has shifted towards defensive occupiers including food and beverage retailers, e-commerce groups (including fast moving consumer goods), transport and logistics providers, data centres and cold storage occupiers,” Malcom Tyson, Managing Director,

“

All our buildings have a compliance tracker, so when we control it, it’s easy for everyone.

It means the tenant and landlord can focus on their business, which is essential during this time to aid cash-flow, minimise repairs and focus on other management.

”

Industrial at Colliers International says.

Daniel says although demand is high, landlords must remain competitive and collaborate with trusted advisors to capitalise on an industrial space. “Making sure you’re marketing your space to the right people is essential. We recommend expert agents to provide the right strategy is essential to ensure all prospective occupiers are covered,” he says.

“Trusted advisors manage all the required tasks for your building. It takes it off the tenant to coordinate compliance. At Colliers International we have essential contractors around the country that is a cost-effective move for landlords,” Daniel says. Colliers International are experts in compliance documentation from annual to monthly service requirements.

“All our buildings have a compliance tracker, so when we control it - it’s easy for everyone. It means the tenant and landlord can focus on their business, which is essential during this time to aid cashflow, minimise repairs and focus on other management.”

Daniel says you should question how far you rely on your tenants to keep your asset “Risk Free”. A dual pronged attack combining base level risk and compliance from the landlord and site/tenant specific protocols and procedures for managing operations on site. “Industrial was always the cousin to office and retail. It now is standing alone in recent years, which has allowed us to really develop a proven system to look after landlords and tenants in this space.” ■ MHD OCTOBER 2020 | 69

MHD FROM ASCI

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ASCI CONTINUED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

SCI’s Continued Professional Development (CPD) Program is an ongoing professional learning program that allows you to maintain Practitioner or Associate Registration under ASCIs Professional Accreditation Scheme. The following are awarded with CPD points: • ASCI Annual Conference

• Certification Programs • Short Courses • Seminars and Hack-a-thons • ASCI Leadership Series • ASCI Leadership Challenge • ASCI Networking Breakfast Series • ASCI Site Visit Series • ASCI Webinars ASCI Webinars provide some of

the most comprehensive learning in the industry, with interactive polls, Q&As and panel discussions with our Regional Chapters and corporate members Michael Page. Further information is shared in the Closed LinkedIn Group for Members after the webinar which allows for presenters to address specific questions. ■

ASCI WEBINARS FOR OCTOBER ARE AS FOLLOWS: PROFESSIONALISING SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT 1-2pm AEDT Wednesday 7 October 1 CPD point The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the critical importance and capability of our supply chain community under crisis conditions – but are you aware that there is a mechanism to formally recognise and reward you for your career achievements through ASCI’s Supply Chain Professional Accreditation Scheme?

In this webinar you will learn about: · ASCI’s vision for ‘professionalising’ supply chain management in Australia · The Professional Accreditation 70 | MHD OCTOBER 2020

Scheme · Benefits of the Scheme for you and your career in supply chain management · Eligibility and steps to register to the Scheme Plus, you’ll hear from ASCI’s Registered Practitioners about the value of the Scheme and the CPD Program to their career and organisation.

USING THE SCOR FRAMEWORK 1-2pm AEDT Wednesday 14 October 1 CPD point The APICS Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) Framework is the

most comprehensive model for supply chain management. In this webinar, we hear from experts who have studied and applied the framework to their global supply chains. Importantly, we will learn how to use the SCOR framework to implement faster, manage more and measure better.

• What is the SCOR framework?

• What does it measure?

• How is it used?

• How can I become endorsed?

Experts in SCOR will present the framework and the digital platforms provided by SoftwareAG that are now available.

MHD FROM ASCI COGNITIVE CONTROL TOWERS : HOW SUPPLY CHAIN CONTROL TOWERS ARE TRANSFORMING WITH INDUSTRY4.0

DATA INSIGHTS INTO YOUR MOST VALUABLE ASSETS

1-2pm AEDT Wednesday 21 October 1 CPD point

Technology can provide powerful data insights into your most valuable assets…your people and vehicles.

Do you know how your vehicles are being driven? Do you know when the driver last took a break or if they are showing signs of fatigue? Do you know if a vehicle was serviced according to its maintenance plan?

Matt Cooper is the founder and Managing Director of GPS Tracking Systems… a fast-growing hi-tech company that is passionate about improving the safety and profitability of organisations with fleets of vehicles and mobile assets. He is 1 part executive, 2 parts entrepreneur & 1 part geek.

For decades, companies have based their decisions on historical data.

Companies now have more supply chain data at their finger-tips than ever before – vital information that can go a long way in driving real time insights and significantly improve operational efficiency.

Today, organisations with integrated real time data are making a paradigm shift towards a system that allows them to manage the future based on the present.. While building access to supply chain data is a good first step, the success of the organisation resides in the ability to connect and structure the available information to provide end to end transparency and visibility.

Cognitive Control towers are essentially the gateway to this transparency. By being a central information cockpit that integrates business process across the supply chain and supporting rapid exception management, Cognitive Control towers can be instrumental in creating a responsive supply chain that leverages retrospective data insights to create actionable recommendations

1-2pm AEDT Wednesday 28 October 1 CPD point

In this webinar, Matt will address: • The types of high-risk incidents in the transport sector and the associated costs • The true cost of loss of life to a business • Some of the OHS/WHS duty of care requirements and associated penalties for not meeting these standards • The Chain of Responsibility and who is involved • How technology can help to mitigate some of these incidents and protect employers, employers and subcontractors

Be a part of these weekly learning experiences and join ASCI today for just $275 per annum. www.asci.org.au/membership

ASCI continues its webinar series.

Three key takeaways from the session: 1. D ispel some common myths on Control Towers and understand how they are changing 2. W here do you start the journey and how can Cognitive Control Towers help transform your supply chain 3. C ase studies from leading clients who are successfully leveraging Cognitive Control Towers to drive value in their supply chains This webinar will be presented by ASCI Corporate Member, Deloitte, including: * John O’Connor, Partner, Deloitte * Chris Coldrick, Partner, Deloitte * Tina Nortcott, Director, Deloitte

MHD OCTOBER 2020 | 71

MHD THE LAST WORD

SAFE LOADS …

SAFE ROADS …

Container campaign a boost for truck safety

BY PAUL ZALAI, DIRECTOR FREIGHT & TRADE ALLIANCE & SECRETARIAT, AUSTRALIAN PEAK SHIPPERS ASSOCIATION

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nder Chain of Responsibility (CoR), importers, exporters, and freight forwarders have obligations to ensure that their actions (or inactions) do not contribute to a breach of the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL).

I response, the container transport and logistics industry has stepped up to support heavy vehicle safety, releasing a coordinated campaign to raise awareness and best practice in safely packing shipping containers heading to and from Australian ports.

Container Transport Alliance Australia (CTAA), Freight & Trade Alliance (FTA) and the Australian Peak Shippers Association (APSA) have partnered with the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) to create the Safe Container Loading Practices & Heavy Vehicle Safety campaign.

Deputy Prime Minister and Transport and Infrastructure Minister Michael McCormack welcomed the campaign which was backed by $140,000 from the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative (HVSI), supported by the Federal Government.

“This is a great initiative by the container transport and logistics industry to support heavy vehicle safety,” Mr McCormack said.

“Cargo inside shipping containers that is poorly packed or unrestrained, overloaded or unevenly weight distributed, can cause serious safety issues for truck drivers, the public and others in the supply chain.”

“Container transport is forecast to double over the next 12 years and with 80 per cent carried by Australian heavy vehicles, it’s vital that cargo inside containers is properly secured and not overloaded.”

NHVR CEO Sal Petroccitto said the

72 | MHD OCTOBER 2020

online course and associated resources would contribute to reducing the risks of load shifts, road accidents and breaches of mass limits.

“The container transport and logistics industry are a vital part of many heavy vehicle supply chains and play a key role in heavy vehicle safety,” Mr Petroccitto said.

“This awareness campaign provides practical steps to ensure that cargo inside shipping containers is packed properly and restrained securely to avoid an accident when the container is transported on a public road.”

The campaign includes six supporting online training and information modules produced by WiseTech Academy covering the impact of unsafe container loading practices, international conventions, heavy vehicle laws, Chain of Responsibility, packing to minimise risk and truck rollover prevention.

In addition, the campaign includes a useful set of resources for freight forwarders, importers, exporters and their container packers. By providing ready access to both international and Australian best practice guidance on container packing, cargo securing and heavy vehicle safety, the campaign aims to improve safety outcomes and reduce commercial losses across the whole container logistics supply chain.

Resources include: • a Safe Container Loading Practices Checklist for use by importers, exporters and their packers, both in Australia and overseas; • links to Australian best practice guidance, including the Australian Load Restraint Guide, the Australian Dangerous Goods Code, and workplace health & safety guidance on safely packing or unpacking containers; and • links to international best practice guidance, including the IMO Code of

Practice for Packing of Cargo Transport Units (IMO CTU Code).

CTAA Director Neil Chambers said the campaign drew on expertise from international organisations, including the Global Shippers Forum (GSF) based in the UK, and TT Club, the world’s leading transport logistics insurer.

“This is a free online training course and associated resources are for suitable for all parties in the container transport logistics chain,” Mr Chambers said.

“This is just the beginning. We will now work across the container transport industry through a series of seminars and webinars to raise awareness about safe container loading practices.”

CTAA, FTA, ASPA and ICHCA Australia will be promoting the online training course and campaign resources during the following scheduled free webinars: • Implementing Best Practice Container Packing - Tuesday, 13 October 2020 (12.00pm to 1.00pm AEDT) • Overseas Packing Requirements to Facilitate Onshore Biosecurity Treatments - Thursday, 15 October 2020 (12.00pm to 1.00pm AEDT) • Chain of Responsibility and International Transport Obligations Wednesday, 21 October 2020 (12.00pm to 1.00pm AEDT) • Chain of Responsibility and Container Transport - Wednesday, 28 October 2020 (12.00pm to 1.00pm AEDT) • Insurance & Commercial Considerations - Wednesday 4 November 2020 (12.00pm to 1.00pm AEDT) Join us in promoting safe container loading and transport practices to minimise death, injury and commercial loss. ■ Visit www.FTAlliance.com.au for the Safe Container Loading Practices & Heavy Vehicle Safety Campaign course, resources and upcoming webinar details.

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MHD FROM THE ALC

BUDGET MUST DELIVER FOR THOSE WHO KEPT DELIVERING

A

mong the many disruptions wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic was the need to defer the 2020-21 Commonwealth Budget, which will now be handed down some five months later than originally scheduled.

As always, ALC made a submission to the Federal Government ahead of the originally planned date. This was well before the full effects of the pandemic reached Australian shores and our industry faced the challenge of keeping essential supplies moving, despite unprecedented restrictions on movement and the effect of state and territory border closures.

All of us – governments, industry and the wider community – have learned lessons as a result of the COVID-19 experience. Perhaps more than ever before, communities now understand the very real and immediate impact that supply chain disruption can have on their daily life.

As consumers witnessed empty supermarket shelves as a result of

unprecedented demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a clear need to ensure that logistics operators are given the flexibility they need to meet increased and changing demand.

This is equally true right across the supply chain - from deliveries into supermarket loading docks through to the movement of freight trains across state borders.

Perhaps the single most effective government action taken during the pandemic to address supply chain disruption did not involve massive expenditure, but simply the removal of operational curfews through nonlegislative ministerial action.

Industry has called for the removal of such operational restrictions over many years. With many of them suspended for the duration of the pandemic, both government and the community have been able to see the benefits.

As the Prime Minister himself noted in June this year: “Trucks were allowed to resupply along roads and during hours where they were previously

During the pandemic trucks were allowed to resupply along roads and during hours where they were previously banned.

74 | MHD OCTOBER 2020

banned. And the sun came up the next day. It was extraordinary.”

This goes to the heart of the key point ALC has made to the Federal Government ahead of this year’s Budget.

With the pandemic having placed the nation’s finances in a challenging position, this is the time to focus on regulatory reform that may not cost big money – but can nevertheless have a profound impact on supply chain efficiency.

The need for such regulatory reform was a key focus of ALC’s preBudget submission in January – and the urgency of that task has been underscored in the supplementary submission provided to the Federal Government in August.

In particular, ALC has encouraged the Government to use recently announced changes to inter-governmental relations to give renewed impetus to policy matters that have been on the agenda for many years.

ALC believes that for the most part, the National Cabinet initially established

MHD FROM THE ALC as part of the response to COVID-19 has worked well – and we supported the decision to replace COAG with National Cabinet on a permanent basis.

As part of that, an Infrastructure and Technology Committee of National Cabinet has been established, and it is imperative the Commonwealth now uses that Committee to focus on issues that maximise sectoral efficiency and therefore increase the development of jobs.

A top priority must be expediting reform of the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL), so that reforms outlined in ALC’s submission to the Transport and Infrastructure Senior Officials Committee (TISOC) in late 2019 in areas such as data collection, fatigue management and the inclusion of a National Operating Standard for heavy vehicle operators, can be advanced.

This includes tasking the Committee with overseeing the process through which each jurisdiction reviews each derogation from the HVNL, to determine whether they remain a cost-effective way to deliver intended productivity or safety outcomes. If not, the derogations should be removed in the interests of enhanced national consistency and greater certainty for the industry.

Of course, policy responses are at their most effective when industry is actively involved in their design and implementation.

ALC has consistently engaged the National Cabinet process as well as individual governments to ensure that COVID related restrictions did not impede on the ability for the freight and logistics industry to continue to operate.

One such example was working with our

“

With the pandemic having placed the nation’s finances in a challenging position, this is the time to focus on regulatory reform that may not cost big money – but can nevertheless have a profound impact on supply chain efficiency.

”

members and allied industry bodies to ensure that roadhouses, dedicated truck rest stop facilities and truck driver lounges remained open as governments dealt with the pandemic.

Fortunately, the National Cabinet reversed a decision to close these facilities by several jurisdictions.

This further recognised the need to ensure that essential workers such as truck drivers were able to continue operations unimpeded during the crisis, as well as recognising the contribution that the logistics industry makes in supporting vital sectors moving goods to port and air freight facilities.

It is also illustrative of the types of insight industry has that governments may not possess.

The success of the COVID-19 Commission Advisory Board (as it is now called) shows the importance of having a reliable source of ‘on-tap’ business expertise available to government – and in ALC’s view, there is merit in having a specialised source of expert advice from across the supply chain available to governments at the ministerial and departmental level.

Consequently, ALC has also recommended that the Federal Government formalise and fund the establishment of a high-level consultative body representing an appropriate cross-section of the Australian freight and logistics industry to provide governments direct advice.

The Budget is an opportunity for the Federal Government to clearly signal its commitment across all the areas outlined above – and to provide the financial resources necessary to meaningfully advance much-needed reforms. ■

MHD OCTOBER 2020 | 75

MHD SCLAA

SCLAA DELIVERING EVENTS

W

ith the changes that everyone has had to make because of social distancing and COVID-19 restrictions, the SCLAA is proud to have provided and co-hosted a number of webinars since the shutdown in April this year. A large number of non-members have also attended these events and we have received very positive feedback.

All event topics have been specifically related to Supply Chain and Logistics and we are planning a number of other webinars for the remainder of the year.

Since April, the SCLAA has held webinars on the following topics: • A Graduate’s Guide to Navigating Supply Chain & Logistics • T he critical importance of MENTORSHIP in navigating your way through the Australian Supply Chain & Logistics Industry • W earable Sensor Technology is changing the way Transport & Logistics companies approach safety.

• P anel Discussion: Empowering Distribution centres– Keeping the lights on through ongoing disruption • L everaging ERP, Improving Business Value • I nnovating in the Warehouse in a Time of Change • R eturning to work amidst a global health crisis •O ne Woman’s Journey Through Disruption • The ‘new normal’ for post-pandemic Supply Chains • D issecting the major themes in Currency Markets, where are we at? where are we headed?

• C ircular procurement & Asset Management & Re-engaging Team Cultures • A pproaching 100 per cent warehouse inventory accuracy with resilient infrastructure, automation and cycle counting.

• H ow to effectively use wearable sensor technology in Transport and Logistics • Fit for Supply Chain Disruption • S CLAA Route-Rival 76 | MHD OCTOBER 2020

Flash Tournament • C onversations on the Future of Transport & Logistics • O perationally Ready Warehouse – The Now & Future.

• P ath to COVID-19 Recovery - Part 3 “Smart Contracts and Block Chain Solutions Available Now” • Path to COVID-19 Recovery (Part 2) Supply Chain Essentials - Incoterms 2020 • P ath to COVID-19 Recovery (Part 1) Better Contracts • N avigating Working Remotely in the Supply Chain • W orkforce Trends, Challenges & Opportunities In Warehousing & Logistics During COVID-19 • I ncreasing Warehouse Productivity through Smart Technology.

• HERE WeGo Deliver – Giving Back!

• Winning in a Changing World • Succeeding in the age of eCommerce A number of additional webinars are planned for the remainder of the year.

Future topics include “Making the leap from ‘bricks’ to ‘clicks’ – essential lessons to survive in a post-pandemic omnichannel marketplace”.

Keep an eye on the SCLAA Calendar of Events page for upcoming events.

Both WA and Queensland have started face-to-face networking events which have been very well received and a number of bookings have been received for the upcoming 21st SCLAA Peter Smith Memorial Golf Day to be held in Perth on 16 October. ■

The Call for Submissions for the 2020 ASCL Awards is open to 24 October, finalists in all categories will be announced on 18 November and the Winners will be announced at a hybrid event on the evening of 10 December 2020. Venues will be available in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth for those wanting to attend the event.

Each venue will be virtually linked and registrations will be available for those who want to view the Awards virtually.

SCLAA CORRECTION

Amanda O’Brien, Immediate Past Chairman, and Michael Gallacher, CEO Ports Australia. (The above picture was incorrectly titled in the September issue of MHD)

The 21st SCLAA Peter Smith Memorial Golf Day will be held in Perth.

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MHD PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

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

NEW LOGISTICS APPOINTMENT AT CSR LIMITED

NEW CYBER SECURITY ROLE AT TOLL GROUP

KÖRBER ANNOUNCES MD FOR APAC REGION

Amy Bentley has joined CSR Limited as Executive General Manager Logistics.

Amy joins CSR from Toll Group where

Berin Lautenbach has joined Toll as Global Head of Information Security.

Berin will drive Toll’s cyber resiliency program and brings 20 years of

Nishan Wijemanne has been appointed as Managing Director for Körber Supply Chain Asia Pacific. Nishan was previously

she was the GM Supply Chain Solution for 18 months. She has previously held senior logistics and supply chain roles at Woolworths, XAct Solutions and Metcash.

experience in cyber security including leading security teams at Telstra, NAB, GE Capital and Sun Microsystems.

CEO and Co-Founder of Melbourne-based technology provider Cohesio Group, which as of 1 September became part of Körber Supply Chain. Nishan will also lead the AMR strategy for Körber’s global team.

NEW MARCOMMS APPOINTMENT FOR UTENANT

TM INSIGHT APPOINTS GENERAL MANAGER FOR NZ

ASCI APPOINTS TWO BOARD DIRECTORS

Helen Turnbull will join uTenant, a Melbourne-based start-up providing a platform for landlords and 3PLs to connect, as Head of Marketing and Communications. Helen has a

TM Insight has appointed Caleb Nicolson as General Manager in New Zealand. Caleb will lead TM Insight in New Zealand and brings over 20 years of experience in supply chain and retail to the company. Over the

Australasian Supply Chain Institute (ASCI) has announced the appointment of two new Directors to the Board: Linda

background in event management, professional education, marketing

last decade, he led the design and delivery of Kathmandu Group’s global supply chain and development of its online capabilities

and communications.

Do you have career news to share?

Email Melanie Stark at melanie.stark@primecreative.com.au to be featured.

78 | MHD OCTOBER 2020

across its $1 billion brands, including Kathmandu, Rip Curl and Oboz Footwear.

Venables and Dr Tom Janoshalmi.

Linda Venables has over 30 years’ international, operational experience building and leading teams in the UK and Europe, with the last 14 years in Supply Chain in Australia. Tom has a 20-year track record of leading successful business transformations with Global Fortune 500 companies.

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