M&S moves forward with supply chain restructure
Posted on 01. Jun, 2011 by Alex in Customers, News
Marks & Spencer (M&S) is on track to cut £175m from its logistics
bill ahead of target, the retail giant has confirmed.
M&S says that in the year to 2 April it made good progress with its supply chain restructure plan, including with its warehouse consolidation programme, shutting 31 sites with a remaining 79 scheduled to close. In addition construction has started on a second East Midlands DC, which will also offer dedicated e-commerce facilities.
As a result, the supermarket has brought forward its target of reducing logistics cost by £175m, to 2015/16 from 2020.
Distribution costs broadly remained flat during the period, but improved slightly to £393.5m from £394.4m the previous year.
M&S says: “Distribution costs were very well managed despite volumes increases and inflationary pressure, as we continued to see the benefits of initiatives to improve supply chain efficiency.”
Article Source: Roadtransport.com, Joanna Bourke, 26-05-11.
Wellglade Group rolls out Microlise system to Trent Barton Bus Division
Posted on 19. Apr, 2011 by Alex in Customers, News, Product
After an extensive review of suppliers and detailed piloting process – where a 9% fuel saving was achieved – Wellglade Group and Trent Barton Buses have selected Microlise as their transport management solutions provider.
• Trent Barton drivers Hughie Cronin (left) and Callum Draper go green with the help of Microlise transport technology.
Jeff Counsell, Trent Barton Managing Director commented, “With fuel costs spiralling, we don’t want that to put a heavy burden on fares and at the same time better fuel efficiency means reduced exhaust emissions. Thanks to this innovative technology, drivers can keep a constant eye on the fuel consumption of the vehicle using a colour-coded monitor in the cab and adjust their driving style accordingly.”
Jeff Counsell also explained the company uses around ten million litres of fuel a year, and every 1p price increase leads to an extra £100,000 on its annual fuel bill.
Microlise’s core tracking and telematics system, with additional modules, is to be fitted to 338 buses in the Trent Barton fleet.
The system deployed includes integration into the vehicles CANbus from the Microlise 3rd generation Tracking Unit (MTU3) to enable detailed driver performance information, displayed in the simple A-G rated Safe & Economical driving reports. Trent Barton will also be implementing the Microlise designed and developed Driver Feedback Module, to enable instant driver performance feedback in the cab of each bus.
Additionally, the system will be interfacing to the Trent Barton YOU TEXT US service whereby passengers receive estimated times of arrival for specific bus routes, providing increased added value to all users of the Trent Barton Bus service.
“Although Microlise operates on a worldwide basis, it’s been a pleasure working so closely with local bus operator Trent Barton. In providing this Tracking & Telematics solution they are not only saving fuel and reducing carbon emissions but also improving passenger safety through driver performance improvement and training. The initial order to equip over 300 buses with Microlise Tracking & Telematics was a result of a solid pilot programme which showed an excellent return on investment, sustained throughout the process. We look forward to helping Trent Barton maintain and add to the benefits that our system has provided.” Stated Chris Wallace, Microlise’s Sales Director.
FTA trial finds that telematics brings convincing returns to smaller fleets
Posted on 15. Apr, 2011 by Alex in Customers, Microlise - In the News, News, Product
A three-month trial conducted by the Freight Transport Association (FTA) and transport management solutions provider Microlise has questioned the widely-held view that telemetry is the sole preserve of large fleet operators. Clearly, there are excellent returns on investment in telematics technology to be had for more modest-sized outfits too.
In a controlled trial, specialist waste management operator Vetspeed had seven of its 40 vehicles fitted with a new telematics system unbeknown to its drivers for an initial five week period. After this first set of data was analysed and then conveyed to those drivers to address issues of performance further trials were undertaken. The upshot was that Vetspeed’s drivers cut their fuel consumption by 0.43 miles per gallon (despite the severe weather conditions that hit the UK during the trial), potentially saving the company around £13,000 a year.
Gary Gates, Transport Manager, of Vetspeed, said:
“Like any other company, Vetspeed needs to remain at the cutting edge to deliver to its customers the very best value possible. Transport costs obviously represent a massive proportion of our overheads so it makes good sense to focus on improving performance as much as we can in this area.”
“We were not in any doubt that our drivers would perform well, but what we wanted to see was whether they could perform better. By allowing us to look at things like engine idling, for example, we were able to share with our drivers ways they could finesse their driving behaviour. We are talking fine tuning here, not wholesale changes, but the results are well worth it.”
Since the trial ended, Vetspeed’s productivity has improved by 200 drops a month due to better routing and closer monitoring of driver behaviour. Awards were given to both the ‘best’ and ‘most improved’ drivers from the trial.
Julian Barker of the FTA said:
“It doesn’t really matter how small a fleet is, being able to ‘drill down’ data to address areas of performance or even non-compliance is very useful for any company. This trial shows what can be done when a responsible and forward-looking operator adopts the latest technology and applies it intelligently. Only this way can performance be accurately assessed and then improved or rewarded.”
Cliff Cheeseman explains the benefits of implementing Microlise Telematics at Tesco.com
Posted on 05. Apr, 2011 by Alex in Customers, Microlise - In the News, News, Product
Fleet Training Manager at Tesco.com, Cliff Cheeseman, was an invited panelist in the “Improving Driver safety and efficiency” session at the annual Fleet & Asset Management Conference in Amsterdam on the 4th (& 5th) April 2011.
Cliff spoke in a Q&A session with around 200 delegates about the benefits the introduction of Telematics has brought to the Tesco.com business and how they successfully embedded the technology within their daily operational processes to ensure they achieved the targeted benefits as timely as possible.
The main benefits Cliff spoke of that the Microlise system has delivered to Tesco.com included:
Over a 10% improvement in fuel consumption in the 1st year – which equated to a fuel cost saving of over 1.4 million pounds.
A further 4% fuel saving in the 2nd year
A sustained level of driving efficiency in subsequent years, with store level baselines and targets being constantly reviewed so as to drive continuous improvement, built around a robust assessment and training regime Cliff has put in place
Off the back of these successes in improved driving efficiency, Cliff then used the Microlise system to focus further on safe driving. Using Microlise’s contextual speeding reports, Cliff explained how Tesco.com has been able to drastically reduce levels of speeding and reduce the number of accidents and incidents accordingly.
Microlise’s Contextual Speeding module, looks up every tracking event returned by each tracked vehicle, against the posted road speed for the segment of road the vehicle is reporting from. The module then applies a tolerance (e.g. 10% + 2 mph) to each speed and flags whether the vehicle and the associated driver was speeding.
Cliff, his trainers and the .com managers at each store can then review a league table of which drivers have been speeding, in which speed limits and how many times they have infringed.
Cliff explained when they initially implemented this solution, there was around 20,000 infringements per day across a fleet of over 2500 vans.
When the report was launched to the business, infringements immediately fell to 12,000 per day. Through consistent driver debriefs and performance improvement processes put in place, Cliff stated that this level had fallen to around 2,000 infringements per day. This equates to less than one speeding event per van per day.
This is a staggering accomplishment when you consider the vehicles are used for around 15 hours per day, everyday of the week, and the fleet on average drives over 1.6 million miles per week.
When asked the question about how the system and processes had been received by the Tesco.com operation, Cliff simply stated that their driver churn or attrition rates had fallen from 40% to 10% in the years since the Microlise telematics solution had been implemented.
As well as continuing to focus on driving style for safe and fuel efficiency, Cliff also explained that Tesco.com are using the tracking data generated by the Microlise system to better understand leg speeds and traffic flow at different times of the day and also what delivery windows times need to be built into their planning models based upon address and dwelling type such that they can best optimise their planning systems.
Tesco.com operate over 2,500 LCV vans delivering to customer homes across the UK from over 300 stores. Tesco.com implemented Microlise telematics in 2008.
Wincanton welcomes fuel duty cut and calls for longer trucks
Posted on 24. Mar, 2011 by Alex in Customers, News
Wincanton, which has welcomed today’s 1ppl fuel duty cut announcement in the 2011 Budget, has also called on the government to allow operators to run longer trucks on UK roads to encourage fuel savings.
MD Gordon Scott says that in the face of “rising costs and uncertain market conditions” the company is reassured that the government has acknowledged the “critical impact that rising fuel prices can have on businesses and the public alike”.
“Wincanton welcomes today’s announcement, on behalf of the industry and its customers. It is clear that the current economic conditions will continue to have an impact on us all,” he says. “But in today’s challenging environment we, as an industry, recognise the need to develop long-term solutions to mitigate against sustained rises in costs that affect both our customers and the wider public.”
For the full article, click here.
Article Source, Roadtransport.com, Roger Brown, 23rd March 2011.
1p Per Litre Cut in Fuel Duty Announced
Posted on 23. Mar, 2011 by Alex in News
Chancellor George Osborne announced a 1p per litre cut in fuel duty in response to a recent surge in global oil prices, effective from 1800GMT. He also said he would cancel a fuel duty escalator that would have pushed fuel costs higher. An inflation-linked rise in the fuel duty planned for next week was delayed until next year. “It’s about doing what we can to help with the high cost of living and the high cost of oil,” the chancellor said.
The fuel duty escalator was initially introduced by the previous government, Mr Osborne pointed out. “The fuel duty escalator, that adds an extra penny on top of inflation every year, will be cancelled,” he said, “not just for this year, or next year, but for the rest of this Parliament”. Under the old system the fuel duty would have risen by the rate of inflation, plus 1p per litre. Instead, the fuel duty will fall by 1p per litre.
“We will delay the inflation rise in duty planned for next week until next year – and also delay the April 2012 inflation rise until the following summer.”
For the Full Article Click Here
Article Source, BBC News, 23rd March 2011, 14.27.
Reed Boardall Transport returns to profit
Posted on 21. Mar, 2011 by Alex in Customers, News, Partners
Reed Boardall Transport has returned to profit after several years of losses, posting a pre-tax profit of £768,001 for the year ending 31 March 2010, compared to a pre-tax loss of £652,262 in 2009. Turnover for the period dipped slightly to £30.2m from £30.3m.
A number of new initiatives introduced in 2009 to improve efficiency, including the roll-out of a bespoke vehicle tracking system, contributed to the turnaround of the group’s transport arm.
Group finance director Marcus Boardall says: “Credit has to be given to our team of hard-working staff who have responded to a number of new initiatives with enthusiasm and improved the utilisation of the fleet significantly.”
Reed Boardall Cold Storage boosted turnover 51.5% to £35.3m for the 12 months to 31 March 2010, up from £23.3m in 2009, with pre-tax profit rising 46% to £5.7m from £3.9m the previous year. This is largely due to the division benefitting from the first full year of a major extension to its cold store in Boroughbridge, which has capacity for 112,000 pallets at -25°C.
“We believe it is the largest facility of its kind in the UK and it has been more than 80% full throughout the year. The increased volume and the efficiencies of a larger store have led to the improvement in the division’s profit,” explains Boardall.
Full results for the Reed Boardall Group, which include turnover from Reed Boardall’s vehicle servicing and parts business, ended the year with a £50.9m (2009: £49.1m) turnover and pre-tax profit up substantially at £6m (2009: £2.8m).
“The directors are optimistic about the prospects for the group, although it seems likely that pressure on prices will continue for some time, making cost efficiency the only means of maintaining profit,“ says Boardall.
Article Source: Roadtransport.com, Friday 18 March 2011 14:00, Laura Hailstone.
Direct action over fuel duty will do more harm than good
Posted on 14. Mar, 2011 by Alex in News
Any form of direct action in response to the soaring cost of fuel will severely damage the road transport industry’s image and reputation, FairFuelUK has warned.
With just 12 days until the Budget (23 March), FairFuelUK is ramping up its lobbying of MPs. On Monday (14 March) it is delivering a giant cheque to the Treasury. The cheque, valued at £26.2bn, depicts the total fuel duty contribution made to Treasury coffers by motorists, hauliers and all road users in 2010.
Campaign leader Peter Carroll says: “I understand the pain and anger out there at the moment, but if direct action breaks out it will result in destructive PR for the industry.
“The reason the protests worked in 2000 was because they were the first of a kind; the government and the authorities were completely wrong-footed. But I do believe that was for then. Now we need to unite with the public and use our democracy to make the MPs stand up and take notice.”
For the full story click here
Article Source: Roadtransport.com, Laura Hailstone. 11-03-11.
What’s Your Supply Chain Delivering?
Posted on 09. Mar, 2011 by Alex in Microlise - In the News
Working in Partnership with The Times – The Full Raconteur Supply Chain Managment Supplement Published today (9th Of March 2011) can be found Here
Stolen backhoe loader recovered thanks to JCB LiveLink telematic system
Posted on 09. Feb, 2011 by Alex in Customers, News, Partners
Thieves were this week thwarted in their attempt to steal a top-of-the-range JCB backhoe loader- thanks to the machine being fitted with the JCB LiveLink satellite tracking device as standard.
The JCB 4CX backhoe loader was stolen from JCB dealer Greenshields JCB’s depot in Hemel Hempstead on Monday night. But it was recovered just hours later and all thanks to its JCB LiveLink telematic system, which gives real-time location information.
When Greenshields JCB staff discovered the theft, they logged into JCB LiveLink, which revealed the machine had been driven and parked up four miles away in Abbots Langley. They promptly recovered the machine.
During 2011 JCB’s 3CX and 4CX backhoe loaders, side-engined telescopic handlers and tracked and wheeled excavators sold in the UK are being fitted with JCB LiveLink and an immobiliser as standard – and the stolen 4CX was one of the first machines to benefit from JCB’s strong stance on plant theft.
Yvette Henshall-Bell, JCB’s UK and Ireland Sales Director said: “The recovery of this stolen machine in a matter of hours of the theft proves beyond doubt the benefit for customers of fitting machines with LiveLink as standard.”
For more on this story click here
For more information on JCB Livelink click here
Article source: MHW Magazine published 7th February
