Ceva Logistics, BP and Caltex have been working together to reduce emissions as well as costs and are set to reveal to the Smart Conference how creating a new supply chain arrangement has meant they achieved their goals.
The efficiency of a supply chain is essential not just for emissions and costs but also to ensure worker safety each and every day.
With significant players such as these working together to increase efficiency using the latest technology and thinking it is possible that other businesses will adopt the ideas with their own supply chains for greater rewards for the community.
Ceva’s warehouse and route planning service, which BP and Caltex have implemented, has seen the distribution of soft drinks, confectionary and grocery items moved through cross-dock facilities in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth within dedicated delivery windows.
Some 42,000km are covered each week in transporting deliveries to Caltex and BP outlets, with costs and emissions reduced by 12 percent in the last year.
Instead of separate truck deliveries, one fleet with combined delivery is now used for each site, arriving at the same time.
Ceva Senior Accountant Manager Larry McEvoy says says the idea for the initiative came to light three years ago with the opportunity to reduce costs and CO2 emissions.
“We have good relationships with both BP and Caltex – there is a high level of trust between us based on our past performance and experience and [they] were quite eager to listen to what we had to say in developing a shared solution,” McEvoy says.
“They also understood our capability because we have managed many changes to their supply chain individually in the past.
The parties will share the outcomes of the initiative at the Smart Conference in June.
Under the shared solution, all deliveries are tracked and information is transformed into single reports for customers who are then able to monitor performance.
Historically, deliveries would sit on pallets but they are now packed into trolleys that are wheeled straight into the location, taking away health and safety issues and securing loads from theft.
“It also means that they can put the goods away very easily – customers have reported their stock damage and stock losses reduced significantly and well below industry standards,” McEvoy says.
Roll cages have been in use in Europe for a number of years at numerous Ceva locations. Ceva’s team in Australia used that concept to leverage the idea.
“In designing the solution we utilised the service of one of our experts overseas who provided us with the insights into designs used in Europe we modified for the Australian market,” McEvoy says.
A customer care team based in Sydney helps track vehicles to ensure goods are delivered safely and on time – even during times of crisis, such as the Queensland floods two years ago.
A Ceva supply chain manager, Davide Bancovich, says the team manages communications between Ceva and its customers, including franchisees, company-owned stores, and the BP and Caltex logistics team.