CASE STUDY

Duracell: Managing Parcel, FTL and LTL shipments


 

About Duracell

Duracell is a multinational company that produces batteries. In Europe the batteries are made in Aarschot, Belgium, packed in Heist-op-den-Berg and then exported to more than 60 countries in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and other regions.

We organized so called deep dive sessions to clearly understand Duracell’s processes and needs. Based on these sessions we composed the ideal solution for Duracell. This is one of the important benefits of our modular solution – companies can tailor our solution to their needs.

Rene Kleber,
Director Solution Engineering, Transporeon

Challenges in Logistics

Duracell has a complex logistics operation to run, with a combination of different transport flows, carriers and a mix of parcel, FTL and LTL shipments. Managing these can be rather challenging and time consuming.

“One of the problems we had was that all information was divided over different departments and legacy systems. And to be honest, it sometimes occurred that as soon as a shipment left the warehouse, we had no clue about the real-time shipment status.“ – Wim Farasyn, Logistics Operations Manager at Duracell.

So, whenever they needed an update or when there was a problem, Duracell had to call or email the carrier or manually consult the carrier’s parcel tracking website.

This is a common challenge that can be seen in the market. Manufacturers have a reliable ERP backbone where they manage master data, production, orders and so on. But as soon as the deliveries are ready to be sent to the carrier, ERP systems are lacking the flexibility to cope with the dynamics of transport execution. As a result, users tend to fall back on legacy system like Excel with complex macros and Access databases.

But this is a time consuming and rigid process that can be quite complex to manage. That’s why Duracell started looking for a more flexible solution to manage their transports that would need to be tightly integrated with their ERP, centralizing all transport execution information in one place, and providing real-time visibility on all shipments.

The Solution

Together with Duracell, the project team set realistic goals, that could be achieved within their time-limit.

“We organized so called deep dive sessions to clearly understand Duracell’s processes and needs. Based on these sessions we composed the ideal technology stack for Duracell. This is one of the important benefits of our modular solution – companies can tailor our solution to their needs.” – Rene Kleber, Director Solution Engineering, Transporeon.

Results

Together with Duracell we’ve set out a target to improve operational efficiency with 35% through process automation.

“We wanted to go live with the solution within a few months to optimize the benefits as soon as possible. We knew it was challenging but the vendor’s project team was able to implement, train and go-live within the given timeframe.”– Wim Farasyn.

“Within this timeframe we even developed new functionality which Duracell required to go-live,” complemented Rene Kleber. “Instead of doing customization specific for Duracell, we proposed an alternative path of co-creation.”

Why Duracell chose our Transportation Management Platform:

FUNCTIONALITY

The solution is focussed on improving the visibility and the collaboration between different parties in the transportation process. This makes it very easy to see the status of the orders.

STRATEGIC FIT

A dynamic team that is focussed on meeting the needs of shippers and manufacturers.

PRICING

Pricing is always an important factor in a selection process and the solution has a very interesting value for money proposition.

PRODUCTS

Ready to discover your missing ingredient?

Visibility Hub

Visibility

Visibility
  • Reduce check calls and automate processes.
  • Increase performance and customer satisfaction.
  • Reduce wait and dwell times with more accurate ETAs.
  • Increase your on-time performance and avoid penalties  
  • Reduce CO2 emissions and empty mileage.

Dock & Yard Management Hub

Time Slot Management

Time Slot Management
  • Full transparency of delivery and pick-up times for all parties 
  • Efficient use of resources due to the even and predictable distribution of loadings and unloadings
  • Reduction of waiting times for trucks by up to 40%
  • Audit-proof and legal compliance through fully documented processes
  • Quick response and operational optimization through fast communication and real-time data

Dock & Yard Management Hub

Real-Time Yard Management

Real-Time Yard Management
  • Improve overall visibility and ability to predict changes.
  • Combine yard, transport, and warehouse management.
  • Automate arrivals, check-ins, and call-offs.
  • Avoid costs and fees caused by idle and inefficient processes.
  • Monitor, measure, and improve KPIs.

Transport Execution Hub

No-Touch Order

No-Touch Order
  • Automated shipment execution processes.
  • Fewer empty runs.
  • Cut process costs by up to 30%.

Transport Execution Hub

Best Carrier

Best Carrier
  • Access the spot market more easily.
  • Cut transaction costs by up to 19%.
  • React quickly to market fluctuations.
  • Improve process efficiency with better integrations.
  • Cloud-based system provides real-time transparency.