BUILDING MATERIALS

MANUFACTURING

€6.27 BILLION

 

 

 

 

Concrete ceiling with triangular windows

Knauf

Transparency up to the last mile

Customer

Knauf Gips is a subsidiary of the Knauf Group, one of the leading international manufacturers of modern building materials made of gypsum, insulation materials, precast parts, packaging, construction equipment, and construction chemical products. Logistics is an important success factor for the organization. In Germany alone, where the group is headquartered, Knauf executes an average of 700 shipments a day, equating to 1,500 deliveries and 17,000 tons of goods. Of these items, about 70% are ordered and shipped on the same day to ensure just-in-time delivery typically to construction sites. Knauf operates its own fleet of delivery trucks and additionally contracts about 200 carriers.

With transport assignment from Transporeon, we and our carriers save time and money. This is great: with Transporeon everyone wins.

Kurt Münk, Head of Freight Management
Knauf

Challenges

  • An inflexible freight management system; dispatch processes required high manual effort and cost with transport assignment and communication via phone, e-mail and fax
  • Trucks arriving at loading stations were uncontrolled, and coordination was complex; carriers experienced extreme waiting times, incurred demurrage costs, and received customer complaints about delays
  • A key challenge was lack of transparency during delivery – customers asked “Where is the truck right now and when will it reach the construction site?” – information was insufficient and out of date, and there was no direct connection between truck drivers and managers
  • Truck drivers arrived at their destinations with paper-based delivery documents; this meant Knauf received signed delivery receipts only days later, and papers then had to be scanned into the system

Solution

  • Transport assignment via best carrier: The transport is sent to a defined carrier pool and the shipper decides on the day-to-day offers of each carrier
  • Transport assignment via no-touch order: On the basis of previously agreed fixed contracts, the carrier gets an order directly and, if necessary, alternatives are searched automatically using an algorithm
  • Time Slot Management: Carriers book a digital time slot for loading or unloading at the ramp
  • Mobile Order Management: The current location of the truck can be recorded in real time; journey  delays are sent by the driver via status messages, providing transparency right up to the last mile
  • Freight orders and delivery documents are available in digital form; the driver documents the delivery with a camera and gets a signature from the goods recipient

Results

better customer service

If a truck runs late, everyone is warned thanks to accurate ETAs and an alert function

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cost savings

Lower freight costs by assigning individual carrier orders on a day-by-day basis

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carrier efficiencies

Faster truck turnaround times at the loading/unloading docks

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quality management

Knauf is using real-time information from the Mobile Order Management module for quality management