Leipzig – the new capital of European logistics

Every time I make orders from Ukraine or Germany, all my parcels pass through DHL Leipzig hub. And the other day I found an article of Russian journalist that made a visit to that hub and was able to see all the process with his own eyes. So I decided to translate it and size it and share with you 🙂

Every night from the hub planes, loaded with envelopes and parcels fly to different ends of the world. Leipzig is the largest in Europe depot of DHL.

I would like to have a look at four steps through which parcels pass inside the hub in order to be delivered at a right location.

Belts and downs of conveyors

It is difficult for a person to not get confused in an aluminium forest of conveyors. That is why everything is controlled by machines; people only correct their mistakes.

Each envelope, package and box has a barcode. It is thanks to it that the parcel does not go to Austria instead of Australia. The sorting line is controlled by a superhuman mind – a computer system with its own DHL software. Overhead, the snake of the sorting line creeps along. Each pallet on it has a unique number; therefore, passing through the first scanner, the parcel receives a temporary but exact address. It is difficult to lose cargo there: the system stores information about where the number was scanned for the last time and in what part of the transport tape the parcel landed. The operator can track the parcel at any time.

 

Sorting conveyor

On the second floor, there are no people: there runs an endless conveyor belt, not continuous, but consisting of separate cells. Each cell has a number that is associated with the parcel number while the parcel is travelling along the tape to the place where it is going to be packed into a large transparent container and loaded onto the aircraft.

Floor on wheels

To work in the hub, you do not need to have the mighty power. Thanks to rollers, mounted on the floor, even women can easily move on the floor heavy containers.

Attractions for parcels

On these yellow slides, the parcels roll down from the sorting belt into the hands of the conveyor operator, who brings individual parcels to large aviation containers.

For additional scanning and to the desired exit, the parcels fly down the yellow screw hill, just like in the water park. Below them, they are insured by the operators of the line. In total, a journey from the plane that brings the parcel to Leipzig, prior to its loading on the flight to the destination airport, the parcel gets into the scanning device 4 times – in order not to get lost.

 

Delta Cargo Online

Delta Cargo launched the online booking platform for its air transportation. The company also implemented a system of electronic contracts and the exchange of electronic documents. 77% of all work with documents now takes place online, making the shipping process easier and accurate than ever before. We can see that the companies which are not adjusting to the new technological systems won’t be able to be competitive and provide the desired service to their customers especially in logistics sphere.

The American carrier said that now customers can order, register, manage and track their shipments completely online, using a computer or mobile device, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Customers can send their electronic air waybills (e-AWB) to the company’s website free of charge, which eliminates the failures in the preparation of the air waybill and significantly improves the speed of customer service. The new website provides complete end-to-end digital reservations, reception and tracking 24 hours a day, seven days a week, on laptops and mobile devices anywhere in the world.

Key features of the updated deltacargo.com website include:

• Improved tracking and dispatch management with in-flight tracking progress from departure to arrival. GPS tracking can be added to any shipment during the booking process and viewed in real time, and in addition, the GPS history can be viewed throughout the delivery lifecycle. The air waybill will be displayed to display the customs status on the tracking page.
• Full functionality for site visitors who do not have a Delta Cargo account number or a registered account at deltacargo.com. The number of guests’ facilities includes access to viewing flights and services, price quotes, real-time tracking, and the ability to fully edit the booking.
• Registered customers can set up a website so that their preferred topics, functions or e-mail notifications are displayed on the preview page, as well as frequently used booking templates, in addition, customers can store payment information, which will shorten the time for the processing of applications. The website also provides a quick overview of the shippers with the industry’s first integration with the TSA system Known Shipper.
• Full customization for the client, allowing it to save its reservation settings, select notifications and store frequently ordered items as templates.
• The site also has a full step-by-step guide to booking and more advanced booking options targeted at experienced users, in addition, there is a flexible booking with profitable numerous offers for flights and services.
• When registering, domestic and international air waybill details can be submitted for free, regardless of the direction of booking.

Intralogistics – what does it mean?

Recently, people are increasingly using a phrase “intralogistics” in the operating environment.

Some industrial companies add the word “intralogistics” to their names. For example, LTW Intralogistics and Wynright Intralogistics.

Michael Schick, head of Wynright, defines intralogistics as “all directions of logistics within the” four walls “, which provides the provision, management, tracking and optimization of cargo movements and information flows.”

This concept explains the ability to deliver packages on time, while at the same time maintain a smooth operation of its conveyor.

Thanks to UPS, people began to understand the concept of logistics, as well as intralogistics as an extended function of logistics itself. In business, only a small percentage of profits settle, while a large percentage of losses go through the doors of logistics. Knowing this “secret,” such large companies as Wal-Mart entice their positions employees as executive directors from logistics companies.

So logistics is how we move things from point A to point B across the supply chain. Intralogistics is that same concept but related to how we get our product most efficiently from the receiving dock to the shipping dock in the warehouse, plant and distribution centre. The video is an example of intralogistics work:

The Secret Journey of a Fashion Piece

Since I was a child I am interested in fashion, so everything related to it attracts my attention. I like to read articles and try to follow this topic. I understand that the path of a product from factory to store can be a highly complex process but nowadays technology and data are playing an increasingly important role in helping companies synchronise their supply chains.

Today the final leg of the journey (transporting a product from factory to store) is more important than ever, it’s not just about tracking physical garments as they make their way to retail but tracking and harnessing the data associated with these garments.

For large brands, it is more common to rent space in a warehouse, where items are shipped in from factories by air, truck or boat and then “picked and packed.” In the “pick and pack” process, workers unload the goods, identify each garment by barcode, determine the retailer for which it is destined and repack the piece to be sent out. In the years since the ‘Great Recession,’ larger retailers have begun charging fashion labels fees if their garments are not packaged exactly as requested, so brands must make sure their warehouse follows procedure.

From the moment product hits a warehouse, it must be out the door as soon as possible. The earlier it gets in the store, the longer the selling period will be. Any delays caused by logistics can disrupt the entire season!!

There are a lot of technological innovations that help companies to facilitate and optimize their processes. For example, ‘Quiet Logistics’ is one firm aiming to streamline the process, utilising Kiva robots to efficiently pick and pack products for clients including fast-fashion chains and fashion e-commerce start-ups.

In many cases, third-party retailers own the relationship with the consumer and the data generated by these interactions is critical to brands.  Currently, many designers receive this kind of feedback from retailers via email, phone or semi-automated technology systems. But with the implementation of tracking technology, such as RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags, product data can be fed directly into a designer’s own business management software. Major companies like Walmart have been using RFID tags for more than a decade, Bloomingdale’s began embedding the tags in garments about five years ago and more and more retailers are following suit.

Emerging ready-to-wear brands can’t typically afford to add their own tracking tags to garments but department stores that do use such devices are often able to report back on customer behaviour, which, in turn, helps to inform late-season orders. For example, if a retailer is unexpectedly selling out of a sweater style, the RFID tag will report that information directly to a brand’s business management software. The system instantly registers this and advises the brand to order more of the sweater from its suppliers. And if sweaters are an unexpectedly big category for a designer in a particular season, he or she may decide to offer more options the next time around, potentially changing the course of the brand.

For brands with sizable e-commerce businesses, tracking tags and business management software like Zedonk also help to fulfil orders across channels, by facilitating services like the in-store pickup. And as more brands start keeping less inventory on the floor, this kind of tracking allows shop clerks to be able to quickly identify what is available online — or in another physical store location — in a more seamless fashion. Brands including Burberry and Matches already employ iPads in store to help customers shop for items that may not be available in a particular store.

New technology is also helping brands glean insights into consumer behaviour by monitoring how they interact with products on the shop floor. Indeed, high fashion labels may set sartorial trends, but it is major retailers that are driving the growth of data collection around product inventory.

 

Off-Airport Baggage Check-in

At the end of February, I went to Vienna and after taking an Express Train from the Airport I arrived at the Mitte Central Station. On my way out, I saw the baggage drop-off counters, which surprised me as I hadn’t noticed such service options before at the places where I travelled. I really liked that idea because as a passenger I would get a lot of advantages with that service:

• More convenience during the journey to the airport
• Less stress during the journey
• Easy usage of public transport to the airport
• Less waiting time at the airport before departure

Moreover, passengers usually spend a lot of time waiting. They might have to spend up to three hours between checking in and boarding the airplane. To reduce the so-called dwell time at airports and prevent congestion in the terminal, some airports have introduced off-airport baggage check-in programs.

But at the same time, off-airport baggage check-in would help to avoid many problems that face a growing number of airport operators – bottlenecks on the runways, delayed departures, long lines at security and check-in. The main advantages are:

• Operational advantage because peak loads can be reduced by early baggage collection
• Stimulation public transport usage and thereby creating a positive corporate image and increasing the catchment area

Japan Air Lines went even further by operating two different off-airport baggage services. The Departure Delivery is a service in which the baggage is picked up by a caddy at any home address in Japan and transferred to one of the 5 departure airports that JAL serves in Japan (Narita Airport, Tokyo International Airport, Kansai International Airport, Nagoya Airport, and Sapporo Airport). The fee for the services is between € 14 and € 16. The Arrival Delivery service is similar to the Departure Delivery systems but then in opposite direction. Passengers can have their bags delivered from the same five airports to their home address in Japan. Fees for this service are in the same range as for the Departure Delivery.

Several years ago, at Paddington station in London as well as in Vienna Mitte Central Station, passengers could use the full check-in facility and use the Heathrow Express as means of transport towards the airport. The process was the following: checked in baggage was transported underneath the designated platforms towards the load make-up area on the platform and loaded onto the train in containers.

 

Delivery to any place, at any time

Quite often I do online shopping but one thing that annoys me a lot in a home delivering system in Valencia is the absence of telephone notifications. In all the countries where I lived before, couriers always called in advance to confirm the time when you stay at home in order not to waste his own time and a client’s but in Spain, it seems like the couriers expect people to stay home the whole day just waiting for them. I am sorry but it is a bit ponderous topic J So the other day on the Internet I stumbled upon this device and thought that it would facilitate my life significantly.

Consumers want to have an option of receiving their deliver at any time and to any destination. Nowadays customers have an increasing number of service options, many of which are tied to new technologies.

Automated closets for receiving orders simplify the process of picking the parcel and provides a buyer with an opportunity to do it 24/7. For example, DHL invented a special automated postal station in Germany. This convenient solution is now available in more than 2,000 locations throughout the country.

This innovative concept with the postamates has reached a more personalized level, and now every buyer can have such a box at home. Located next to the buyer’s house, the postmat is convenient for delivery and parcel picking.

One of the latest innovation is the delivery of parcels in the trunk of a car. Using the mobile application, a courier gets the exact location of the car along with the access code to the buyer’s trunk. CarDrops.sg already offers this service in Singapore, DHL, Amazon, as well as Audi and Volvo have launched pilot projects to deliver orders to the trunk of a car in Germany and Sweden, respectively. In addition, individual orders (in particular, heavy goods) can be delivered directly to the client’s house or garage. This requires installing the Internet of Things application, which gives access to the opening of locks and doors.

Packaging containers for fresh seafood transportation

I really like seafood and since I live in Valencia, I can enjoy it anytime and can be totally sure that it is fresh since the city is based next to the seaside. However, back to my home country, we do not have that access to the diversity, quantity and quality of fresh fish. But it has always been a demand, so in recent years a lot of seafood restaurants have been opened and in order to attract clients they deliver fresh fish on a daily basis from all over the world. The logistics process is complicated, that is why I decided to concentrate only on a packaging feature.

Perishable products may be subjected to harsh environmental conditions, such as excessive temperature or humidity, on the way to their destination, thus, packing shipment is essential to keeping the seafood fresh. During shipping, insulation and refrigerants are key to preserving products. With the proper combination of insulation and refrigerants, the product can maintain within specific temperature ranges.

Insulation reduces the transfer of heat through packaging container walls. The most common insulation materials are expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam, rigid polyurethane foam, and reflective materials. Recommended refrigerants are gel coolants and dry ice to keep perishable products cold or frozen. Wet ice has many disadvantages, including weight and special water-resistant packaging requirements, but it may be used if properly prepared to prevent leakage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Vbs36wqyTI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxmkzrTMFTc

Fine Art Logistics

Three weeks ago I got back from a trip to Vienna where due to the weather conditions my friend and I had to spend a lot of time in museums. Belvedere is one of the most famous in Vienna with its incredible collection of Klimt works. Some of the paintings that were presented in the museum I had seen before in other cities. At that moment I started to wonder how the pieces of art are transported and what is behind that logistics process.

After a little research, I found a list of leaders who specialize in fine arts transportation. They all describe the process, as extremely complicated and delicate, that entails a lot of resources.

First of all, scientific pre-planning and program scheduling are needed as fine art pieces must be transported in special temperature and climate control vehicles equipped with security web-enabled cameras in humidity controlled storage facilities.

Secondly, only highly qualified and experienced art handlers can work with art pieces by following a certain packing and crating international fine art standards.

Thirdly, international transportation requires a lot of documentation work. At the beginning insurance should be issued and not every transportation company can be accredited. Then customs permission for temporary imports must be granted and at destination swift customs clearance must be performed.

Some of the links that visually demonstrate the process:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGZSL-_VOYU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yIOsLwWrWw