KRAMP

Quest for an independent party
Head of Distribution & Transportation Ismail Ölmez and Transport Manager Jakub Zurawik were closely involved in the selection and implementation of the IDS platform. The choice of IDS came from a selection process in which first ten, then five and then two more parties remained. Ölmez: ‘We were mainly looking for a partner who could help us independently of carriers. We wanted to be able to combine road, sea and air transport. In addition, we were looking for certainty about paying the best transport price, i.e. support in the procurement process and insight into rates.’

Data pooling various goods flows and modalities
Ölmez and Zurawik indicate that there are roughly two major transport flows that the company wanted to manage. Zurawik: ‘From some suppliers, we collect the goods ourselves and bring them to our warehouses. Other suppliers are themselves responsible for delivering their items to our warehouses. We wanted both of these two flows to be reflected in IDS.’ In the first flow, IDS plays the role of booking platform, among other things. In the second flow, suppliers inform Kramp via a portal. Those data streams have been bundled within IDS. ‘In addition, we have now collected both the various transport agreements and the various modalities in one platform. There are not many forwarders who can do that.’

‘We were aware of all the supply chain bottlenecks’
The reason Kramp looked for an all-in-one platform is easy to guess. ‘Visibility is a competitive advantage. Once we know which goods arrive at one of our warehouses when, we can adjust the inbound processes accordingly. Better visibility means we need less stock.’ Kramp has a long history and already implemented several systems. It gained experience with a control tower and works with both a WMS and a stock forecasting system. ‘We therefore knew exactly what we needed and knew all the bottlenecks in the logistics processes.’ Kramp was working with multiple platforms for different de targets. This led to insufficient visibility of when items would arrive from China, for example. ‘It was a lottery every day when which shipment would arrive at a warehouse. All bottlenecks were collected and resolved.’

Step-by-step roll-out
The adoption of IDS was gradual. Step by step, data was improved and features were added. A pilot and a joint visit by Kramp and IDS to all warehouses preceded the implementation. Subsequently, more and more countries were added to the system, as well as delivery conditions per carrier. When selecting carriers, extensive use was made of the base of carriers present in IDS. By now, almost all flows run through the platform, leading to a network containing eighty countries. Ölmez: ‘Most shipments go by road, but we also receive items from Turkey, India, China and Japan, for example. In total, this involves products from two thousand suppliers going to 12 DCs and many thousands of shipments.’

‘New way of working with great insight’
A system is now in place that has a front end for booking shipments. In addition, a portal linked to the TMS is in use. ‘It is definitely a new way of working. But this new way of working also gives a lot of insight into goods flows and costs. In addition, it is much easier to select carriers.’ The insight into costs per shipment also gives Kramp a clear picture of what it can charge for a product. Here, the link between IDS and Kramp’s ERP plays an emphatic role.

Improvements and savings
The adoption of IDS has led to resounding results, say Ölmez and Kurawik: ‘Most importantly, we have an effective end-to-end chain. Transports take place more efficiently, in terms of both cost and planning.’ The biggest benefits are at the operational level. ‘The warehouses know what is coming and can respond accordingly. That affects all processes.’ Quantitatively, the improvements are also clear: ‘On-time delivery has improved by ten per cent, leading to lower warehousing costs. There is higher product availability and more effective planning. We also save ten per cent on transport costs. The latter is due to an improved tender process. IDS also allocates shipments to carriers in a smart way.’

‘IDS helps us with transition’
Kramp calls the choice of IDS as control tower important. ‘It gives us a better grip on costs, works more efficiently, but also allows us to respond better to market developments. The platform makes us more flexible.’ In addition, the agricultural and construction supplier expects to benefit from the purchasing power that IDS offers. ‘The more companies IDS serves, the greater the economies of scale. Despite being a large company with over a billion in turnover, we can never negotiate the same logistical purchasing advantages. Besides, we see this as a step towards an almost fully digital environment where software automates many operations. IDS is helping us with that transition.’