Frugt.dk

Challenge

Logistics manager at Frugt.dk, Niels Christensen, explains, "We used to plan our routes manually on printed maps. With 7,000 customers across the country and 60% of our volume going out on 120 routes on Mondays, it was very difficult for us to maximize the quality and efficiency of our operation through manual planning."

"Adding to this complexity, our routes can be very dense in urban areas, where each route typically has around 100 stops. This, combined with very tight time windows and fixed delivery days, made it impossible for us to create efficient distribution plans. Since distribution accounts for a great part of our costs, and delivery accuracy is key to our customer satisfaction, we saw great potential in optimizing our routes with AMCS Route Planner."

Taking control 

Before AMCS Route Planner was implemented, the planning process was manual, and it took approximately 14 days to create new master plans.

"At frugt.dk, we need to make regular adjustments to the master routes due to a high inflow and outflow of customers", observes Niels Christensen. "On top of that, daily route adjustments are necessary, because we get a large number of ad hoc orders and one-off cancellations of orders. In general, manual planning is highly complex, and we therefore used to miss many time windows, resulting in quite a lot of complaints."

"In order to stay competitive, we needed a planning system to help us reduce costs and increase service levels. Moreover, it was important to us that the routes became easier to execute for temp drivers, and that we would be able to control the invoicing of our many haulage contractors."

"AMCS Route Planner has helped us to obtain this. We are even able to make simulations regarding new distribution centres and consequences of ending a given route at the last customer, for example."

Solution

A process of change 

"When implementing the system, difficult but necessary decisions and organizational changes had to be made," recalls Niels Christensen. "Discussing assumptions regarding work procedures was a challenging task, and the drivers were reluctant to provide the needed information. This was unfortunate because in order to obtain optimal results with AMCS Route Planner, accurate data are crucial."

Niels Christensen continues, "In an attempt to respond to our drivers’ fear of change, we had to take some initiatives. At Frugt.dk, the drivers’ need for repeated master routes was respected, and they were invited to see and validate the routes in AMCS Route Planner. It also helped that our main distribution planner is a former driver, as this created extra trust in the quality of the routes.

Furthermore, we realized that it was important that the optimization process took place gradually to get the entire organization on board. Commitment, management support, and a belief in the benefits of a route planning system were essential elements."

Results

Clear competitive advantage 

Niels Christensen adds, "We believe that AMCS Route Planner has given us a clear competitive advantage and a very lean distribution set-up."

Major benefits from implementing the system:

• Solid savings due to fewer routes and lower mileage
• A reduction of 25-30% in administrative work
• Almost 100% elimination of complaints about late deliveries
• Planning time reduced from 14 days to 3 hours when optimizing master routes
• 100% control of route costs, enabling hauler self-billing and a reduction in costs per route
• Ability to assess new customer profitability