“Our solutions run the gamut from conventional transportation services to value-added services. That includes things like picking,” continued Röttger, adding, “But it encompasses much more, too.” He and the other experts from Isernhagen explained exactly what that entailed at the first Supply Chain Summit held in Düsseldorf by DVZ, a German publication on traffic and transportation. One of the speakers was Alen Cevra, Managing Director of the TLT Group based in Markgröningen, Germany. His company joins inTime and Spanish-based Servicios Empresariales Ader to make up the European supply chain for supergroup, a global logistics corporation headquartered in South Africa. “Our focus is clearly the entire supply chain,” noted Cevra. “And transportation is one part of the overall service.” One thing was particularly important for the professionals from inTime and TLT: The production lines at the OEM manufacturers and the associated logistics processes have to dovetail seamlessly, like cogs in a machine. “Either you have many people greasing the production machinery here and there, possibly without having even checked with each other first. Or you have one party who’s keeping an eye on all the processes,” said TLT’s Managing Director. The number of projects and the responsibilities shouldered by service providers in the value chain are growing. Many manufacturers have turned to outsourcing. “We can provide end-to-end solutions for customers thanks to our company’s deep expertise in transportation, consulting and management and our holistic view of the requirements,” explained Röttger. “From transporting components to just-in-time delivery to warehousing.” The logistics experts have even coined a new term to describe this service: fifth-party logistics, or 5PL. In 5PL, customers bring in analysts who understand the issues and can suggest and implement solutions. These consultants also respond flexibly to changes in production lines as well as storage and delivery requirements for original and spare parts.
Cevra sat on a lively discussion panel alongside many other experts in Düsseldorf. They all expressed their views on digitalization, presented their take on the future of artificial intelligence and underscored the importance of data transparency along the supply chain. Read the field report from DVZ editor Claudius Semmann here. You can download Alen Cevra’s presentation here.