Customer Stories
Den Hartogh Logistics
"Clients' clients also have 24 hr insight into the logistics chain with Qualcomm"
"If you truly want to adopt the role of chain manager, the internal system needs to be set up accordingly. That is why we invest not only in the right people and optimum means of transport, but also in a perfectly suited automation and communication system. Transparency within the organization and towards the client! We, at Den Hartogh Logistics, are faced with the fact that this is the way to generate satisfactory performance in a declining market. Whilst at the same time offering our clients added value. Communication via Qualcomm EutelTRACS plays an important part in this process."
Mark Warner, Deputy Director of Den Hartogh Liquid Logistics and ICT Director for the entire Den Hartogh Logistics Group states the following. A man with a mission. A mission upheld by the entire organization: ‘Create value for the client with imaginative solutions’. This is Den Hartogh's motto. Back in 1920 Jacobus den Hartogh already came to the conclusion that he could offer his clients added value by offering road transport as well as water based transport. Meanwhile Den Hartogh has evolved into one of the largest logistics service providers in the European chemical industry. With all road and intermodal disciplines under one roof, Den Hartogh can really refer to itself as a chain manager.
EutelTRACS user since 1991
Mark Warner: "Chain managers are not just responsible for areas within close operating range. Our operating range covers the entire logistics process from our suppliers to our clients' clients. Automation is a must in order to control this process 24 hrs a day." Den Hartogh was aware of this situation very early on and has always invested in the latest technology. Even if this technology was not quite ready for the market. Teething troubles are merely dismissed: "We work on the assumption that someone has to be the first to try something new, otherwise nothing would ever get started. For example back in 1991 I already opted for satellite communication via EutelTRACS. I had seen how successful it was in America. As you can imagine, at a time when everyone was still working with fixed telephones, many people thought I was mad. However, I noted immediately that this kind of investment would make communications within the company, and with clients, much more efficient."
International planning network
In addition to our offices in Rozenburg, Oss and various other locations in the Netherlands, Den Hartogh also has offices in Spain, Germany, Belgium, France, Hungary, Poland and Italy/Switzerland. A number of these offices generate their own local planning. The planning for the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, England and other countries without offices is set up in Rozenburg (road transport) and Oss (intermodal). Drivers, however, are sourced locally. Good communication is the main link in the chain to ensure that this process runs smoothly. Den Hartogh relies entirely on its central information system, Transfusion (developed by InforIT bv) that operates via EutelTRACS when communicating with drivers.
Seamless integration with office automation
According to Mark Warner complete integration with office automation is the main advantage: "Satellite communication should not be used as a glorified telephone system. Its additional options should be utilised to maximum effect. We only have to enter an order once. For example a loading and unloading order. As soon as the order is received Transfusion distributes the data to the planners, who will plan the trip accordingly. The system immediately shows which driver is available and who is nearest to the relevant location. The driver in question receives the new instruction on screen straight away. When the driver arrives at the loading address and informs us accordingly via EutelTRACS, the data immediately becomes transparent for the entire organization. Pressing a single button makes the information available to our client and, if necessary, to this client". The client can also view the data direct via the Internet.
Internal efficiency generates an excellent price/quality ratio externally
Improved services, higher productivity and increased efficiency - those are the advantages according to Mark Warner. To the question as to how much this affects administrative costs he replies: I am looking at the overall package. Den Hartogh's main aim is to offer the client better value for less money. Lean, clean and efficient on the inside reflects an excellent price/quality ratio to the outside. Incessant complaining about high diesel prices, and other external factors that make trips more expensive, results in a negative spiral. It is up to you to increase your own productivity. A reliable communication system such as EutelTRACS represents a significant tool in this process.
Mark Warner
Deputy Director of Den Hartogh Liquid Logistics and ICT Director of the entire Den Hartogh Logistics group.i, Netherlands
Den Hartogh is one of the largest logistics service providers in the European petrochemical industry. The company's activities are split into the following business units: Tank cleaning, Liquid Logistics, Dry Logistics and Storage Terminals. Den Hartogh employs a total of .. employees based in various offices throughout Europe. Den Hartogh Logistics is privately owned by the three partners Jack den Hartogh, Pieter den Hartogh and Jos den Hartogh.
Den Hartogh is focussed on the provision of creative solutions to its clients. Because of its close links with clients the company is in a position to offer real added value within the logistics process. This is achieved by the continual application of the most efficient means, cost saving methods, minute fine tuning within the entire logistics chain and improved safety and care for the environment.
Qualcomm Enterprise Services Europe is the European branch of Qualcomm Incorporated. We develop and supply the most advanced solutions with respect to wireless data communication for/to European logistics and transport companies. Our EutelTRACS fleet management system enables you to communicate, send and receive data directly and receive an overview of vehicle positions. When linked to your internal automated systems, our products will increase management efficiency and provide an additional service to your client.
Freund GmbH & Co. KG
Green light for green lorries
Freund achieves better efficiency thanks to modern satellite technology from Qualcomm GmbH
Specialist bulk haulier Freund GmbH & Co. KG is based in Frechen, Germany, and also has a branch in Kerpen-Türnich. The company was founded in 1948 and today employs 310 people. The lorry fleet has 210 towing units. Its expertise lies in the transport, loading and unloading of bulk goods. Customers include Bayer, Finolit and companies in the thermoplastics industry. Its international haulage business is focused mainly on western Europe, although Frechen lorries also operate in Eastern Europe, in Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic. One of the biggest single customers is Rheinbraun AG, for whom Freund transports fossil fuels such as pulverized lignite. Although the distances to the destination are sometimes no more than 40 km, the quantities carried are immense. Some customers require 70-80 loads per day.
Until March 2002 the company used a Unix system running logistics software without a graphical user interface. The schedulers had to rely on the telephone to find out where fleet vehicles were located at any given time and whether things were going according to plan. These telephone calls took up a great deal of time, and for international transport roaming charges meant high costs. Every morning the drivers would report their position to the control center. Later on they would give the customer their expected arrival time, unloading was then confirmed and another call was made to arrange the next day's tasks. This involved an average of four calls. "Multiplied by the size of the fleet, the effort involved in these telephone calls equated to one full-time job", explains managing director Stephan Freund. Therefore a plan was made to reduce these costs, so that the freed-up resources could be used in more efficient ways.
Simpler communication
Freund found the solution at Qualcomm Wireless Business Solutions GmbH. This international supplier of wireless communication solutions for the transport and logistics industry has its German headquarters in Münster and its European head office in Waalre, Netherlands. For the Euteltracs satellite communication system developed by Qualcomm, the lorries need to have an "on-board unit". This easily installed piece of hardware consists of two components: a control unit with a keyboard and display for the driver and an antenna and communication unit. The lorries transmit relevant information about the vehicle and its load via satellite to the Qualcomm Management Center in Waalre. From there it is relayed to the customer over the Internet. A "traffic-light" function indicates the status of the vehicles: "green" means no problems, "yellow" a possible delay and "red" an unavoidable delay. Thanks to the improved coordination facilities, the fleet nowadays runs mostly on green, which just happens to be the same color as the lorries. "We did not introduce the system to keep a check on our drivers, but rather to allow us to respond to problems more quickly and improve the transparency of our order processing", emphasizes Freund.
Following a two-month trial period, 100 lorries are now equipped with this technology. Well-organized training courses meant the system could be introduced without any problems and showed employees not only how to use the new system but also the economic benefits. Schedulers can now find out the status of the entire fleet at any time and respond immediately if anything should go wrong. "You still have to use your brain as much as ever, rather than a computer, for the actual planning work", says Freund. But his employees now save a lot of time which they can devote to important tasks such as optimizing routes. The new system supports effective operational planning to avoid problems such as driving empty lorries. This is an important factor, particularly in view of the forthcoming lorry toll.
The bottom line
It has reduced the workload in other areas too: For example, a message that concerns all vehicles only has to be sent out once. All drivers receive the information simultaneously via satellite. A negative acknowledgement warns if a message fails to arrive.
A number of different modules are available to the fleet management. One component automatically supports statistics, for example concerning fuel consumption and mileage. A vehicle transmits its mileage at the start of the journey and at the destination. By comparing these figures with the data recorded in the order, it is easy to see whether the two figures match up. In regional transport, mileage or fuel consumption can be recorded every evening, but with international haulage this is not possible. Therefore a query sent via satellite is helpful for planning. It is also possible to monitor how many hours a driver spends at the wheel or resting, automatically warning the scheduler if he is about to exceed his permitted driving time. Today it takes Freund just ten minutes to obtain the required logs of all vehicles and react accordingly.
In the last 14 months the company's world has changed radically in all respects, from the structural set-up, to the organization, to the qualitative processing of orders. "Already, we cannot imagine working with the old system again. We have substantially reduced our operating costs and increased our efficiency", says Freund, who is well satisfied with the introduction of Euteltracs.
Stephan Freund
Managing Director, Freund GmbH & Co. KG, Germany
H. Freund GmbH & Co. KG
Elisabethstraße 49-53
50226 Frechen
Tel. 02234 -500-111
Fax 02234 -500-105
E-Mail Stephan.Freund@hfreund.com
www.hfreund.com
Qualcomm Enterprise Services Europe is the European branch of Qualcomm Incorporated. We develop and supply the most advanced solutions with respect to wireless data communication for/to European logistics and transport companies. Our EutelTRACS fleet management system enables you to communicate, send and receive data directly and receive an overview of vehicle positions. When linked to your internal automated systems, our products will increase management efficiency and provide an additional service to your client.