After the recent acquisition of Cohesio Group, Nishan Wijemanne, CEO at the company, sits down with MHD to talk about what the industry can expect now that the business has joined the larger Körber family.
How to solve the omnichannel challenge
Marie Varrasso is a supply chain expert with 25 years delivering large-scale supply chain projects across Australia. Here she shares her knowledge on how to create an omnichannel ready warehouse.
The benefits of automation in the distribution centre
Brad Welsman, Managing Director at SSI SCHAEFER Australia says the business case for automation should not only consider the hard numbers but also the secondary benefits of a safer, more ergonomic environment with improved flexibility and response times.
Why it’s time to ditch the “set and forget” model
Recently there has been an increase in air capacity, along with a decline in air freight demand. Andrew Coldrey, Vice President, Oceania at C.H. Robinson is urging organisations to take advantage of this situation and consider a hybrid model when it comes to moving freight.
Freight and servicing in a changed operating environment
Sydney’s new light rail is planned to open on December 14th and will provide a modern and sustainable way for people to travel to and from Sydney’s CBD and south eastern suburbs. Already, the light rail has transformed the shape of the city, opened up its premier street to pedestrians with less traffic, and brought a new energy to the CBD. It has also influenced how deliveries and servicing take place within a changed operating environment.
Why MBI prefers Trelleborg tyres
Vincent Westerdijk, Vehicle Technician at MBI says when it comes to tough work, it’s worth investing in premium tyres.
Attracting and retaining talent in a highly competitive environment
Regan Brown, Chief Executive at Impex Personnel shares his thoughts about how to attract, retain and empower staff in a technology-driven logistics environment.
Predicting the unpredictable
Jhordan Gil, Senior Solutions Advisor – Supply Chain Execution at JDA Software discusses the opportunities that artificial intelligence and machine learning can present in delivering the upcoming peak period.
This year’s peak period will be the largest in Australia’s history. Last year Australia Post delivered more than 40 million parcels in December, and this year, volumes are already greater than they were at the same time last year.
Over the coming peak Australia Post expects to deliver up to 3.5 million parcels on its busiest day- this level of demand puts a lot of pressure on logistics providers to deliver.
For Jhordan Gil, Senior Solutions Advisor – Supply Chain Execution at JDA Software, organisations should start to explore artificial intelligence and machine learning to more accurately predict peaks in demand at a very localised level and to better prioritise warehouse tasks and position assets to deliver on those peaks.
According to Jhordan, the real benefits from artificial intelligence and machine learning come when logistics providers or retailers have to cope with unpredictable peaks in demand.
“With the amount of data and technological advancements available now, we can begin to predict the previously unpredictable,” Jhordan says.
For example, if there is a football match close to a Coles or Woolworths, and the forecast calls for the first warm and sunny weekend in the last few weeks, an AI/ML based demand forecasting and autonomous fulfilment system may increase stock at that branch and correspondingly schedule additional staff at that particular time. It’s these kinds of spikes in localised demand at scale that were difficult to prepare for without advanced technology about historical behaviour and patterns.
A further advantage of using technology is that it gets better over time, Jhordan says. “It starts to recognise a good outcome or a bad outcome, and adapt recommendations accordingly.”
A crucial aspect of coping with spikes in demands is having the right skills, in the right place at the right time, Jhordan says. “When you identify a peak period, it has a huge effect on your workforce. So, it’s advantageous to be able to tap into a diverse range of employees, understanding which functions of your operations will be most affected, and select the right profile of employee you need at any one time,” Jhordan says.
With regards to logistics providers, one piece of advice that Jhordan offers is to improve collaboration. “For logistics organisations, nearly everything is out of their control. We recommend that providers work with their clients to improve collaboration and traceability. The idea is to ensure that everyone sees a single source of truth,” he says.
Whether it be a container in the middle of the ocean, a truck on the road, or the last-mile delivery van, it pays to have accurate ETA data constantly available to all parties involved in the supply chain. Further, AI/ML can be leveraged to go from Estimated Time of Arrival to AI/ML-based Predicted Times of Arrival, allowing organisations to better adapt depending on if a delivery is running late or early.
Within warehouse environments, Jhordan encourages following the principle of having the right task at the right time rather than simply 100% utilization. Delivering on time in full (OTIF) becomes particularly challenging during peak periods, and AI/ML can be leveraged to intelligently assign warehouse work to the right employee at the right time. For instance, if a set of urgent orders drops, how do you ensure you can redeploy staff so they can complete the urgent orders without affecting service level of other orders? Live accurate data enables you to prioritise your assets and execute on the unpredictable accordingly,” he says.
JDA’s Luminate platform embraces SaaS-native architecture, the Internet of Things, and advanced analytics and cross-platform integration with AI and ML to drive value for customers’ supply chains.
JDA offers a control tower which senses unexpected events across the supply chain and identifies the potential impact of disruptions. Analysing hundreds of potential variables to find the probabilities of different outcomes and each outcome can then be associated with a calculated business impact and risk.
“These technologies aren’t just applicable to forecasting unexpected peaks, they also really come into play once you’ve hit that peak period and you need to work out how to deliver,” Jhordan says.
For Jhordan, it’s about having that central source of truth and having the smart software to recognise what needs to be done when unexpected changes occur.
Co-warehousing, a futuristic outlook
The shortage of industrial land and low vacancy across major cities is also fuelling businesses to look at alternative solutions to store their stock, and the concept of ‘co-warehousing’, which we are seeing in the USA and Europe. Monica Velez, National Director, Logistics & Supply Chain Consultancy at Colliers International asks could this be the next major trend for Australia’s industrial market?
Managing overflow, or need urgent space?
Tony Durante, National Director, Industrial at Colliers International offers advice for logistics providers looking to find short-term warehouse lease to cope with the upcoming retail rush.