From supply chain management to strategic transport planning

For many years, Omecon’s business has centred on supporting transport-related processes. How has the nature of transport companies’ operations changed over recent years?

That’s true. We gained our initial experience precisely in the field of solutions supporting the CEP sector, i.e. courier, express and postal services. This is certainly an industry that has been experiencing a real boom recently.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about huge changes in the transport sector – and, more broadly, in logistics. In practice, transport companies opened up to new technologies and solutions at that time. The same was true of their customers, for that matter. In the face of successive restrictions, changes in the transport sector accelerated dramatically. There was a widespread embrace of new technologies and solutions that had previously developed much more slowly and on a smaller scale. Many of these have now become something of a standard.

Of course, this was naturally linked to changes taking place in many other sectors, particularly the retail sector. The retail sector introduced remote services – and thus those related to deliveries – relatively quickly and on a large scale. Many of these have remained with us to this day. Good examples include parcel lockers and the launch of networks of parcel collection points – in other words, shifting the delivery process away from the customer’s specific address.

A whole range of services complementary to the parcel delivery process has also emerged. I am thinking, for example, of the introduction of card payments upon collection of parcels. Such options had been available before, but mostly on a limited scale or as part of pilot schemes. In response to clear customer needs, they have now become almost ubiquitous.

At the same time, there has been a very dynamic development of mobile applications, particularly those designed for consumers. Today, individual recipients can practically manage the delivery process, redirect or return parcels, whereas previously they had virtually only the option of tracking parcels – and not necessarily in real time. We have now reached a point where customers do not even need to print a label – a feature that, until recently, was almost impossible to implement. All this is designed to make it as easy as possible for customers to use transport services.

Changes of this kind would certainly not have been possible without the overhaul of the systems supporting transport operations.

Of course they would! The increase in the volume of parcels handled has brought about far-reaching changes in the approach to transport and delivery management. This, in turn, has necessitated a different approach to managing delivery areas and organising couriers’ work. It is about optimisation, but also about ensuring that parcel processing times are monitored as closely as possible, and that delivery times are predictable and easily accessible to the recipient.

Customers expect not only swift delivery services but also binding commitments regarding delivery times. This aspect is particularly important, for example, in the context of handling large-item deliveries, such as household appliances. New opportunities for optimising and automating parcel handling are therefore required. At the same time, the increase in the scale of deliveries brings new demands in terms of the efficiency and reliability of systems supporting transport processes.

Furthermore, many companies in the retail sector, such as chains selling audio-visual equipment or household appliances, are developing additional services, of which goods delivery is now a natural component. This, in turn, means there is a need to expand the functionality of traditional TMS systems.

In which areas is the ongoing digitalisation of transport processes concentrated?

From the recipient’s perspective, the digitalisation of transport processes is reflected, amongst other things, in the ability to monitor and manage the delivery process individually via a mobile app. It is also possible to authorise receipt digitally in a manner equivalent to a handwritten signature. Self-service is also of key importance here.

In the past, any change to a delivery date or redirection of a parcel required contacting a customer service representative. Today, the recipient can make such changes independently. The ability to track the delivery process in near real time, as well as receive notifications of any delays, is also valuable. Ultimately, solutions of this kind make it easier and more convenient to use transport services. The customer knows that the process is under control and feels looked after even in the event of a delivery delay. From the operator’s perspective, they are also a way of optimising deliveries.

Of course, advancing digitalisation also opens up a range of new possibilities at the level of systems supporting parcel handling. Today, we are even talking about the automation of certain order processing tasks. This is because transport management systems are capable of making autonomous decisions, including when it comes to assigning orders and parcels to couriers. Automation significantly reduces the workload on dispatchers, who can then focus on handling less routine operations or resolving any issues that may arise.

Today, the digital transformation of transport processes also involves close integration with other services. When purchasing household appliances, customers now expect not only delivery with carrying into the home, but also installation, configuration and the collection of old equipment. This means, for example, the need to deploy a team with the skills, authorisations and tools required to carry out additional services, or to coordinate the delivery and engage an external installer. The entire process of handling electronic waste is also a separate issue. At the very end of the systematic management of the delivery process, there is the matter of assessing efficiency, and thus also conducting customer satisfaction surveys, drawing conclusions and responding to any irregularities across the entire team of hauliers, gas fitters, electricians and specialists from other fields. This area is also increasingly being implemented as part of TMS-class systems.

How does Omecon’s proprietary &UP® platform fit into this context?

The &UP® platform has been on the market for seven years and operates as an environment that comprehensively supports the broadly defined transport sector. The original foundation of &UP®’s functionality lies precisely in the KEP sector and the so-called ‘last mile’. At the same time, over the last few years we have thoroughly overhauled and expanded the capabilities of our platform. We have moved from a solution focused on the registration of transport orders and the operations involved in handling them to a system that automates many activities. Thanks to this, we are able not only to optimise processes, but also to eliminate the risks of human error or an unfair distribution of work.

Automation is also becoming essential due to the constant increase in the number of orders handled by operators, as well as the growing pressure to deliver as quickly as possible. In fact, the development of the &UP® platform is moving towards a solution that supports not only the operational management of transport, but also strategic activities related to the organisation of work.

If we have a specific volume of parcels on a given day, we must precisely plan delivery routes in a way that takes into account costs and delivery times. However, it is important that such a plan is precisely tailored to the realities of a specific organisation and the specific nature of the deliveries being carried out. For example, in the CEP sector, it is typical to experience a peak in workload – that is, the number of parcels to be delivered – on Mondays. Conversely, on Fridays the number of deliveries is usually significantly lower. All of this – whilst maintaining the necessary flexibility – should be reflected in the daily operations plan, which must look different on a Friday than it does on a Monday. By ‘flexibility’, I mean both the ability to respond in real time to any deviations from the plan, as well as changes to the schedule resulting from decisions made by recipients. We are therefore talking about drawing up a strategic plan, which forms the basis for dispatching parcels and issuing delivery orders. The &UP® system can carry out this type of operation automatically. What’s more, the mechanisms built into our platform provide, amongst other things, preventive alerts about potential delays and other delivery issues.

What experience underpins the &UP® platform?

We develop the functionality of the &UP® system with our customers’ specific needs in mind. Thus, in the context of processes typical of the so-called ‘last mile’, we have expanded a range of features relating to deliveries, customer service and additional services that are, or may be, carried out in conjunction with transport processes.

We are committed to continuous development and are equipping the &UP® platform with a range of functions tailored to the specific nature of the transport processes for various goods. The comprehensive nature of our system is also key. We manage the transport process right from the stage of managing parcel registration and collection, through the processing of accepted consignments and their handling at the line hall (i.e. the sorting centre), right up to handover to delivery couriers, including delivery settlement.

Apart from DPD, our system is used by, amongst others, Neuca. Given the specific nature and scale of deliveries to pharmacy outlets, precise delivery planning is of paramount importance here. The dynamic growth of Neuca’s partner network is also a key factor. Please bear in mind that a delivery to a new customer of this company means the distribution network must be expanded to include, for example, a thousand new pharmacies, and every delivery must be carried out in accordance with specific deadlines and transport conditions. We have therefore enhanced the &UP® system with temperature monitoring throughout the entire supply chain.

Another of our clients is a major supermarket chain, for which we have expanded our platform to handle ‘cold’ deliveries – that is, those requiring low temperatures to be maintained throughout the entire transport process. In this context, the issue of route optimisation and planning is also of great importance.

What transport-related activities are common to such a wide range of companies?

In practice, the processes carried out between the collection of a consignment and its delivery are common to all the sectors we serve. Most often, lorries carrying several dozen pallets of goods travel between sorting centres or large warehouses at night, between 10 pm and 6 am. At this stage, transport companies, retail chains and pharmaceutical firms all operate in virtually the same way. This does not, however, mean that these processes are simple.

What aspects set the &UP® platform apart most on the market?

Our platform is distinguished above all by its high degree of versatility. The &UP® platform is characterised by extensive customisation and parameterisation options. Thanks to this, our solution can model almost any transport process, regardless of its specific nature or scale. I believe this is a feature that makes the &UP® platform unique, even on an international scale.

We therefore stand out in the market thanks to our scalability and flexibility. We can easily adapt the way the &UP® system operates to the specific needs of a particular organisation. What’s more, we can do this quickly. We are able to roll out a working solution, tailored to the characteristics of a company’s processes, in as little as 2–3 weeks. We can demonstrate the logical structure of deliveries for a specific client’s processes following a short workshop. We then work with the client’s data – for example, from the previous week – and are able to demonstrate the value derived from using our optimisation solutions. During the pilot phase, we also identify areas that could be optimised or automated using the &UP® platform. Indeed, we are carrying out this type of pilot project with increasing frequency.

Furthermore, our solution allows us to implement even the most complex and multi-variant processes. For example, we can implement complex delivery prioritisation mechanisms whilst maintaining the expected unloading sequence, for instance to ensure that specific goods are delivered to a selected location first, whilst adhering to specific transport conditions. In practice, this means, amongst other things, the ability to automate the delivery scheduling process so that fresh vegetables reach the market faster than dry goods, and the busiest shops are restocked first.

Which companies can use the &UP® platform?

Our solutions are currently used by organisations of various sizes. Our clients range from companies whose transport operations involve several dozen lorries to organisations with several thousand such vehicles. We are therefore able to meet a wide range of needs. In terms of performance and reliability, we are equipped to handle truly large volumes of orders and parcels. For one of our clients, our solution supports the processing of over 500,000 parcels a day.

What is the preferred implementation model for your solution?

It depends on the client’s needs. The implementation model for the &UP® platform is another aspect that we can tailor to the specific circumstances of an organisation. Our system is available as a cloud service hosted within the MAIN Data Centre infrastructure, as well as a fully on-premises solution. Some of our clients, including the largest ones such as DPD and Media Expert, use the &UP® system as a service, for which the Omecon team is entirely responsible. The cloud model – a pre-configured, readily accessible solution – also gives us the flexibility to roll out pilot projects quickly. However, we have many clients who – for various reasons – choose to deploy the &UP® system within their own environment. In such cases, in addition to implementing the system on the client’s servers, we provide ongoing administrative support.

The &UP® system also works well in the context of a deposit-refund scheme.

That is true. Its performance characteristics and extensive customisation options allow the &UP® system to be used in the context of logistics related to the reuse of packaging. Furthermore, the &UP® platform’s features are well suited to the needs of planning, optimisation and comprehensive management of transport and the settlement of returnable packaging. This is one of the areas on which we have placed particular emphasis in our development work. We are therefore exceptionally well-equipped to handle DRS (Deposit Return System) processes in the broadest sense, i.e. deposit-refund schemes.