Kuehne + Nagel Logistics uses I_Site Explorer to help manage their fleet
Kuehne + Nagel Logistics, one of the world's leading logistics companies, has been using I_Site Explorer for years. The fleet management system of Toyota gives them a lot of data to analyse and opportunities to improve their operation.
About Kuehne + Nagel Logistics
With over 80 000 employees at almost 1 300 locations in over 100 countries, the Kuehne+Nagel Group is one of the world's leading logistics companies. Its strong market position lies in sea logistics, air logistics, road logistics and contract logistics, with a clear focus on integrated logistics solutions.
Contract Logistics Kontich, part of Kuehne + Nagel Group, handles industry-specific storage and distribution services. They stock dry foods, beverages and retail returns, and supply goods to one of the biggest Belgian retailers. Operations to get products from factory to shelf and back are run with about 170 rental trucks. To help manage the supply chain from start to finish in the most cost-effective and productive way, the site has been using I_Site from Toyota with the Explorer package since 2017.
Facts & figures:
- Company: Kuehne + Nagel Group
- Location: Kontich, Belgium
- Industry: Contract Logistics, warehousing & distribution
- Applications: I_Site fleet management with Explorer package
- Trucks: 170 rental including CB electric, pallet trucks, order pickers, reach trucks, tow tractors
Instant access to vital fleet data through the I_Site portal
The I_Site Explorer portal is designed to help fleet managers define the most effective and efficient use of their forklifts. All collected data, presented in an accessible visual format, is relevant in one or more areas of managing their fleet and operators.
“Our business activity fluctuates and varies throughout the year, even weekly,” Dominique Boesmans clarifies. She is Contract Logistics Manager at Kuehne + Nagel Logistics Kontich. “We use the info from the I_Site system to make sure we utilise all trucks proportionally, for optimal usage.”
Veerle Verbeke, Facility Manager, further explains I_Site allows them to link specific drivers to specific machines. This way, they have an overview of all drivers and trucks throughout the day.
Raise safety awareness with the aid of impact management
The system also gives them the opportunity to monitor the shocks operators cause.
Kenneth Hansen, Contract Logistics QSHE Expert, adds: “We create a monthly report of the top ten shocks recorded in our warehouses. Based on the outcome, we can then address our employees and determine the root cause of these shocks.”
By extracting and analysing the data provided, Logistics Kontich can periodically evaluate the shock values and limit values and tune them in accordance with their warehouse and operations specifics.
Kenneth happily states: “By doing so, we commit to creating safety awareness among our employees.”
From a safety perspective, I_Site lets you create different driver profiles. Logistics Kontich applies this feature in setting up different profiles, to distinguish between external or internal drivers. What’s more, certain settings are perfectly customisable, such as driving speed or acceleration.
At this site they continuously update the pre-operational check based on incidents that happen in the warehouse. A pre-op check is a customised safety check before starting up the truck to improve reliability and safety.
Save costs by optimising truck usage and battery management
Demand for additional machines to cover, for example, peak seasons, is first crosschecked on the I_Site portal, to see if the current fleet is being used in the best possible way.
“To give you an example,” Veerle Verbeke says, “thanks to the I_Site analysis of the usage of the trucks, we noticed that the use of certain trucks was not ideal.” This action resulted in optimising their fleet, which led to long-term cost-saving.
Another example is the data I_Site supplies via the battery management system. Kuehne + Nagel Logistics Kontich learned that they had too many changing tables and spare batteries on their hands. They were able to bring the number down thanks to the data, meaning the battery room could totally be reorganised.
Furthermore, analysis of this data revealed that certain drivers logged into several trucks in the morning, just to check the battery status at the start of their shift. Simply a waste of time.
Insider tips for maximum results
Kenneth Hansen has some sound advice:
“I would definitely recommend I_Site to other colleagues in the industry because it is a tool that holds a lot of information, opportunities and functionalities.”
As he illustrates, the tool is not aimed merely at operations or facilities. Prevention advisors, quality managers and finance departments will find it a very useful tool as well.
As Kenneth stipulates, at the end of the month, the necessary data regarding the short- and long-term rental fleet, as well as damage reporting, can be handed over to accounting immediately.
“The I_Site dashboard is intuitive, well structured, user friendly and especially the data export runs very smoothly,” he testifies.
He throws in an extra valuable tip for all I_Site users: “Try to make the best use of it. Experiment with the data you have at hand, look for functionalities, and continuously tweak it according to the needs of your operations. The more you use it, the more benefits you will experience.”