Molenbergnatie NV is a global player, founded in Antwerp in 1867. They are specialized in end-to-end supply chain management for general cargo and soft commodities, such as coffee, cocoa, nuts and rice.
With offices in Antwerp, Barcelona, Charleston and Ho Chi Minh, they provide total solutions for the logistic chain. From dispatch to processing, customs clearance, storage and distribution of the goods.
Over the years Molenbergnatie has built up expertise in transport, not only in the port of Antwerp, but also in (inter)national container, bulk and tilt transport.
At Molenbergnatie they already went digital years ago. Ine Weckx: “The days when everything was done manually are long gone. The programs we were working with until 2015 no longer met our operational needs and the challenges of our sector. We needed a more modern solution.” The decision was made to further digitize business processes and implement improvements throughout the organization on a project-by-project basis.
“Digitization is a must, everyone is convinced of that by now. However, it is not easy to get everyone in the same direction within an organization. We have deliberately chosen to fully involve all users from the beginning. This is the only way we can guarantee that the new systems will be well used and maintained.”
Molenbergnatie has been working step by step to optimizing its digital transport service.
Ine Weckx explains the approach. “We started by installing a Transport
Management System (TMS) to keep the complexity of the end-to-end process manageable. Since then, order management, planning and reporting have been done in a single comprehensive software solution in the cloud. The new TMS was integrated with our current ERP package, and in early 2018, Suivo was added to it.”
The company placed on-board computers with trackers in all tractors and trailers. “Previously, our vehicles were equipped with a fixed black box,” Ine Weckx continues. “That was replaced in all our own tractors with a GPS tracker from Suivo, linked to CAN- bus and tachograph.
In the trailers, an autonomous Asset Tracker with rechargeable battery was installed per chassis. For the vehicles of our subcontractors, we chose for a mobile solution, the Garmin fleet 790 with truck navigation and transport app. Now we can see 24/7 and in real time where both our drivers and subcontractors and the cargo are.”
The Suivo IoT Platform offers several functionalities that proved to be useful for Molenbergnatie. In addition to live tracking of vehicles and cargo, the company opted for digital communication between dispatchers and drivers. “Messages are shared in a a secure and transparent way,” says Ine Weckx. “And there are more reasons why we chose for Suivo.
Data from the tachograph will now be read automatically. “This enables us to monitor driving behavior per driver.”
The analysis of fuel consumption happens with Suivo Fleet and Suivo Analytics allows insightful reporting.
“We can perfectly analyze how long each job takes. And then I did not even mention real-time planning and order processing. Thanks to the Suivo IoT Platform we have a better view on our planning possibilities and consequently on the efficient management of our drivers.”
Optimizing planning was the main reason Molenbergnatie chose Suivo. “Our dispatchers needed more accurate information about order tracking, the location and availability of our tractors and trailers.”
Thanks to real-time registration, planning deviations are noticed more quickly and immediate action can be taken. Ine Weckx sees further advantages that advanced digitization brings. "We have noted a significant reduction in our material costs. For example, there is a lot less paper going around, which doesn't need to be copied or scanned. Moreover, digital data spreads much faster. Different departments can access information simultaneously and are therefore less dependent on each other."
Suivo is fully integrated with the TMS, the ERP system and the existing payroll processing tool and Molenbergnatie is ready for the future. Integration with Pionira's e-CMR application (electronic waybill) and T-Mining's blockchain technology will also be looked into!
