Nov/Dec 2003

Christian Salvesen has streamlined its overnight automotive parts distribution service with a mobile data and real-time messaging system. Marcia MacLeod went to see it in action

When your car breaks down, you want it fixed - now. Waiting three days for a part, let alone three weeks, is not acceptable. Buyers of new automobiles also want their cars available, to their specifications, with the accessories they chose, as quickly as possible. Which is why dealers put pressure on manufacturers to deliver parts urgently for "vehicle off road" (VOR) repairs, and why they want to keep the most commonly used parts and accessories in stock.

It's a market ripe for the kind of benefits offered by a mobile data system; and that's exactly the approach taken by logistics contractor Christian Salvesen in a real-time messaging service it is introducing in its Night Network unattended parts delivery service.

Salvesen originally set up Night Network in 1990 to offer unattended delivery of tractor parts for Massey Ferguson and Ford New Holland. The system arose out of a dedicated distribution service for Unipart's Demand Chain Management product, which offered a daily pre-8 am delivery for Rover, and a daytime distribution product for Massey Ferguson, which delivered VOR parts daily and stock parts weekly.

 

"We began pre-8 am deliveries in a dedicated distribution contract for Unipart delivering for Rover," explains Steve Russell, director of strategic marketing and business solutions in the UK. "Drivers had keys or access codes to lock-ups - Portakabins, containers, stock rooms and so on. We also did a day-time delivery for Massey Ferguson. But we decided to combine the two into a shared-user night-time unattended delivery system to improve parts distribution for any automotive customer."

The service was so successful that it has grown to serve eight companies - General Motors, Volvo, Porsche, Land Rover, Jaguar, Ford, MG Rover, Case New Holland (formerly Ford New Holland) and Agco (formerly Massey Ferguson). A separate Night Network service is dedicated to DaimlerChrysler.

The automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) continue to run their own distribution centres, but Christian Salvesen has established an office at each site. When an order is picked, a bar code label is produced, but another label is generated when Christian Salvesen staff get 'line of sight'' of the item. This means every part has two unique labels, one identifying the part and the other the consignment.

All of the scanners used - first Teklogix, now Dolphin - are placed in a cradle attached to a PC or dumb terminal to upload scanned information, such as part number and consignee, into Christian Salvesen's SharpNet (shipment handling and reporting program). SharpNet runs on an IBM AS/400 that forms the basis for the company's wide area network, which is managed by Vanco.

Drivers pick up a barcode scanner to collect data while on the road: how many of which parts are to be dropped at each location, how many empty roll cages or other items are to be collected, and so on. But until recently, information could not be accessed until the driver returned to base, when his scanner was again attached to the PC to upload on to SharpNet.

Increasing demand for real-time information has rendered the original system outdated, to say the least. And with 3,000 to 3,500 orders handled per night in 12 Christian Salvesen depots, carried by 600 vehicles, greater efficiencies were needed. SMS has provided the answer, taking SharpNet into the twenty-first century.

Similar basis

The basic processes are exactly the same as before. Orders come into the OEM - 80 per cent by EDI or scanning, 10 per cent via the Web, and the rest by phone or fax - to enter the manufacturer's order processing and warehouse management system. Two barcode labels are produced. All scans are uploaded to SharpNet via PCs or dumb terminals. And all items are scanned at point of despatch from OEM, point of receipt at Christian Salvesen depot, point of despatch from depot and point of final delivery at dealer's premises.

But there the similarities end - at least for GM, which is the first customer to switch to the SMS system.

Scanners are now pre-loaded with information required by the driver: drop locations, module numbers being delivered, quantities and so on. A final manifesting takes place before the driver leaves base to ensure the right consignments are on the right vehicle and the right information has been downloaded to each scanner. One file is produced for the scanner and another for the in-cab PC.

When drivers pick up their paperwork, they also collect a scanner and a PCMCIA card for their in-cab computer. Then when the driver reaches a delivery point, each item is scanned as it is dropped in the lock-up. Once the driver says "delivery finished," the system can identify if an item has been missed or the wrong item delivered. Real-time identification of errors was not previously possible, which meant incorrect deliveries had to be corrected the following night.

All information is uploaded when the driver puts the scanner back into the in-cab cradle. Data is actually sent to a computer in Holland owned by Qualcomm, which developed the system for Christian Salvesen. All urgent messages, such as delivery information, are sent back to the depot immediately; others, such as "You have not called in for an hour; where were you? On my break" are batched periodically to save messaging costs.

SMS also enables drivers and depots to communicate in real time using Track, another Christian Salvesen system linked to the Qualcomm computer. Track provides a map of the country showing any vehicle from a particular depot; and the depot can poll the vehicle by sending an SMS message to find out where it is. If a driver presses the alarm button, for example (and all cabs have one), the depot can identify the vehicle's location and send help. The in-cab system locks when the vehicle is moving, but flashes to tell drivers of an incoming message, so they can pull over to read it.

"The benefits of the system are tremendous," says Chris Davidson, system development manager. "It has reduced mis-scans; we get real-time updates on deliveries; and we get lots of information about vehicles and performance, such as if the driver has over-revved or braked too hard, how long a driver has actually driven, how long the vehicle has been at each delivery point, and how long a break the driver took.

"Customers can access the system on the Web, and have true visibility of all their parts, so they can pro-actively contact a dealer if there has been a problem with an order.

"And the driver can go home quicker. As long as the scanning has been 100 per cent accurate, they don't need to be de-briefed: they just drop off their scanner and PCMCIA card and go."

The SMS version of Night Network will be rolled out to other Christian Salvesen customers over the next six to nine months. It will also be used in Spain and Portugal, where Night Network is in operation. A French version is planned, too.

In addition, Christian Salvesen is designing a delivery confirmation screen to sit on an Ipaq PDA, which would connect to SharpNet over GPRS. The plan is to give the Ipaqs to sub-contracted or agency drivers. In Spain, for example, 95 per cent of drivers are sub-contracted. SMS job confirmation over mobile phones is also being considered.

Satellite navigation has, though, been rejected for the time being because it is not yet considered good enough. "There are problems with access and blockages," says Davidson. "SMS always works. And, adds Russell, "there's no point in using satellite navigation to provide routes for drivers, as most stick to their favourite route anyway."

But then, why does Christian Salvesen have to have satellite navigation? Night Network seems to work - and it doesn't matter what technology it uses, as long as the right parts are delivered to the right dealer by 8 am.